Interview
Misty Copeland: why ballet has so few black dancers
- The arts are expected to continue expanding human perspective and remain integral to school curricula regardless of art form.
- Black dancers are predicted to remain absent from history books until they are provided with genuine opportunities, a trajectory the speaker intends to alter.
- Black performers are currently often cast as earthy or over-sexualized roles and are predicted to remain unseen as soft or ethereal unless casting practices change.
- The industry is expected to adopt colorblind casting approaches, requiring casting directors to actively step up to this requirement.
- Ballet companies must open dialogues to address rules that have been bent to exclude people of color to ensure future relevance and inclusivity.
- Ballet's original concepts representing the world are cited as making it illogical for works like La Bayadere or Don Quixote to be exclusively performed by white performers.
- The notion that a Black woman cannot portray roles like the white swan is predicted to be recognized as nonsensical given that art is inherently fantasy.
- Continuing to present elements like Blackface is predicted to cause communities to withdraw support, as such practices have a deep-rooted negative history.
- For ballet to remain relevant and inclusive, it is expected that it cannot offend entire communities of people.
- Elements like Blackface are predicted to belong in museums or history books rather than being displayed in contemporary culture.
- The speaker's promotion and appearances in roles such as Swan Lake and The Firebird are expected to have changed possibilities and futures for dancers who see themselves through her.
- The election of the first Black president is predicted to have provided America with a new beginning and a future for a whole group of people.
- The historical impact of having a Black president is expected to be irreversible and not taken away.