In the wake of the unjustified deaths of black people in America, we are being held up to a mirror that examines racial inequality in many areas – including the world of ballet.
Many are pointing out the inequities that exist when it comes to finding inclusive dancewear. Thousands of people have signed an online petition started by Megan Watson of Penn Hills, Pennsylvania, calling on retailers that sell dancewear to expand their offerings.
Traditionally, ballet shoes are made in shades of pink and beige, but dancers of color want darker tones that are more reflective and flattering to people of color.
Briana Bell, 18, has been dancing her entire life and has participated in the Dallas Black Dance Academy and the DC3 Repertory dance company.
Briana Bell, 18, is using her platform to encourage dancewear brands to create more inclusive clothing.
Courtesy of Briana Bell
The recent high school graduate used her social media platform to raise awareness about the lack of inclusive dancewear, telling Good Morning America that she has always had a hard time finding nude-toned clothing that goes well with her skin tone.
“It’s only recently that there’s been an effort in tights, leotards and ballet flats – but pointe shoes are way behind,” said Bell. “Of all the numerous pairs of tights I’ve purchased over the years, I can honestly say that only one or two match my skin tone and I bought those this year.”
“The vast majority of dance stores, both online and offline, offer a very limited selection of tan or brown tights and leotards,” she said.
In a Twitter post Bell showed photos of ballerinas painting their pointe shoes brown and pointed out that black dancers often have to buy cheap makeup base to paint their ballet shoes brown to match their skin tone.
In 2016, dancer Ingrid Silva released a video demonstrating how to dye ballet shoes to create a pancake-like look.
UK-based college student Amy Mullen-Brown became aware of the petition and amplified it in an Instagram post that has since attracted the attention of over 289,000 people.
“This is something that I’ve always been very passionate about,” Mullen-Brown told GMA. “I’ve been dancing since I was two years old and I’ve always believed that dancing is for everyone and no one should be discriminated against because of the color of their skin.”
“This issue is especially urgent now during the Black Lives Matter movement, when many more resources are being shared and it is time for everyone to be treated equally.”
Dancewear manufacturer Bloch publicly announced that it would be adding more sunglasses to its product range after being quoted in a petition with over 169,000 signatures.
“While we have introduced darker shades in some of our product lines, we can confirm that we will be adding these shades to our pointe shoe offering, which will be available this fall,” Bloch wrote in a recent Instagram post.
“As a black dancer who only started pointe dancing last year, this issue bothers me greatly. I can only imagine how dancers who have been doing pointe dancing for several years, or even professional ballerinas, feel,” Bell said. “Going through and breaking in multiple pairs of pointe shoes a week is stressful enough, but to then wear them out on top of that… it’s ridiculous and could be avoided.”
Bell told “GMA” she hopes the recent petition will prompt all dancewear brands to change their offerings. “Something like this that seems so small and insignificant is just one of many other struggles that black dancers face on a daily basis,” she said.
“Many white people have written to me and commented that they never thought about this problem because it seems like it shouldn’t be a problem at all since all the resources needed to make it go away are within reach,” Bell adds. “So again, why are we still fighting this fight in 2020?”
