In the 1980s, Vanessa, a talented ballet student at the White Lodge School of the Royal Ballet in England was told by her teacher an uncomfortable truth: that, despite her undisputed and precocious talent, she would never get a lead role in a performance. Her sin: she was a mixed race and the ballet world was not ready for diversity. Dispirited, she abandoned her dream of becoming a dancer.
The world of classical ballet was seen as a white enclave, European performance art for a white audience. Diversity was an alien concept. To justify the exclusion of non-white dancers from principles roles, the ballet world put forward weak arguments such as skin tone and body shape of non Europeans, or claiming adherence to the composer’s vision.
in 2001 Cassa Pancho, born in London of Trinidadian and British parents, sought to address this lack of diversity in ballet and created Ballet Black, a space where black and Asian dancers can perform classical ballet at a professional level.
Ballet Black is a professional ballet company based in London, UK, which celebrates and promotes diversity in classical ballet. Their repertoire includes new works created by emerging choreographers, as well as classical ballets reinterpreted to reflect the diversity of the company’s dancers.
Born in London in 1978, Cassa Pancho trained at the Royal Academy of Dance and the Rambert School of Ballet and Contemporary Dance. On graduation, she danced with several companies, including Scottish Ballet, where she became dispirited by the lack of opportunities for black and Asian dancers in classical ballet roles.
This exclusion moved her to found Ballet Black which has since received critical acclaim for its performances and awards for its contribution to the arts and diversity in the UK. The company inspires and creates openings for black and Asian dancers in the classical ballet industry. It has since become one of the UK’s leading dance companies, known for its commitment to promoting diversity and inclusivity in classical ballet. The company also develops outreach and education programs to young people from diverse backgrounds, encouraging more people to engage with ballet and the arts.
Black Ballet address the issue of racial bias in the world of classical ballet that has historically limited the opportunities for black and Asian dancers in classical ballet. For many years, the ballet world was dominated by a Eurocentric ideal of beauty and aesthetic, which excluded ethnic dancers from major roles and positions in ballet companies.
This exclusion has been fueled by a range of factors, including stereotypical ideas of what a ballet dancer should look like, as well as a lack of diversity among the power brokers in the ballet world. Consequently, many black and Asian dancers have often faced barriers to entry, limited opportunities for career advancement, and discriminatory treatment.
In recent years, however, there has been a groundswell of awareness of the need for greater diversity and inclusivity in classical ballet. Initiatives such as Ballet Black, and the Dance Theatre of Harlem in the US, have helped to promote inclusivity for black and Asian dancers in the classical ballet world.
Ballet companies and institutions are beginning to take practical steps to address racial bias by diversifying their programming, expanding their outreach to diverse communities, and actively recruiting and marketing dancers of colour. Central to this project is de-programming white audiences from the notion that ballet is a euro-centric art form, while encouraging black and ethnic communities to engage in an art form that they previously have felt excluded from.
A collaboration with dance shoe company Freed of London was announced in 2018. Freed added two new colours, “Ballet Bronze” and “Ballet Brown” to their range of pointe shoes. This meant that dancers with darker skin would no longer have to pancake their shoes with foundation to make them match their skin tones.
Ballet Black has an extensive touring schedule. .
We did it! A huge thank you to the @BarbicanCentre and our audiences this week! #bbPioneers #BalletBlack pic.twitter.com/mjcYV5mZ0e
— Ballet Black (@BalletBlack) March 12, 2023
