Inclusion

[Hans]

Starting a new topic as requested by 2dds. How can we help include more minorities in ballet?

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[Pamela Moberg]

What, are we not allowed to £$€€$£@ when we feel like it! Good grief, this outburst was a good thing, I found both signs for English pounds and euros.

Seriously, I found the discussion most interesting - in the beginning I wanted to post something, but then I realized that it was so trivial what I wanted to say. My statement was mainly about looks and then there came this horrible thing about Ms. Wilkinson. It made me so sad and was so hurtful I really felt into exploding. By the way, I am a master swearer in a number of languages.

A discussion like this one is what is needed - alas, there are too many people pussyfooting around real important issues. Too many scared people pussyfooted in the early thirties and we all know what happened.

IMO BalletAlert is refreshingly honest and open on all subjects and will forever be my favorite ballet site and I am full of admiration for the administrators and moderators. Now to find all those tip hats and things!

[dnznqueen]

such a dicey topic.....are we talking about having more ballets with race sensitive issues and designed to reach out to certain ethnic groups or seeing more ethnicities on stage within a company?

[Helene]

In this post on the Race, Culture, and Ballet thread, 2dds gave specific recommendations for ballet to become more inclusive:

making sure outreach and entry level dancers from diverse backgrounds have opportunities to be retained and advanced--could this be facilitated by scholarship, workstudy, carpooling, personal contact (phone calls?) and encouragement, various forms ofmentoring and extra effort--paralleling the types of things done to attract and hold the rare (much less rare actually) but valued male dancers

approaching local ethnic organizations as sources of expertise to locate patrons, students, teachers, etc. who might want to collaborate

replicating successful efforts from other communities for. ex. the Colorado Ballet and the Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Ensemble in Denver

Valuing and paying for consultants or other experts to facilitate this just like we would hire someone to brainstorm on fundraising, development, grant writing, recruitment, etc.

Include such questions on audience surveys

Exploit all local connections with broker/facilitator type individuals

Once the prorities are established there is no limit to the ways committed individuals can be mobilized

new choreographic initiatives for contemporaryor even new classical rep, etc.

Be careful though when trying to get too much expertise for free when organizations would show their commitment to other initiatives by hiring and fully funding these initiatives while these diversity efforts simply rely on the goodwill of often already overburdened community members

This is the inspiration for this thread.

[bart]

We now have two threads on different aspects of race and ballet..

The former thread remains in effect.

But those who want to focus on practicable ways to bring about greater racial inclusion among students, audiences, and companies in ballet should post there. Who knows, maybe someone in power will read one of your ideas and decide to try it and fund it.

Edited to add: Woops! Helene and I were posting at the same time. Thanks, helene, for giving us a platform from which to begin this new approach and topic.

[Mel Johnson]

Can we try to identify the points upon which we are all agreed, in addition to supplying methods for solving them? I think we are all on common ground when we say:

1) Racism is evil.

2) An enlarged talent pool from which to draw is highly desirable.

3) Dance students, teachers and directors are capable of both suffering from and enjoying the privileges of subtle forms of bigotry. However, not all are, or do.

Are we agreed on these points?

[bart]

Thanks, Mel. I'll happily sign on to all three.

Personally, I'm impressed by all the suggestions in the 2dds list. Several of them have been discussed on BT before, and there have been steps taken by some companies and company schools to pursue versions of some of the suggestsions.

What is new to me in this list, however, is the sense that this kind of goal should become an organizational priority -- and that the company, school, or whatever, should not expect to get any resuttls by treating the project a something informal, orvoluntary, or hoping that they won't have to invest in it. This means that donors/contributors must be approached specifically about for funding of any such project. They must be wiling to support it, and over a sustained period of time.

This raises another problem with many arts organizations:, the way in which "new initiatiives" are often planned and announced without any provision for the real achievability of their goals, any definite commitment to the program for the long term, or any objective way to measure the resutls. A great deal of time and money have been wasted by well-intentioned arts organizations, it seems to me, when someone gets "good idea," but then fails to define it, refuses to fund it suffciently, has no plan for follow-up, loses interest, and after a while lets the initiative die.

If I were a school or company director, and felt that I had the support of my board or at least of the most influential board members, my first step would be to seek out serious possible donors, match them up with a reputable civil rights organization that had a track record of caring about the arts, and try to bring the two together. This meeting would have to be planned, with a clear and defined agendy. It would be assumed that we were all there to achieve something. Discussions, laments, generalizations, accusations, etc., that were unrelated to the agenda would not be permitted.

