It's nice that cafe au lait tights make these moms and kids feel good. I'm not against it, but because they are what I grew up with, I kind of like pink tights and shoes. Which, by the way, don't match anyone's skin. Seriously, have you ever seen a human being with skin the color of pink ballet tights?
This is a very charming story. I hope Julia continues to enjoy her ballet classes.
The talk of brown-toned tights reminds me of the long-gone Albert's Hosiery shop and its broad range of brown-toned sheer stockings and pantyhose. Bare legs in the work place and black pantyhose as daily wear were not yet in fashion in the 80s so Albert's was my salvation when the department stores and drug stores only carried pantyhose shades such as "suntan" and "nude" that did not work for darker skin tones.
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I grew up attending the New York City Ballet. As an African American, my attention was directed at the tiny number of black dancers and their rare casting in the classical ballets, especially the men. I never noticed that the uniform in the stripped-down ballets like Symphony in C or at the School of American Ballet made anyone stand out. The dancers are supposed to look alike, especially if they are in the corps, which dances as a unit.
There is nothing excluding about light pink tights, a black leotard, black slippers, and pink toe shoes. This is a silly article by someone who apparently didn't get basic facts correct in the first version of the piece.
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When I was a young wannabe black male dancer many years ago, the support type jock strap called a "Dancebelt", that keeps one's 'junk' intact, were also bubblegum pink. Over time, a beige color began to surface in dancewear shops, yet it took many more years before a color nearing the chocolate melanin of my skin was to be found in dancewear for people of color. Years!
Dancewear colors for young dancers of color is as important as creating and maintaining the ballerina bun worn in class to keep one's hair out of your face when young girls are wearing braids. Color Does Matter. Tendu in Brown! Jenine Holmes brought back my memories, thank you Ms. Holmes.
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FYI, some of you may be interested in checking out 'Brown Girls Do Ballet' on Instagram. ;-)
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As a white professional ballet dancer in the 80s I had to tint my ballet slippers with pancake makeup. No one's skin is the color of ballet slippers!
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I thought that Raven Wilkinson long preceded Debra Austin, dancing with the Ballets Russes de Monte Carlo in the 1950s which toured America during that period. Some better fact checking would have improved what is already a lovely article. But perhaps we should stop quibbling and just keep dancing ...
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Wonderful and inspiring article and comments! Thank you!
This reminds me of Billie Jean King's experience as a child of not being allowed to have her picture taken for the official tennis club photo because she was wearing white shorts her mother had made instead of the traditional "tennis dress".
We can honor tradition and still move forward with change!
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I can't speak on the reasons behind the traditional white tights and the pink shoes, and whether or not these colors/tones were to accommodate the mainly-white dancers.
But on the overall topic at hand, I have always strongly felt that the US, with its citizens who hail from a range of races/ethnicities, has a long way to go in not thinking in such a white-centric manner.
Toy stores should not have a doll section, and then a separate 'ethnic' (non-white) dolls area. (At least...this used to be the case way back when. Hopefully toy stores no longer do this...)
Medical supplies, in particular, are almost always designed for white/light skin. Be it bandaids, Ace bandages, crutches, hearing aids, etc., the colors are always to match 'white' skin. It's only recently that we've begun to see bandaids and hearing aids offered in other shades.
I also remember way back when, when I wore pantyhose, that there was always a shade called 'Nude'. You'll never guess what skin color the 'Nude' shade of pantyhose were in. ('Nude' for white women is not quite the same as 'Nude' for black women.)
We need to stop thinking of 'whiteness' as the norm (or the base), and everything outside of that as 'other' or 'ethnic'. We are all 'ethnic'.
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The norm in any country is what the majority looks like.
The norm in Asia is looing Asian. In Africa, it is looking African.
In Europe, it is looking European.
In Latin america, it is looking Latin American.
In Canada and the US, it is looking like the historical, and still today's demographic, majority.
When a substantial enough proportion of the population has been other than white for a substantial enough amount of time, that will become the de facto norm, and it will happen naturally.
Until then, trying to force it to happen will of course be an uphill battle.
@AG
Curious as to what "African" looks like. And what does "European" look like? These are continents, not tiny villages. Someone from Egypt does not necessarily look like someone from Sudan. Nor does someone from Sweden resemble someone from Italy. Do all Asians look alike? Does a Japanese person resemble an Iranian person?
