PULLIAM: Black Girls Wear Tutus or Ballet Will Die Without You

Author, trailblazing dancer Misty Copeland, soloist for the American Ballet Theatre. PHOTO COURTESY PENGUIN YOUNG READERS GROUP (Tim Pulliam's article originally published in The Washington Informer)

Ballet is in jeopardy, and here’s why: America is becoming more black and brown, but mainstream ballet is not. The industry is still largely snow white. Ballet needs more rising stars like Misty Copeland, the first African-American principal dancer of the American Ballet Theater. But Pointe magazine blames the problem on economic inequality. Professional ballet classes can cost thousands — as much as $30,000 according to the website What it Costs. The issue is complex with many layers. African-Americans are the second-fastest growing racial minority in the country — with an estimated buying power of 1.1 trillion dollars — according to The Nielsen Company. So how can we not afford tights, tutus and ballet tuition? Perhaps the issue is not just about money but also access.

The District of Columbia’s Jones-Haywood School of Dance and The Washington School of Ballet are pushing for people of color to join the art form. The Washington Ballet provides lessons to public school students from underserved communities through its initiative called DanceDC, and TWB THEARC campus focuses on reaching students in Southeast D.C. Since 1999, more than 700 students have received dance lessons at DanceDC. Sixty-eight percent of them are African-American. DanceDC targets second- and third-graders at eight elementary schools in the District: Beers, Bruce Monroe, John Eaton, J.O Wilson, Orr, Smothers and Turner Elementary. The Washington Ballet also offers an EXCEL! Scholarship to supplement the cost of ballet. “If you’re not training in a diverse way, you won’t see it on stage,” says Katrina Toews, director of the diversity and inclusion programs at TWB. Toews says she sees a tide turning among local education leaders who see the arts as a valuable piece of a child’s education.

Shannon Harkins, an African-American teen from Silver Spring, Maryland, has been with the Washington Ballet for nearly 10 years and was the only African-American to perform in the company’s performance of the Nutcracker. She was also one of 10 girls selected nationwide to participate in a competitive summer program where Misty Copeland, one of her role models, was an instructor. In a Washington Post article on the struggle of black ballet dancers, Harkins says that although she is the only minority at her level at the Washington Ballet, she doesn’t feel like an outcast. “I’ve always felt included.”

Still, the inequities persist in ballet — even in terms of the amount of financial support of predominantly black dance schools, like the historic Jones-Haywood Dance School in Petworth. Carol Foster is an alum of the Jones-Haywood Dance School and still volunteers. She says the nonprofit dance school relies largely on its tuition rates to survive since it struggles to compete for the same grants as the Washington Ballet and the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. “The lack of African-Americans in ballet is not because there is a lack of talent, but there is a lack of access and resources,” Foster said.

For nearly 75 years, The Jones-Haywood Dance School has exposed black children to classical ballet. They even have some notable alums, like three-time Tony award winner Hinton Battle and Sandra Fortune-Green, owner of JHDS and the only black woman to compete in the prestigious Second International Competition in Russia. But even with their past successes, JHDS’ current challenge is educating and convincing parents of the career opportunities in ballet for their children. “If parents invest in football, then they should put that same kind of money into the arts,” Foster said.

Other nonprofits are supporting the arts. Each year the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation awards scholarships to deserving students with career interests in the arts. Still, the responsibility is on the American ballet industry to branch out and reach the black and brown girls and boys who want to follow in Copeland’s footsteps, but lack the visibility and opportunity to do so. Rachel Moore, chief executive at the American Ballet Theatre, said, “In my 30 years that I’ve been in professional ballet, we have not moved forward much.”

Move now. Artistic expression in any form should represent all racial hues. The ballet industry should create a sustainable diversity and inclusion plan or risk becoming irrelevant.sustainable diversity and inclusion plan or risk becoming irrelevant.

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Winner - Best Newspaper Commentary, Salute to Excellence in Journalism Award, National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ).

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