My personal preference would be programs aimed at increasing the the inclusiveness of students and company members. I would very much keep the discussion away from aesthetic questions of expanding the repertory, creating new multi-cultural works, etc. These issues are contentious, and distract from the other goal. Ballet has its own unique tradition, technique, and aesthetic, which changes and expands gradually. To insist on changing that would have the effect, I suspect, of making other kinds of reform impossible. The result would be -- once again -- lots of heat, no light, and nothing accomplished. We've had too much of that over the past few decades.

The idea of audience surveys (created carefully by professionals) seems like a good one. I tend to think that audiences are much more sympathetic to inclusion than administrators think they are. A carefully worded questionnaire -- with professional standards of distribution, data collection, and analysis -- could provide the kind of evidence needed to encourage a board that this kind of priority is worth pursuing.

[richard53dog]

Can we try to identify the points upon which we are all agreed, in addition to supplying methods for solving them? I think we are all on common ground when we say:

1) Racism is evil.

2) An enlarged talent pool from which to draw is highly desirable.

3) Dance students, teachers and directors are capable of both suffering from and enjoying the privileges of subtle forms of bigotry. However, not all are, or do.

Are we agreed on these points?

Mel,

As a watcher, #3 is sort of outside my range of experience but I'll take it on faith. #1 and #2 , I certainly agree .

[hermes]

Good points, Bart. I believe a simple and inexpensive way to find more diversity is to audition in neighborhood schools and send flyers advertising performances in targeted areas. I live in the South and there are many many segregated areas; reaching out to schools in specific communities could make people feel more invited. Similarly, I believe outreach programs (which are popular because there are so many grants for them), should be geared towards a more diverse audience.

Like Bart, I'm concerned not so much about the artists' desires about creating a more diverse company and audience; but, I think a larger issue is the Board's desire. Often, at least down here, the constituency of Boards isn't terribly diverse; therefore the motivation to reach out is seen as a non-issue. -- I should qualify that by saying I only have my own anecdotal evidence to support that claim. I don't believe there are many people who would wish to be perceived as racist, and that audience feedback would prove more effective than the interests of the artists. I do worry about audience feedback being a form of push polling: "Would you like to see a more ethnically diverse company?" Hmmm. I can't imagine anyone stating publicly that they wouldn't. Now that I type it, maybe this is a good question for a survey!

At any rate, there are models out there. If I might brag on Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux at North Carolina Dance Theatre for a minute, two of the first things he did when he arrived were to eliminate gender based pay-scales and secondly he actively pursued (and still does pursue) reaching out to minority dancers, choreographers, and teachers. The emphasis was on quality above anything else, but JP has made it a point to encourage diversity in the company. Certainly, I can't speak for him, but I feel confident he would be willing to discuss the matter with anyone interested in following his lead.

[bart]

At any rate, there are models out there. If I might brag on Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux at North Carolina Dance Theatre for a minute, two of the first things he did when he arrived were to eliminate gender based pay-scales and secondly he actively pursued (and still does pursue) reaching out to minority dancers, choreographers, and teachers. The emphasis was on quality above anything else, but JP has made it a point to encourage diversity in the company. Certainly, I can't speak for him, but I feel confident he would be willing to discuss the matter with anyone interested in following his lead.

That's exactly the kind of information that needs to be spread around. Thanks, hermes.

I suspect a great deal is being done on a local, case-by-case basis that is simply not known about elsewhere in the profession. Who does it; what they do; how the do it; what have been the results? By asking these questions, we might actually provide a sevice to others.

Bonnefoux -- whom a lot of us older observers remember from NYCB -- has the stature, and his company has the kind of reputation for excellence, that would give credibilitiy to this kind of initiative.

Arts organizations are usually strapped for money and overburdened with work in the back office. I'm pretty ignorant about the structure of the ballet world, but aren't there organizations, or conventions, of ballet directors and administrators where they meet and communicate to share ideas and programs? Perhaps if someone put a spotlight on this kind of thing .... ? It might encourage some to try -- and give others guidelines and suggestions so they avoid the pitfalls of having to try to reinvent the wheel.

[leonid17]

Can we try to identify the points upon which we are all agreed, in addition to supplying methods for solving them? I think we are all on common ground when we say:

1) Racism is evil.

2) An enlarged talent pool from which to draw is highly desirable.