And here in the US, the "historical" look you refer to--presumably white--is very, very close to becoming a minority.
What an odd comment.
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This is an example of creating a problem where there is none. The standard uniform for ballet is a black leotard, pink tights, and pink ballet shoes. Everyone conforms and no rebelliousness is allowed. Imagine if a high school or college sports team member wanted to wear a different uniform (when not allowed by the rules, as in volleyball and soccer) to stand out. And white tights, as mentioned in the article, no more match the skin color of Caucasian people than black leotards match the skin color of African-American people. There is no racism here.
I am an adult and have never danced ballet in my life. However, I have no problem conforming to the dress code (pink tights and slippers) when I start my adult class this fall.
Also, there is no need to mix foundation. It comes in plenty of natural colors for all races.
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All foundations have red undertones, even those that claim not to, and are useless for people like me who have no red tones in their skin. I no longer wear foundation and focus on maintaining my skin as is. But thanks for the order from on high about how we should use our personal products.
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Huh. When I took ballet as a child, everyone wore light pinkish tights. We were told that it was so that the teacher could see our legs/muscles. She wanted to be sure we were positioned properly. When you graduated from that beginner level, you were allowed to use black tights, which everyone preferred. It was a big deal to finally walk into class in your black leotard and tights. Slippers were either pink or black, but pointe shoes were always pale pink.
I don't think my mom gave any thought to the color matching or not matching my complexion, which is sort of standard, Caribbean-Hispanic cafe con leche brown. Another thing mothers today have to consider that didn't exist for past generations.
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What a heartlifting story. All the best to you and your young dancer.
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Thank you for this wonderful essay. What a loving mother. Somebody needs to step up and create a line of ballet clothes/shoes which addresses this need. Ms. Holmes, I believe in you! Get Capezio on the phone.
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Dan
This morning I was at the Capezio store in Time Square. An African-American mom was in looking for tights and technique slippers to match her daughter. The mom asked my help in choosing amoung the 8 or so shades of tights and several different shades of technique slippers. So we had an African-American mom working with a Latina clerk and kibitzing with an Irish mom who dances amoung an array of choices to get exactly the right shade for her daughter.
That is why I love NYC.
BTW, other companies also are offering more choices of colours. Gaynor Minden for example has great pointe shoes in cappuccino and expresso in addition to more traditional colours.
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My daughter has danced for years in a school that reflects its community - it has a diversity of skin colors and body types. But I have also noticed that the school prizes sameness in the costumes that the girls wear for performance and class - which seems to be consistent with most ballet schools.
I think it’s high time our ballet schools rethink their commitment to everyone wearing the same pink tights. My daughter’s dance school has so many hues of skin color, so many racial backgrounds, and all these girls, after spending so much time in the studio, are beautiful dancers. I would be happy to help dye shoes and tights, the same way I resize costumes for different body sizes and shapes. I want these girls to feel beautiful, because they are.
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I am 68 and took ballet for ten years, the entire time in all my classes we wore black leotards, black tights, and black slippers. I am olive complected, none of this ever mattered to me, I just loved ballet.
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This is such a delightful read. I love the Dance Theater of Harlem, and each time I see the company, I notice the shoes dyed to match the skin tones, and I smile with appreciation and admiration. This is the first time I've actually seen the deep-toned shoes acknowledged and written about. Yes! Thank you.
I am reminded of my days on the stages-of-old, while acting in racially segregated companies, the grease paint was always matched to suit the varied hues of Negro complexion -- and once found, it became the actor's "personal paint."
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I respect, admire, and appreciate the loving efforts of the author, numerous parents, and wardrobe artists who are making this happen. But all this dyeing is a time-consuming and tedious task. Surely the time, which is already in short supply for all parents and caregivers of children, could be better spent. This is ridiculous, the manufacturers of dance tights and shoes (Capezio, Danskin, Sansha, Freed, etc.) need to step up to the plate and supply what the market needs and is obviously willing to pay for. And it needs to happen now. I refuse to believe it's that hard to mass produce multi-hued fabrics, canvas, and leather.
