The Lack Of Diversity During The Ballet World Essay

Dance is found in all cultures. It is considered a way to communicate without talking. During the Renaissance period, ballet was considered a Russian specialty. The highly qualified and sought after dance companies would tour the world performing in front of those who had never experienced ballet before. By exposing ballet to the United States of America, the Russians inspired and sparked a demand for legitimate ballet in America. It took place throughout the 20th century, currently known as the Russo-American Era.

The book I chose for my book report was Life in Motion by Misty Copeland. She wrote this memoir to tell the story of all the struggles she had in her large family and in the ballet world. Misty Copeland is an African American ballerina that started dancing at a much later age than most dancers. In the ballet world most companies have had a specific body type for ballerinas. Because Copeland is African American and has a different body type, she has faced discrimination from many companies throughout her life.

Before Catherine de Medici changed ballet, and before ballet was performed in courts, it was usually only in the opening ceremonies for the Olympics. Catherine created many more ballets after Ballet Comique de la Reine. They included, Defense du Paradis and Ballet Aux Ambassadeur Polonais. She was credited for creating the first ballet because set, costumes, music, and dialogue were coordinated.

Have you ever thought what it would be like to be dancing up on your toes with the American Ballet theatre (ABT)? That’s just what happened, Misty Copeland currently a principal dancer at ABT had a dream to dance there ever since she started to dance and she didn't think that she could do it,but with training, hard work, and passion you can achieve anything. For the month of September I decided to read “Life in Motion” written by Misty Copeland. This book was very inspiring in many ways. I learned so much that I didn’t know, not only about Misty Copeland but also about ballet. I decided to read this book because, Misty Copeland is one of my idols, she is also a big inspiration and I really wanted to learn more about her. Overall this book was amazing. I would recommend it to  not only ballet dancers but to also people who love non-fiction because it is full of so many details and a lot of imagery that it makes a person feel like they are in her shoes dancing through her life. I would recommend this book because many people can relate to Misty Copeland in many ways, your mind wanders while reading, and because the plot was very unbelievable and surprising.

Misty Copeland is a significant person in dance history because her confidence, independence, and perseverance have enabled her to break the color barrier in ballet, inspire young dancers by her troubled childhood, and make a comeback to save her

Even with her love for modern, Johnson has a special place in her heart for ballet as well with Misty Copeland as one of her role models. The recent news of Copeland being selected as the first African American Principal Dancer with American Ballet Theatre motivated her even more.

One of the many reasons Misty Copeland inspires me is how she doesn’t let anything knock her down. Being a dancer is hard, you see all the “perfect ballerinas” and it can really bring peoples self-esteem down. Dancers start to second guess even if they should dance, but Misty Copeland didn’t compare herself to anyone else on the dance floor. It wasn’t just her dance life that inspires me, her home life when she was younger is a big impact in many as well. Misty grew up with six siblings, her mom had several boyfriends and husbands, with her family constantly moving. At one point she was in a one room apartment with her family. After all of this happing to her she continued to carry on her personal life as Misty Copeland and broke all the barriers that tried to stop her. Instead of having her emotions take over and breaking her happiness, she continues life and that is one of the reasons why she inspires me.

"Point your toes, do it again, straighten your legs!" "Turn your feet out!" "Let's go, do it right!" "One more time", these are some of the very wise words of dance teachers around the world. Misty Copeland is an inspiration to girls everywhere because she never thought she would amount to anything out of the ordinary. Misty Copeland is by far one of the most famous ballet dancers because of her humble uprising, through hard word and determination she strived to change the image of biracial women and overcoming prejudice and all the block out the haters and change the face of ballet.

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.

When I look at Misty Copeland I see an athletic, inspirational African American woman. She has broken major barriers in the dance world by being the first African American principal dancer at the American Ballet Theatre. Her determination inspires me in many ways. Being a dancer, there are multiple times where you did not receive the opportunity you was hoping for; however, Misty Copeland did not give up. She kept working to become the best she could possibly be. Misty Copeland inspires me because she showed me that young African American females can make it far in the dance world if they put their minds to it. Despite many dancers feeling the will not go far because of numerous racial stereotypes in the ballet world, Misty Copeland shows many

She never had the physical attributes that the other ballerinas that she trained with. Like other African American girls Misty has curves, which is not common in the field of ballet. According to An Unlikely Ballerina by Rivka Galchen in the New Yorker, “Copeland had an unusual body: her shoulders were sloped, her legs were long, her knees were hyperextended, and she was effortlessly flexible and strong even as she was very slight.” (Galchen ). Misty Copeland began has a natural born talent for the art of ballet.

Beautiful, ballerina, or courageous are three words that people often think of in connection with Misty Copeland. Many people may know that Misty Copeland was just an ordinary ballerina that was just like the others but really, she was so much more. Misty Copeland changed the world by working hard to become one of the first brown ballerina/soloist. She showed America that anyone can dance and achieve their goals. She left legacy as one of the first brown ballerinas in the world.

The history of ballet dates back to the 18th century starting with Baroque dance. Fabritio Caroso da Sermoneta was a famous Italian Renaissance dancing master. He was born around 1526-1535 and died around 1605-1620. His dance manual "Ballarino" was published in 1581, with a subsequent edition, significantly different, Nobiltà de dame, printed in 1600 and again after his death in 1630. In the 19th century there was the pre-romantic, romantic and the classical ballets. Anthony Tudor deserves an honorable mention for his choreography and teaching. Pre-romantic ballet occurred sometime circa ?? up to 1831. The romantic period covered the early to mid 1800's. This era also introduced the calf-length dress. A few of the great Romantic dancers were Marie Taglioni, Fanny Elssler and Carlotta Grisi. The tequnique became more developed, but the role

French Ballet began in the 17th century. It was a flamboyant entertainment presented in front of the aristocracy and royalty in the courts. French Ballet was also performed when they were celebrating marriages and showing off the wealth and power of the ruler. Besides, Ballet was called “la belle danse”, and it means “the beautiful dance.” In order to help the audience to recognize the characters in the story, dancers usually wore extravagant costumes. Moreover, the idea of different ballet movements was based on the social dance of royal courts, like beautiful arm and upper body movements and floor patterns were included. Also, in the beginning, only men were allowed to dance ballet, and women played the first ballet with parts until 1681.

Everyone wants to provide their children with the best possible education. That being said there are things to consider before choosing to send your child to a public school or private school. Perhaps doing so would be much easier if you would take the time to research the differences between the two. Public schools are better than private schools because of the diversity, funding and extracurricular activities available.