Ballerina Raven Wilkinson passed away on Monday at her home in New York City at age 83. Wilkinson is best known as the first African American woman to dance full-time with the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo and as a cherished mentor to Misty Copeland. Raven Wilkinson presenting Misty Copeland with the Dance Magazine Award […]
Watch Nardia Boodoo discuss her (classic) dance crushes and secret talents. Read about more up-and-coming black ballerinas here.
Though ballet has come a long way from its early days, New York City Ballet corps member, Olivia Boisson—one of the handful of black dancers in the industry—says there’s still plenty more that can be done to promote diversity within the art form. Boisson got real about her experience in an article for Women’s Health, […]
With her endless limbs and regal bearing, Amanda Morgan is an arresting presence onstage. Born in Tacoma, WA, Morgan studied at Dance Theatre Northwest and Pacific Northwest Ballet School, and attended summer courses at Alonzo King LINES Ballet, Boston Ballet School, and the School of American Ballet. In 2016, Morgan was offered an apprenticeship with […]
Alexandra Terry didn’t always dream about pointe shoes and tutus. Though she took dance class as a child, it was competitive gymnastics that originally captured her interest. (She credits the powerful strength that undergirds her ballet technique to years of repetitive routines on beams and mats.) At 13, Terry started commuting an hour and a […]
“I had a unique path to dance,” says Nardia Boodoo, a luminous, elegant dancer with The Washington Ballet. She briefly studied ballet as a child, but didn’t start serious training until she was 14 years old, attending Baltimore School for the Arts. “I didn’t know what a pirouette was,” she says. “I would wake up […]
Misty Copeland. Her name is synonymous with exquisite artistry and outspoken advocacy. And her visibility has made a huge impact on the ballet world. Ballet’s relationship with race has always been strained at best, hostile at worst. But Copeland’s persistent message and star quality have finally forced the ballet industry to start talking about racial […]
Daphne Lee is a queen, and not just in the “OMG Girl Boss Alert” sense of the word. She’s an actual queen—a beauty queen. Crowned Miss Black USA in August, she’s been doing double duty as she continues to dance with the Memphis based dance company, Collage Dance Collective. Lee’s new title has given her […]