Knowles’ appointment helps debunk the perception that Ballet is a white art form.
Ballet has historically been a somewhat elitist, exclusionary dance form. Today, only 10% of ballerinas are Black, and less than 7% are Asian, making ballet among the least diverse of the performing arts. But thanks to the emergence of Black creatives, including dancers Misty Copeland and Raven Wilkinson, and composer Solange Knowles, the ballet world is becoming more diverse.
On Wednesday, it was announced that singer, songwriter, and actress Solange Knowles would be the first Black woman and second woman of color to compose a score for a ballet production. She is composing an original score for choreographer Gianna Reisen’s thus far unnamed ballet set to debut at the Fall Fashion Gala’s 10th anniversary at New York City’s Lincoln Center. The event will be held on September 28 in honor of the ballet’s vice chair Sarah Jessica Parker. The City Ballet Orchestra and a soloist from Knowles’s ensemble will perform the score.
Knowles, Beyoncé’s younger sister, has long proudly proclaimed her heritage. In her essay “And Do You Belong? I Do”, Knowles details her experience with racial discrimination, while many of her albums, including Seat at the Table When I Get Home, pay homage to her ancestors, culture, race, and gender.
Bringing diversity to the whitewashed ballet stage has been a long road. In 1955, trailblazing ballerina Raven Wilkinson became the first African American woman to dance for a major classical ballet company, Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, but not without significant challenges. Having been told to lighten her skin with makeup and having received death threats from the Ku Klux Klan, she eventually left the company and went on to mentor ballerina Misty Copeland, another dancer infiltrating the exclusionary ballet world.
Just seven years ago, Copeland became the first African American woman in American ballet to be promoted to principal dancer at American Ballet Theatre (ABT). Just a week later, she became the first Black woman to dance the lead role in ABT’s Swan Lake.
Not only are African Americans battling their way into the world of ballet, but so are Asians. Phil Chan helped to found Final Bow for Yellowface to create a more positive and accurate representation of Asians in the ballet world. “We as an art form need to do better so we can be more inclusive…For people like me, who are trying to bring their family and the Asian community into ballet, and then bring them to see this sort of stereotype version of our culture, it’s really difficult.” Chan told Mission in an interview for our BIPOC issue.
However, while these successes seem victorious, there is still work to be done. Russia’s Bolshoi Theatre continues to perform using blackface despite criticism. Meanwhile, at Berlin’s principal ballet company Staatsballett, Black French dancer Chloé Lopes Gomes was asked just last year to wear white makeup to blend in with the other dancers.
Performers and creatives have long been working to break down racial barriers in ballet, and Knowles’ celebrity status and association with ballet will help disseminate the idea that ballet is not a white art form. We look forward to seeing Knowles’s remarkable work and ballet become a more inclusive performing art, one score, and arabesque at a time.
Images courtesy of: Creative Commons
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