Social Injustice

The KKK chased her out and threatened her. Everyone tried to make her blend in so that she didn’t make the dance look bad. When people think of an African American dancer they have this stereotypical picture in their head of what they think all African Americans look like. “You lack the right feet, Achilles tendon, turnout, torso length, and bust for ballet” (“Misty Copeland Seeks to Inspire”). That was what she heard from a dance critique before they met Copeland. In ballet you dance together and you typically are supposed to look the same and dance the same. Being the only colored person makes you the one that sticks out and that isn’t the same and people back then didn’t think that was ok. “And it’s hard to be the one that stands out when you know in a ballet company you’re trying to create unison” (“Misty Copeland”). That was a direct quote that she said about herself.

At fifteen, Misty Copeland won the Los Angeles Music Center Spotlight Award. Winning this big award brought her a lot of recognition. She began to audition for summer intensives, New York City Ballet being one of the many. New York City ballet rejected Copeland for “not having the right body type” and her teacher read the letter and bluntly said that copeland was really rejected for the color of her skin.

From the article "I Don't Want to do African … What About My Technique?:" Transforming Dancing Places into Spaces in the Academy by Raquel L. Monroe, the author discussed about problems that currently occur in dance space of a higher institution. The terms ‘technique’ has become problematic when the Monroe pointed the fear of the future dancer if they took dance class that is different from ballet or modern. The article further discusses by using excerpt and interviews from teachers and students on defining what ‘technique’ is. She also touches the topic on racial injustice in dance from the stereotypes of certain movement that denoted a group of people and classification of ‘high’ or ‘low’ art. This further support her argument when she critiques

I am an aspiring dancer. I am also African American, thanks to IoT a black ballerina is no longer taboo, slowly sure society is becoming more aware of dancers of various races, cultures, and styles. With the world of dance evolving and technology moving even faster, I want to develop an organization that supports and exposes minorities in dance. The job of Encouraging young dancers of minority race will no longer be limited to just the student’s parent and teachers. This organization will help these dancers connect and find support in standing confidently in who they are. The dance community is already present however not connected a possible. Through social media and a website, this organization will bring together minorities in dance and highlight their accomplishments. In addition everyone can be informed of what going on in dance culture. Individuals apart of this community can get first hand advice from dancing professionals.

From war orphan to star ballerina, Micaela Deprince has inspired millions of dancers across the world to follow their dreams. Becoming the first full African American female classical ballet dancer, she has changed the face of ballet. From her story to all of her big accomplishments, she is certainly looked upon by millions of young dancers, including me.

Miss Black USA Talks about Pageantry and Being a Black Ballerina Photo Credit: Go Fund Me Daphne Lee, who won the national Miss Black USA this year is also a ballerina. She wears her natural curly hair with proud and is very determined to squash the stereotype when it comes to the black female body. This beauty queen and ballerina confidently identifies herself as an Afro-Latina. As a ballerina, she is constantly exposed to the criticisms of targeting the black woman’s body.

“Go within everyday and find the inner strength so that the world will not blow your candle out” (A Quote by Katherine Dunham 1). Once one of the most successful dancers in both American and European theater, Katherine Dunham, a dancer, anthropologist,social activist,and educator, continues to inspire people throughout the world. Named America’s irreplaceable Dance Treasure in 2000. Dunham remains a name heard regularly in dance schools across the world (“Katherine Dunham Biography” 4). She is known for always trying to make a difference and in the process she has become of the world’s greatest humanitarians (Osumare 5). Katherine Dunham’s work in African American rights in the dance world and her creation of new styles of dance makes her an important figure in American dance History.

Cocp’s statement is an expression of perspective choice. Every individual has their own way of viewing the world. I choose to see the world through the lenses of diversity uniqueness. I am an advocate for minorities in dance, especially in Ballet. dance is my true passion and I have always been a dream of mine to dance to professionally. Studying at the colligate level opened my eye to the importance of recognizing what makes each and every person different and inclusion. When classical ballet was first codified a ballerina had a very distinct look; tall, skinny, and white. While many years have passed this stereotype is just recently beginning to break. As an African American whom is activity pursing the dance I want to continue to push the

People always praise our world is beautiful and peaceful, but they ignore the injustices still exist and some of them without good solutions. Although people believe social injustices are unfair and will bring pain and tear, they are used to treating them as air because they never experience these unequal things. Likewise, the discrimination occurs both in upper class and regular class between Puerto Ricans and Mexicans. For example, there was an obvious discrimination happened in the speech of the Republican nomination for president election. At that time, Donald Trump, who was one of the speakers, believed that force illegal immigrants repatriation can be the best way to make America great again. Because Mr. Trump recognized these immigrants only bring drugs and crimes to the U.S., and they occupied a large number of jobs which made the unemployment rate increasing currently. In addition, he said if he becomes the president, he will declared three principals and two of them can be social injustices. Firstly, America has to build a wall across the U.S.-Mexico border that stowaway cannot enter America illegally. Secondly, the laws must be fully enforced illegal immigrants to go back to Mexico. In addition, Mr. Tramp is not the only person who gets rise to injustices, but the social injustices and discrimination also happened in various aspects.

