Reply to Racial Diversity at The Washington School of Ballet

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]OP here — thank you for the responses. I understand the racial barriers in classical ballet generally for sure, but it was still a bit jarring to see. [/quote]

why is it jarring?[/quote]

Unless you’re a Black person or person of color I don’t think you will understand. I assume you’re neither since you asked the question. Even though something is known more generally, it can still look jarring once it’s right in your face. And honestly, a ballet school in DC in 2022 that doesn’t have decent URM representation in its classes tells me a lot. 
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I’m trying to understand, what does it tell you here?  Demographics of the immediate area?  Narrow racial diversity in classical ballet?  Or something more or different about WSB, or this campus of WSB?  Thank you. [/quote]

I'm the one who recommended City Dance. Please don't play dumb. Ballet is known for being extremely racist, and not only that, selecting for a certain height and body shape that has nothing to do with technique level or artistic talent. Traditional school directors have corps de ballet visuals in mind, and want a homogeneous line, with dancers of the same height, skin tone, and slimness. They forget that they are first and foremost a TEACHING organization, and that they need to give opportunities to all young people.

So this puts off people who are not pale, slim and of a certain height. They tend to leave at some point, or maybe they visit and don't even enroll.

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At the end of the day, ballet needs to fill theater seats with a ticket buying public.  They are going to put people up on stage that sell tickets.  
This means that people with disproportionate bodies are out - big heads, short legs, short stature...etc.
People who aren't good dancers are out - this is an obvious disqualifier.

There are a lot of people who believe Misty Copeland was promoted to principal because of her popularity with the audience.  And it is true, she lacked the ability to do the 32 fouette turns that are a signature of Swan Lake.  But she was selling tickets and ABT recognized that.  It was kind of controversial though because she lacked a basic skill required of a principal role.[/quote]

None of this is an excuse to hold back CHILDREN from dancing at ballet schools. We are not talking about professional dancing. We are not talking about professional ticket sales. Ballet schools sell tickets to parents and relatives, and they ALL want to see dancers in roles that are appropriate to their talent! No parent I know wants to keep the chubby kid in the back or the child of color in a minor role! Not in this area. And believe me, by the time a kid makes it all the way to the upper levels, their families have attended a ton of performances, volunteered tons of hours backstage, observed rehearsals, and know who is talented and who deserves which role.

Currently there is a furor at MYB because the artistic director (who is leaving after a disastrous few years in the job) ignored certain talented students and gave roles to a favored few. This did not use to happen at MYB under the previous leadership.

Schools' missions are to encourage every student who enrolls. At the upper levels, of course there will be painfully honest conversations about what aspiring ballerinas' chances are in the real world. Summer intensives will be discussed, audition and competition performances dissected. But that's for a small number of students. No child deserves to be shunted to the side because of what they look like. 
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