Racism in the Ballet World, and How Misty Copeland Changed it. Racism in our world, and especially in America, has been a problem for centuries. In the ballet community especially, the people in power have always been predominantly white as well as the dancers. Misty Coapland helped break the race barrier when she joined ABT as a principal dancer, as well as starting her own company to help the new generation of dancers and to combat racism and classism. Misty Copeland was born into a family with financial instability. She was on the drill team at her middle school when one of her coaches saw her potential and recommended her to join the Boys & Girls Club to start ballet lessons. The director of the club noticed her natural talent and invited …show more content…
She used the offensive comments to her advantage by working harder in ballet and eventually giving back to the community through the BE BOLD program she started. Racism and classism have been prominent in the ballet community for decades now, making it impossible for anyone who isn't white or privileged to take ballet. Misty Coapland had trouble at ABT when she was the only black person in the company. In an interview with her she says, “during those 10 years, there were microaggressions, sometimes daily, and many times I almost quit”(Beard). Racism in ballet is proven through the microaggressions Misty speaks about, and there are almost no people of color in professional ballet companies. She is truly talented and is so talented that she got a scholarship to be part of ABT. Racism should not affect how much she wants to dance. Misty also came from a family in poverty and couldn't afford to take ballet lessons. Ballet should be accessible to everyone, regardless of their race or status. This is also shown in regular jobs, and people have a higher chance of getting hired if they have a perfect background and are not a person of
However, New York Public Schools offered ballroom dancing classes to low-income students of color, which allowed the arts to be included in their curriculum. Watching the film, I observed the positive reaction the children had to the dance classes. Overall, they were exposed to different cultures, made new friendships, became more confident, and aware of different career options such as professional dancers or singers (Agrelo, 2005).
When she began, one dance company told her that she could not make it as a ballet dancer, but they were wrong Misty did believe in herself and she keeps looking for what she dreamed of. I chose to talk about her because she has a persistent and motivated story. Misty is innovated person even thought that she lived in a motel she knew how to train without resources, well she used the balcony bars to practice her ballet lesson. I like the way how she dances, when I watched her dancing is like a magical inspiration because she does all those movements very relax and she felt what she is doing or the character that she
In the collegiate world of sports, basketball has become an increasingly recognized sport among African Americans, predominantly males. The hope of any young basketball player is that one day a scout will come and recruit them into stardom The question that presents itself as a problem to the lucky few who are chosen to go professional, is whether or not an education is more important than a million dollar shoe deal, “The NCAA's (1998) annual six-year study reported that only 33% of Black male basketball players graduated, (Chronicle of Higher Education, 1999). Individually, basketball reported the lowest graduation rate in all divisions,” (Robinson, 2004:1). Basketball players have become so idolized in the eyes of young Black male basketball athletes, that the value of education appear to be less important in the development of these young men, “According to Sailes (1997), there is an over-representation of Black males in particular sports and an under-representation in other segments of American society. He provides the example of percentages of Black males competing in the NBA (77%), NFL (65%), MLB (15%), and MLS (16%) in comparison to the fact that fewer than 2% of doctors, lawyers, architects, college professors, or business executives are Black males.”, (Robinson, 2004:1). The idea of the attainment of a professional basketball player’s salary in the NBA, without even having to go to school for the time it takes to earn a degree is very appealing to some players. Those with a wealthy, or even upper-middle class upbringing may not view material assets as a priority. In the Black community, we have theorized that money and success play a more important role than education in most households. Although these two seem to go together, one resulting from the other, this does not apply in the sports world. Our research will examine the role that the family value system plays in influencing Black vs. White male athletes to turn professional, as opposed to obtaining a college degree before turning professional.
There is a fine line between admiration of one's own culture and contempt for those who are different. Where is the line drawn between pride and prejudice? A society will always feel as though their system of beliefs and way of life is superior and opposing culture are lacking in dignity. In "Blue Winds Dancing" Tom Whitecloud's unnamed character is at that crossroad in his life. Is his Indian culture truly inferior to that of the White man; is his honor to not drift away from his own culture leading to prejudice for the White man?
Ballet is an athletic art form that utilizes muscle control, flexibility, and physical strength. It requires extreme discipline from the dancers and takes an extreme amount of mental concentration. This discipline causes dancers to have success throughout life and specifically in academic studies. There are many ways that dance can affect the success of a person’s life; however, there are two in specific that make dancers generally more successful. To begin, ballet causes dancers to be self-motivated workers; dancers cannot rely on others to push them to be better, but must have the drive within themselves.
Young girls and women symbolize femininity with being a ballerina. Kelso comments that in the shadows of the spotlight lurks an abusive world of eating disorders, verbal harassment, fierce competition, injuries, fatigued, and malnourished dancers (Kelso, 2003). In today’s world of ballet, dancers suffer from always being in pain, worrying their body image is not the right look they need to have to get lead roles resulting in the development of eating disorders, and male ballet dancers are stereotyped as being homosexual when most of the male dancers are in fact heterosexual.