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I endorse the notion behind this point but struggle with the details; there are in fact tan shoes easily available. I use Sansha, they come in a pink and white (neither of which match my skin tone) as well as a tan and straight black. Four colors for a mass produced product seems like a reasonable choice line, again when none of them (actually except for maybe the tan) resemble true skin color.
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My biracial teenage daughter is a dancer (my wife and I are African-American and white, respectively) who is well-aware of the richness of both of her cultural heritages. When she dresses to dance she wears the uniform required by the school or company she is dancing with.
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The writer's story notwithstanding, among the sloppy factual errors several others have mentioned is the notion that ballet tights are typically white. They aren't - the pretty standard student uniform is PINK tights and pink shoes, as well as a black leotard.
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I think the point here is that the “standard” uniform did not consider the variation in flesh tone, as there was little to no variation in dancer. This article is about girls and women of color finding a fit and pursuing their dreams in dance - not shopping for tights. #duh
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Sloppy reading as well; The author explained that when she danced decades ago, she wore white tights. Now 40 years later, it has changed. Nowhere did she assert that that is the current norm.
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Exactly. The tights are typically light pink.
As an African American who grew up watching New York City Ballet, I can't say that these concerns about the uniform matter to me. NYCB didn't have many black dancers, but I never noticed. I was more interested in why male black dancers more often than not were confined to roles in modern ballets.
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This story touched me so much. I’m new to wearing brown tights and shoes as of 4 years ago and I’ve become quite passionate about wearing them. I am so proud to wear them and explain to as many as I can how much it means to me to wear them. I love wearing them and I’m grateful Mr. Mitchell invested in us.
CK
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As a former principal dancer, archivist and co-curator of the exhibition mentioned in this article (Dance Theatre of Harlem: 40 Years of Firsts) I feel compelled to point out a few of the factual errors held within.
I do not want to discredit the author because the over -arching thoughts and concepts within the article are important facts that showcase the problems that we are experiencing in ballet today.
• Arthur Mitchell was the first African American permanent member/Principal dancer with the New York City Ballet, not American Ballet Theatre.
• Arthur Mitchell co-founded Dance Theatre of Harlem with Karel Shook
• 466 W. 15nd Street was Dance Theatre of Harlem’s first official home and it was a gift from Alva Gimbel, but it wasn’t where the school was started.
• The International Arts and Artists did not create the exhibition, Dance Theatre of Harlem: 40 Years of Firsts, but partnered with Dance Theatre of Harlem, the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts and the California African American Museum to tour the exhibition. The exhibition was co-curated by Judy Tyrus, myself and Barbara Cohen-Stratyner, then curator at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.
• I have utmost respect for what Misty Copeland has done for diversity in ballet in this country, and appreciate that the article points out Debra Austin, certainly one of the pioneers but there were other amazing ballerinas that appeared in major ballet companies even before her.
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I was affiliated with DTH for many years and was the designer of the exhibition mentioned, Dance Theatre of Harlem: 40 Years of Firsts. It was NOT created by International Arts and Artists. It was co-curated by Judy Tyrus (DTH archivist at the time) and Barbara Cohen-Stratyner (NY Public Library curator at the time). Several years after my tenure at DTH, I was Deputy Director at the California African American Museum and the exhibition was a collaboration between the 3 institutions. I A&A booked the exhibit after the first 2 years of touring. Arthur Mitchell co-founded DTH and was a principal dancer with NYC Ballet, NOT ABT. He started the school in the basement of a church in Harlem before he got funding from Ms. Gimbel. DTH was and is an internationally renowned touring company with incredible dancers of color. Enjoyed the article and the poignant mother/daughter story, but it needed to get fact-checked before printing. WS
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Dear Ms. Titus,
It was never my goal to exclude any intuition connected to the 40 year retrospective. I found the information about the event on the internet and called Washington to confirm. No one in the office ever shared details about the other people responsible for bringing forth such a rich experience.
My goal, is to always bring truth and accuracy to my writing.
I thank you for sharing your thoughts, and for all you’ve done over the years to bring such an important institution to young girls, and boys, like Julia.
Best,
JSH
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Ditto to what I love NJ wrote.
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A wonderful story.
I had no idea about this tradition; it is powerful and important.
Thank you for sharing.
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Touching and beautifully written. I felt like I was there. Thank you Ms.Holmes and good luck little Julia.
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