Ballet is Only for Fair Skin

Elina WisungBallet, breaking stereotypes, inspiration Leave a Comment

More Than Skin-Deep - Dismantling the Skin Tone Myth by Anagha Madhan Misty Copeland, Photo: Brad Trent In 2015, Misty Copeland shattered centuries-old barriers when she became the first black principal dancer in the American Ballet Theatre. Her journey was far from easy; she was told that her muscular body and dark skin didn’t fit ballet’s traditional mould. Carlos Acosta, ...

What’s so Boring about Ballet?

Elina WisungBallet, breaking stereotypes, diversity Leave a Comment

A Living Language - The Infinite Stories of Ballet by Anagha Madhan Imagine stepping into a theatre, the lights dimming as the orchestra begins to play and the curtains rise. What do you expect out of a ballet? Do you expect the same predictable movements, the same overdone classical music, and the same age-old stories that seem to blend into ...

The Struggles of Ballet, Historically 

Elina WisungBallet, breaking stereotypes, diversity, inclusion Leave a Comment

A Look At Diversity, Inclusivity, and Accessibility in Ballet Over The Years By Neha Chowdhury The world of ballet has long been perceived as an exclusive domain, catering primarily to the elite and privileged. With its steadfast historical roots in 15th and 16th-century Italian courts, ballet has followed an incredibly difficult journey on the road of diversifying the playing field, ...
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Dress to Include

Elina WisungBallet, breaking stereotypes, diversity, inclusion 1 Comment

How Inclusivity in Ballet Attire is Transforming the World By Pragati Athreya in En Avant July August 2024 Tracing Traditions of Uniformity Dress to Include For decades, ballet costumes have embodied a uniform aesthetic aligned with the classical ideal of the ballet dancer: pale skin and a specific body type. Tights and shoes were produced in ‘European pink’ to match ...

HISSTORY, HERSTORY, OR OURSTORY?

Elina WisungBallet, breaking stereotypes, diversity, inclusion Leave a Comment

By Anagha Madhan and Maya Haridas for En Avant Magazine July/August 2024 There’s a Native American proverb, “The one who tells the story rules the world.” The stories told on stage have the power to subconsciously cement untrue stereotypes, or change the way we think altogether. For six centuries, ballet has served as a medium of storytelling, with its plots ...
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Ryan Anderson on Inclusivity and Diversity in the Performing Arts

Elina WisungBallet, breaking stereotypes, inspiration Leave a Comment

From  En Avant July/August 2024 Ryan Anderson, a Musical Theatre performer who has starred in productions such as Aladdin, Pippin and Peter Pan, tells us about life experiences with inclusivity and diversity in the world of Theatre. Can you tell us a little bit about how you first got into dance? What sparked your interest in it?   I got into ...
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Ballet Gone Global: Why Ballet is Not Just for The West

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By Anagha Madhan My Love Chunhyang - Universal Ballet, South Korea Ballet’s universal appeal is taking root in India, but can it truly belong? Forget the borders – because, spoiler alert: it already does. Let’s explore why this ‘Western-only’ label no longer applies to ballet. Incepted in the royal courts of Italy and later refined on the grand stages of ...

Beyond Grace: Why Ballet Is More Than Just Grace & Elegance

Elina WisungBallet, breaking stereotypes Leave a Comment

By Anagha Madhan Often, ballet is seen as the ultimate expression of grace, beauty, and elegance. In fact, if you look up the terms “grace beauty elegance dance” on the internet, a majority of the images that pop up are of ballerinas on stage. However, behind every leap, behind every carefully placed pointe shoe, there is something more raw and ...