Men and women who chose to engage in sports from which they would traditionally be discouraged because of their gender, particularly as professionals, redefine the sport. The social and cultural "costs" are not the result of the individual's participation, but rather the way in which sports have been socially, politically, and economically constructed. Gender is only one of the few ways in which people are categorized according to their proficiency for some athletic activities. Race and class are also factors which may prevent individuals from engaging in sports that have been traditionally excluded to them. Socially constructed notions of race, class, and sexuality compound the way in which the history of sports has developed. For example, black women athletes may be more accepted in certain sports than in others, i.e. black women in the WNBA might seem as less an anomaly for black women than for white women, and yet the success of the Williams sisters in tennis may seem more out of the ordinary for many Americans than the success of their white counterparts. Race, class, sex, and sexuality are the operative notions in which certain sports are less "traditional" for certain groups.
Racism in Sports and the African American College Athlete The role of college athletics in the American home is known to all. The traditional football games on Thanksgiving and New Year's Day. March Madness for NCAA men's basketball as well as the year's end Rose Bowl for college football leaves fans glued to their televisions for hours.
After-school athletics is typically presented as a productive outlet for students to engage with one another and learn within a team environment. However, through an intersectional lens it should be taken into question whether playing sports is enjoyable or even possible without reaping the benefits of gender, heteronormative, and numerous other privileges. Reflecting on my own personal experience of playing high school basketball, I take a closer look as to how it was shaped by the many facets of intersectionality and privilege. In analyzing my experience, I will argue why sports is a constant force in reproducing gender binaries and oftentimes baneful to those who do not conform to heteronormativity.
The typical idea of a dancer is that they are tall, slender, full of energy, and lucky because they dance with all of the “stars”. Much of this is true, however, what many people do not think of are the many hardships that a dancer goes through in order to achieve their high status in the dance world. It takes much hard work and determination along with good direction to become a dancer. However, nothing good comes without a price. Dancers often times have many pressures put on them which can lead to physical and emotional damages. These damages occur through the pressures from the media, parents, teammates, and the stereotype that society has placed on dancers.
On the night of December 13, 2013 Beyoncé, released her fifth self-titled album on ITunes. The album caught many people by surprise because Beyoncé did not set a date for the album, nor did she use any promotion; she did release a video on her Instagram asking her followers if they “were ready”. The buzz spread through social media like a wild fire. With no promotion or no warning, Beyoncé album took the world by storm and made it for her audience and critics to take in the album and it contents. Many people loved the album for not only its catchy songs, but also the growth and “looser” conservative Beyoncé. On the other hand many people did not feel that her album was growth, but a way to catch up to the overly sexual generation. Beyoncé has always been aware of her sexual side, pop side, and feminist side; this has been documented through her four previous albums. Yet, a lot of people have questioned if Beyoncé a feminist because of the content of her newest album. In order to answer that a person must ask him or her self; what is a feminist, why some people believe she is feminist, why others do not believe she feminist, and whether or not Beyoncé think she is a feminist.
Ballet is a beautiful and romantic type of performance art. It originated in the Italian court systems in the 15th century (Jonas). Since its origination, ballet has undergone many changes and gained worldwide recognition. Filled with elaborate costumes, cheering audiences, lights, weightless movements and beauty; ballet is admired by many. On the magical stage ballerinas can become whoever they wan to be, and perform in a world of fantasy. For these reasons, children, especially little girls, all over the world dream of becoming ballerinas when they grow up. However, becoming a professional ballerina is an extremely difficult accomplishment, in which few will achieve (Kelso 1). The world of ballet may seem to be filled with glitz and glamor but, behind the curtain there is an entirely different story. There are extreme demands and pressures put on these young dancers to be very thin and nearly perfect. Some of which include body and weight demands, competition, and social pressures. These constant pressures can lead to a negative body-image and even debilitating eating disorders (Price and Pettijohn).
Ballet has been an art form since the late fifteenth century, but society did not truly see the impact of ballet until the nineteenth century. Modern day thinkers possess the idea that ballet began with tutus and pointe shoes, but it wasn’t until the nineteenth century that this opinion was observed. Ballet has come a long way. It has survived the turmoil of many wars and has changed itself by accepting new ideas and impressing the audience with its unique stylistic views.
in order to succeed. Ballet should be recognized as a sport due to the fitness, dedication, and
Dealing with the issue of sport and ethnology, three major factors come to mind; prejudice, racism, and discrimination. These factors span across gender, ethnic, racial, religious, and cultural groups. In the following paragraphs, I will discuss how these factors have played a part in the evolution of sport in our society. The first issue tackled in this paper will be racism in sports, followed by prejudice and discrimination.