Dance and Ethnic Diversity

Ballet

Originating in the 15th-century European royal courts, ballet only became widely popular in the United States in the early 20th century, when Michel Folkine of the Ballets Russes brought his unique, historically accurate, and expressively dramatic form of classical dance to New York City. As with classical music and theater, dancers of color were grossly underrepresented in the earliest decades of American ballet.

Since the 1950s, ballet has diversified considerably. Sono Osato, of Japanese and European descent, began dancing with the Ballets Russes and the American Ballet Theatre in the 1930s before moving on to an award-winning career on Broadway, television, and film in the 1940s and 1950s. Early in Osato's career, she faced so much racism that she was unable to perform in most of the western parts of the United States. Maria Tallchief, whose father was a chief in the Osage Nation, became the first prima ballerina of the New York City Ballet in 1947. Janet Collins was one of the first black ballerinas of note, becoming the first African American performer hired full-time by the Metropolitan Opera in 1951.

As a teenager, she had been hired by the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo in 1932, but their desire for her to perform in whiteface caused her to resign before ever setting foot on stage. In 1955's Western Symphony, Arthur Mitchell became the first African American dancer in the New York City Ballet; the following year, he became a principal dancer with the company. He founded the nation's first African American classical ballet company and training school, the Dance Theatre of Harlem, in 1969.

In 1990, Lauren Anderson became the first black woman to become a principal dancer at a major ballet company, the Houston Ballet. Misty Copeland, who became the first African American woman soloist at the American Ballet Theatre in 2007, often has been described as the Jackie Robinson of classical dance. Fernando Bujones, [Page 666]Angel Correia, Michael DePrince, Goh Choo San, Jermel Johnson, Alex Ko, Zack Tang, Danny Tidwell, and Rodney Yee all have had noteworthy careers in ballet.

Two street dancers perform at the URBANOS dance contest in Distrito Federal, Brazil, July 10, 2010. Street dance, often improvisational and interactive, evolved outside the typical dance studio. It formed a cultural expression in open spaces such as parks, schoolyards, raves, and, of course, the streets.

African American Dance

African American dance first emerged in the mid-Atlantic region of Virginia, North Carolina, and Maryland during the early years of chattel slavery. Cultural exchange in America among slaves from different geographic regions of west and central Africa produced a syncretic dance vocabulary. African choreographic elements, including improvisation, isolation, and individualism, were interpolated into 17th- and 18th-century European dances practiced in America. Friendly competition among dancers always has been an aspect of African American dance.

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