Ballet pink: a rosy, pastel blush. The signature color of the #BalletcoreAesthetic. The color of the pointe shoe icon that pops up when you type “ballet” into Apple’s emoji search bar. This kind of pink has been associated with ballet since its advent in 15th century Europe. At the time, ballet dancers were almost exclusively white, and it was thought that pink tights elevated their appearance. Fast forward a few centuries, and ballet’s culture is still imbued with racism – not just in the limited color palette of ballet attire, but in the lack of Black ballerinas and other dancers of color in classes and on stage. 

Derek Fox, raised in Boston and a Black trainee of American Repertory Ballet, has danced since they were 2-years-old. 

“One of my talents for ballet is learning choreography really quickly,” they said. 

At 20, Fox has performed in countless ballets but has seldom seen Black dancers cast in big roles. In their dance career, they said that they often “stick out like a sore thumb.” 

“I don’t see a lot of Black people getting feature roles. People are stuck with having the mentality of how white people have danced for years – they find it hard to wrap their head around that [Black] movement may not translate the same,” they said. Fox is referring, in part, to people’s expectations about the kind of dance the Black dancers perform. According to a study from the University of Connecticut, a survey answered by 268 mostly non-dancers revealed that non-dancers expected ballet dancers to be white, while hip-hop dancers were expected to be Black. 

Ballet has deep roots in European history. The earliest records of ballet show that first performances were ritualized in Italy in the 16th by white dancers. While there is more diversity on stage now, the majority of ballet dancers are still white. There’s no centralized data on race in ballet in the U.S., but dancers and advocates consistently cite a lack of diversity in dance schools and the profession. They attribute this to discrimination, lack of cultural sensitivity and cost of entry. They say increasing diversity is not just about having more Black ballerinas, but giving them the right resources to succeed.

Lucy Warren-Whitman, founder and artistic director of North Atlantic Ballet, says that ballerinas experience both internal and external pressure to fit into stereotypes for how dancers should look. Ballet dancers are instructed to buy cheap foundation and paint their pointe shoes to match their skin tone. The topic is a hot debate for ballet companies, she says. 

“There are some diehards that are like ‘everybody should be in pink tights, pink shoes across the board’ so nobody is different,” she said. “But the world is not black and white. We’re all different shades – and that’s what makes us interesting. Why are we not celebrating those moments?”

Bloch, one of the world’s leading dance gear companies, released their first brown pointe shoes in 2009. But they only sell nine shoes of three models of tonal pointe shoes, nothing compared to the 37 they sell in the traditional pink satin.

There are many cultural and structural barriers for Black ballerinas. According to Katrina Gould, North Atlantic Ballet dancer and communications and visual media lead, one deterrent for Black dancers is the cost of entry. From pointe shoes to private lessons, costs quickly add up. Tony Williams, founder and artistic director of the City Ballet of Boston and Tony Williams Dance Center cites stigma as a deterrent.

Williams, whose father is Black and mother is white, was raised multiculturally in the projects of Jamaica Plain. When he retired from the stage in his 40s – which is common for athletes – his passion for dance manifested itself back in his hometown, where he founded multiple dance companies in Jamaica Plain, including Tony Williams Dance Center and City Ballet of Boston. Williams welcomes any student who has a desire to dance.

“We have biracial kids in our school. We have Black kids. We have white. We have Asian American kids. We have kids of gay parents. We’ve had trans kids,” he said. 

But despite having many trainees of different backgrounds, the situation is different when it comes to auditions, which he requires for City Ballet of Boston. He says that in many cases, Black girl ballerinas are least likely to be present. 

“I have a lot of Caucasian ballerinas. When I have an audition, no Black ballerinas come to the auditions because there aren’t many [Black ballerinas],” he said. He also struggles to get boys for leads, across all races. 

In the City Ballet’s early days, Williams was committed to making The Nutcracker, one of City Ballet’s largest productions, more accessible. To do so, he created the “Urban Nutcracker,” a modern spin-off of the original. Featuring hip hop and tap in addition to ballet, Urban Nutcracker performances have attracted a diverse crowd since 2001. Part of the proceeds from ticket sales go toward dance scholarships that provide free training for disadvantaged populations.  

“It was a real social experiment we did. It sold out three shows. I wanted to attract snobs [who were] going to be sitting with people from the hood,” he said. “We did it at the Strand Theatre in Dorchester, which is in the hood.”

After one of the shows, Williams reflected on an interaction he had with a white woman from his board of directors. She had, for the first time, sat next to a Black person in a theater and had the “greatest conversation” about their grandkids. Since that conversation, Williams said that’s how he knew he was doing “the right thing,” and is what motivates him each year to do another Urban Nutcracker. 

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Another company that has reinvented traditional ballet repertoire is the Boston Ballet, one of the most well-known ballet schools in the nation. In a statement to The Scope, the Boston Ballet said they have reimagined “La Bayadère,” a piece very common in ballet canon. Set in India, the story is about forbidden love amongst a temple dancer, warrior and the Rajah’s daughter. La Bayadère has faced backlash due to concerns regarding cultural appropriation, racial insensitivity and colonialist themes towards South Asia. 

“In our ongoing commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion, Boston Ballet is not presenting the full-length production of La Bayadère. We recognize its problematic storyline and strongly disagree with its appropriation of South Asian culture. It is important for the company to preserve the best of classical choreography without perpetuating culturally insensitive and offensive portrayals,” according to a statement sent to The Scope. 

Additionally, Boston Ballet supports dancers locally through its Citydance programs, which “delivers dance discovery experiences to Boston Public School third graders, in some of the most diverse neighborhoods in the region,” said the company in the same statement. 32% of their dancers self-identify as “BIPOC or multi-racial.”

Boston Ballet provides scholarships and financial aid for those who can’t afford tuition. 11% of Boston Ballet School students receive financial support to cover anywhere from 10-100% of tuition, says the company. Merit-based scholarships are also available. 

As for the audience, they, too, can get discounted tickets and access to sensory-friendly performances through the company’s Community Groups initiative which is aimed at low-income communities and those needing accessibility accommodations. 

Director Warren-Whitman from North Atlantic Ballet hopes to make her company inclusive in similar ways. The company culture that she aims to create is one that doesn’t focus on racial divides, weight and differently-abled individuals. The primary characteristic she looks for in a dancer is the ability to move artistically on stage. 

“Because [art] is what binds us together. It should be shared. There’s not one person on this earth that doesn’t deserve that reflected back at them,” she said. 

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In recent years, Derek Fox has seen an increase in Black people in the past two years at local dance studios, but Black participants are still in the minority. In spite of the lack of diversity, Fox doesn’t let the status quo prevent them from reaching their ballet aspirations.

“I look around and I’m like, ‘Wow! The pickings are slim this time aren’t they?’ But in the past year, I’ve learned to step back and see those instances aren’t worth my time to be upset,” Fox said. 

With increasing support from dance companies led by people like Williams and Warren-Whitman, ballet is gaining colors in addition to pastel pink. For aspiring dancers, Williams gave crucial advice.

“If other people don’t look like you but you have strong desire, you can be the one to break the mold,” he said. 

Editor’s note: Recently, the Black ballet community has suffered two losses. Michaela DePrince, 29, who passed away Sept. 10, was a Sierra Leonean-American dancer who became the youngest principal member at the Dance Theatre of Harlem. Judith Jamison was the former Artistic Director of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and she passed away Nov. 9 at 81.

“There are very few Black ballerinas in the entire world that have achieved the degree of fame [Jamison] had,” said Tony Williams, founder and artistic director of the City Ballet of Boston and Tony Williams Dance Center.