As an African American I have felt the brunt of the under representation of minorities in dance. The dance world is changing, it is becoming more diverse and we see society is opening up to various dance styles. Though this is the case, if one were to look-up “professional dancer” on google, a minority is nowhere to be found with-in the first few images. La A.M.I.D is going to bring together minorities who have the common passion of dance. Building a community among minorities to increase exposure to the many minority owned dance companies and studios. Informing members of professional training and job opportunities. Educating members on the minorities who help revolutionize the dance world. As well as provide industry tips and tricks. Empowering

Though the concept of social injustice is universal in nature, the experience varies with each person. Factors like a person’ race, or gender can further influence the severity of the injustice; victims caught in the overlap between discriminations often go unrecognized by the law and society. Many people recognize the names Michael Brown, Eric Garner, and Tamir Rice as African Americans who were murdered by local police. But names like Michelle Cusseaux, Tanish Anderson, and Meagan Hockaday often receive less feedback even though they are also murdered African Americans. The only distinction between the sets of names is gender. Even within racial injustice, discrimination is present between genders as some cases get national

Imagine with me, a ballerina who dances in classical ballets with a professional company, and then “retires” to start a ballet school and mentor young dancers in order to give them training in the arts. She and her students are actively involved in serving children in inner cities and poor areas in America, as well as mission trips and providing children in impoverished nations the opportunity to experience dance themselves. This is my dream as a dancer; to not only experience the gift of dance with a professional ballet company, but to give others the chance to experience that gift for themselves. I have been training with Affirmation Ballet Performing Arts for seven years, and dance has grown into more than just a hobby that I enjoy. Dance is one of my most important passions and a way that I worship my Creator. This beautiful art form has become a dream that I hope to pursue for the rest of my life.

Some of those questions are probably harder to answer than others. For example, How much money does it cost to be a ballerina? Another one of my questions is How many years in the average ballerinas dancing time? One of the questions that might take a bit more effort to answer would be Why do colored ballerinas take so much of their time trying to get into one ballet school of they know they will not be able to get in because of their color? Another question that arises while I was reading this article was Is the fact that African American do not always get into certain companies have to do with the fact that they ruin “the look” or is it because some of the choreographers are racist? Overall, I found this article very well written and great at bringing to light the challenges of being a colored dancer in American

Allow me to tell you a story of a little boy, only the age of five, that I painted in the canvas of my imagination. This little boy, let’s call him Dakota, had such a talent for dance. And he loved it. He loved it so much he took as many classes as his family would allow. He would practice in his room, and he had huge dreams of dancing where everyone could see. Of showing love and joy and passion through what he loved to do. But what if someone told him that dancing wasn’t for boys, that it was only for girls? What if one person didn’t believe in him, what if his dad, told his little boy, who couldn’t think for himself, that he was not fit to be a dancer just because he was a boy. Now, let’s say this little boy, Dakota, grew up to be a big strong man, who got a ‘sensible’ job as an accountant, but was really never happy? If only he could go back, but he can’t. Oh, but what if that ‘father-figure’ simply didn’t tell his little boy his feelings about Dakota’s love for dancing? What if someone had told Dakota that he was a very talented dancer?Oh! What a change that could have made. Dakota could have grown up to be a wonderful dancer, starring in Broadway’s biggest shows, inspiring

Dancing is a language, one anyone can read; however, the skill lies not in the ability to read, but in the passion to write. When people hear the word dance, more specifically ballet, they associate it with a stereotypical image of young girls prancing around in tutus, however, ballet goes beyond the scope society has set for it. Most individuals don’t fully comprehend that ballet is a literacy practice with various skill sets. In Barton and Hamilton’s “Literary Practice” they define a literacy practice as “what people do with the literacy”(3). To be a ballerina you have to be well versed in an assortment of instruction; from body, to technique, to language, to musicality, etc., ballet is a literacy practice that recognizes the extensive