2d: Inquiry

I found this task much harder than I thought it would be as it required some real in depth reflection of my past blog entries, the journal I wrote in briefly, and events that have occurred over the last couple of weeks. I am involved with dance but my whole life does not completely revolve around my passion. When I am not rehearsing and dancing with Chrysalis London I have a part time job working at Primark in Oxford Street on Saturdays, I participate in open dance classes during the week and am also doing the BAPP Arts degree.

What in your daily practise gets you really enthusiastic to find out more about? Who do you admire who also works with what makes you enthusiastic?

When I first think about it, I find there are many things that make me more enthusiastic about my daily practise. But the first thought that comes to my head is being a part of Chrysalis London. There are no two people that are exactly the same dance-wise in the company, and seeing the sheer amount of talent every week makes me so enthusiastic to find out more. How do they do that? How can I do that? How can I do it with the same movement quality? There is a shared passion to learn more and become a better dancer that is felt by everybody, and seeing this is one of the most encouraging things. I couldn’t imagine being part of something I love, whether it is dance related or not, where every single person is just a clone of each other, with the same strengths, talents and focuses. Waking up and getting ready for dance, I always wonder what we will be doing that day or week, and the, sometimes, unpredictable nature of the day makes me eager to get engaged into class and rehearsals.

Having class with Jodie, (the artistic director and choreographer of the company), I feel that there is an environment that is created where we are all continuously learning something new every single week, whether this is from him in class and rehearsals or learning from watching each other/ourselves. There is such a positive energy that I admire which makes me feel passionate about my professional practise.  Thinking back to college, there were very few teachers I admired. Teachers are supposed to support you, give you confidence, advice and inspire you and that is exactly what my main ballet teacher did in my graduating year. She would sometimes give us these motivational talks that had the power to make a builder think that he could be a professional ballet dancer if he believed in himself! And that was something that made me want to keep learning and improving myself more every day, and not just in her classes too. I did not just admire this teacher, but felt she hugely inspired me to work hard and pursue what I love.

What gets you angry or makes you sad? Who do you admire who shares your feelings or has found a way to work around the sadness or anger?

The attitudes towards black and coloured ballet dancers is something that makes me feel a mixture of anger and sadness. Personally, I feel it is a subject that is ignored in the dance world, something people would rather just avoid talking about. But especially now that we are in the 21^st century, I, like many other people, believe it is time for these attitudes and ‘rules’ to be addressed, something long awaited by many people no matter their background. From a young age, with people making assumptions and telling me I would be great doing hip hop or jazz, I would feel so angry being told I could not be a professional ballet dancer, simply because I am black and don’t look like ‘your typical ballerina’. Although nowadays we are seeing more coloured ballet dancers emerging from a variety of different companies, the prejudiced ideas and discrimination are still present more than ever. Some articles and comments I have read online are absolutely outrageous and seriously make you question how people can think, say and even believe such ridiculous and outdated mind sets.

Two incredibly inspirational ballerinas I admire are Michaela DePrince and Misty Copeland. DePrince went from being in an orphanage in Sierra Leone, to a professional ballet dancer with the Dutch National Ballet, achieving many milestones on her way. She has had to work from literally having nothing, and to see how far she has got today is something that brings many people hope. Following Michaela on Instagram, I saw a recent post where she announced she would be playing the principal role of Clara/Sugar Plum Fairy, saying; ‘This calls to mind how much I longed to dance the role of Clara when I was a child, but it was believed by the artistic director in that US company that the world wasn’t ready for a black Clara’. Having perfected her technique and simply being the beautiful dancer she is, Michaela DePrince has overcome race and the beauty-based stereotyped that is often associated with ballet.

Another dancer I admire who has worked around her sadness and anger towards these outdated stereotypes is Misty Copeland. When you have been told at the age of 13 that you ‘lack the right feet, Achilles tendons, turnout, torso length, bust and also have the wrong body for ballet’, the last thing you want to do is keep doing something you ‘clearly have no chance in succeeding in’. But it’s her perseverance, talent and pure determination that has led her to recently being offered a Principal job dancing with American Ballet Theatre, being the first African-American female in 75 years to achieve this role. No one should be denied the opportunity to do what they are so passionate about, purely because of their background or because they don’t ‘fit the part’.

What do you love about what you do? Who do you admire/who also seems to love this/is an example of what you love?

In terms of dance, the positive support from people inside and outside the industry is something that makes me love what I do. I remember in Upper 6^th back in college and being in the most supportive dance set. We were always encouraging towards each other which was something that is needed in a profession so critical.

I also love being surrounded by people who have the similar interests and goals as I do. Before I moved to Tring, there were few people who danced at my school, but even fewer that wanted to pursue a career in it. I never felt many people took my dancing seriously, and I never really spoke about my training and the mental and physical hardship it involved. One of the good things I found when I started at Tring, was that everyone on my course could all relate with each other, the common thing being dance. Most of us wanted to graduate and stay involved somehow in dance, theatre or something along the lines and we all understood the good days and the bad. Of course at times you would feel suffocated and quite honestly irritated by some people.

But what I really love now is how that never changes with the friends you make and keep in contact with once you graduate. You cannot wait to graduate and get out of the hell-hole you previously referred to as ‘school’ but at the same time it’s a sad realization when you realise your best friends won’t be there every day and you enter the ‘real world’ of auditioning, performing and touring. To hear friends talking about their aspirations, supporting you and you supporting them, to see them on their way to fulfilling them years later in all different parts of the world is definitely something I love about what I do.

After answering these questions, I have many concluding thoughts about developing lines of inquiry;

What is the ‘perfect’ learning environment for Professional Dance?

How important is it as a young dancer in training to have people you admire and inspire you?

Are outdated attitudes and beliefs towards black and coloured dancers still an issue in the Dance Industry?

Is ballet racist?