Break The Line

Type: Comic Book / Ink on paper / 205*205 mm Year: 2022

Classical ballet celebrates pale princesses and fair swans, which upholds the white, male, aristocratic values of its roots, and darker-skinned dancers do not always feel welcome. Even today, young dancers of colour continue to confront daunting challenges in gaining a foothold in the overwhelmingly white world of ballet. One of the most discussed issues in the dance world was the lack of racial diversity in Ballet. Few non-European descents were on the rosters of the top international companies. By 2001, before the dance company Ballet Black was founded there were still no women of colour performing in any British company.

So I wanted to know why ballet, as an art form, is within the cultural heritage of mankind. The persistence of double standards and racism in the aesthetic choices of dancers (the whiter the dancer, the better) is always present in the 21st century. Rejection, discrimination, and marginalization are all factors that would drive an ethnic dancer to quit an elite, primarily white, profession.