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Ballet Black...
Black is the New Black By Cassa Pancho | |||||||
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Link to: The first in a regular diary series - but I'll let Cassa explain... How should I start? Well, and after dragging Bruce Marriott to Retox, plying him with alcohol and fluttering my eyelashes madly, I've managed to wangle some space on Ballet.co. God knows how long it will last, but before he wises up, I'd better fit in everything I can about the company I'm starting - Ballet Black... I guess it is exactly as it sounds - a company for black ballet dancers. Being of mixed-race parentage (Mum’s a Brit, Dad’s from Trinidad) the issue of the lack of black people (women in particular) in ballet has always been a bit of a puzzle to me. I mean - where are they? And that’s not a cue for violins for the poor, hard-done-by black people, or me "thumping a tub", but a genuine query. Is it merely a question of no interest? I think not. Perhaps the archetypal image of the ballerina is one that is just too hard to get past for some black dance students. Although I’m mixed race, I don’t look "black", but I am driven to distraction by stereotypical comments, such as:
I find it hard to swallow that in this day and age these views are still tolerated by some, but there you go... Until there is a platform for black ballet dancers equal to that of white, these generalising and downright racist views will continue. In 1968, Arthur Mitchell stated that in starting the Dance Theatre of Harlem, he intended to "disprove the myth that Negroes can’t do classical ballet." (1968 edition of Dance Magazine) And he has. Not just Mitchell of course - America seems to have the inside track on "black ballet" (have you seen Lauren Anderson?!) so what’s going on in Britain? Carol Straker, Corinne Bougaard and Sheron Wray have all done plenty, but when it comes to classical ballet, Britain still falls short of the U.S. Not that I think I’m going to swoop in and change all that (!) but I’d love to be someone who gives it a nudge in the right direction...
There is also an Education Unit under construction, designed to take ballet into schools, where we will do simple ballet and choreographic workshops, and let kids see that ballet isn’t merely an elitist art form, but something that can be appreciated by all (oh dear - I sound like Pollyanna, but you get the picture). This is similar in a way to the Royal Ballet’s "Chance to Dance" scheme, but we want to actually collaborate with state schools, rather than dance being a separate thing to education. Also, having spoken to the parents of black kids, I’ve been told several times that the term "Royal" and all the connotations that go with it can put some people off before they’ve even begun. By going through state schools, we hope to eliminate this issue.
Santa’s Little Helpers... That’s everything for the moment - there will be a lot more to report once the auditions have taken place. If you want any more information about anything to do with Ballet Black, you can visit our website at:
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