3) Dance students, teachers and directors are capable of both suffering from and enjoying the privileges of subtle forms of bigotry. However, not all are, or do.

Are we agreed on these points?

Agreed. Equality, Diversity and Inclusivity rules OK.

Inclusivity of opportunity is what everyone should want and the problem seems to arise from the lack of exposure to ballet and the financial restraints of both studying and attending performances

I would also like to say I do not enjoy this discussion about dancers and their racial background because, so called black people are not a homogenous group and I am uncomfortable that the questions should be discussed as if they are. As someone who embraces the recognition of equality and diversity in a nation, I prefer people should be delineated by nationality alone or no delineation at all as regards race and many young

people I meet only want to be called English not British and certainly not British Black as their identity and that of their parents has been entirely English.

The famous Katherine Dunham and Pearl Primus, were an entirely American phenomena and I personally feel they should not be described as anything but American and their work and success should be celebrated in terms of dance. What they as individuals chose to say about themselves is a personal privilege. Their audiences were definitely members of mixed societal groups attending a ‘dance’ event not just a black dance event. If I think of dancers of the past like; Basil Thompson, Clive Thompson, Arthur Mitchell, Sylvester Campbell. Geoffrey Holder, Judith Jamison and Virginia Johnson, I remember them as outstanding dancers not outstanding black dancers. To paraphrase the American poet Getrude Stein, a dancer is a dancer is a dancer.

Working with colleagues from many nationalities and intimately interviewing people from most of the worlds nations on a daily basis I can say only in a general way, that it has been my experience that groups of people enjoy the culture of the particular sector of society they choose or are able to belong to and each of them, have their dance traditions that they are proud of. Many and probably most will have no inclination to embrace ballet as an interest and why should they?

Ballet does not have as wide appeal as many might like to think. Ballet is a luxury activity and like the other high arts is of minor interest to the vast majority of the world’s population. Those that want to engage will engage those that do not, will not and those that try may just find the way to become a professional dancer. Making it easier for people to access ballet training will not necessarily result in success. Examine the low numbers of contracts achieved at the end of every major ballet school’s graduating year.

Consider the number of children who study ballet compared to 40 years ago. No greater numbers of outstanding dancers are appearing on the worlds stages than was achieved

in the past.

In the UK ballet outreach work over the last 20 odd years in schools catering for 5 to 11 year olds appears to have had little influence in attracting non-white children to take up ballet in great numbers or to become part of the audiences. This I would suggest has also been the case of those white children from a blue collar family background.

To attend a major ballet school in the UK like the Royal Ballet School the annual fees for boarders is 28000 English Pounds and for day pupils approximately half that amount (Bursaries can be awarded). Half decent seats in the amphitheatre (the highest tier) at the Royal Opera House for ballet (e.g. Sleeping Beauty) are 59 English Pounds, the best seats 87 English Pounds. So in England where the average national wage is 24000 English Pounds and some families have less than 59 EP to spend on food per week , of course relative poverty is a deterrent for some parents to consider dancing as a career for their

children.

Following the early posts and wanting to dive in straight away, I then thought hang on Leonid why not your colleagues ask and clients who mostly come from African and Afro-Caribbean background what they think. Only one out of 15 people (a very small sample) was interested in ballet as entertainment (but did not attend unless taken) and the rest thought it was too hard a training to put their kids through. One colleague who I know has two daughters who study ballet said if they wanted to become professional dancers they could. However she said I would be continuously worried of the depth of disappointment if they did not make it into regular employment. She felt due e to the very high cost to a working mother, her children would think that going to ballet class for a number of years was that it had to be training for work. Finance is

obviously a barrier for many parents and ultimately children. One answer I got in various but similar descriptive terms from a number people was, why, do you as a white worry about what we want to do with our social and cultural life. "It seems that you are not just asking a question, you are perhaps suggesting that if we do not embrace your culture we are somehow missing out. No Mr. White Boy we are not." This was said in a jokey way with a strong element of sending me up.

In London audiences I have heard two distinct comments about racial differences in ballet dancers in British companies and they were not based on the abilities of dancers. The first is the lack of homogeneity that would occur in ‘ballet blanc’, the second is the inherent nationality of certain classical ballet roles and the historicity of casting someone who quite clearly by racial typography could not have been in particular countries at certain times or in certain situations. The consensus of opinion on leading roles has always been it depends on the power of the dancer’s performance and the individual ballet role, but the hesitancy of some acquaintances to comment may reveal their antipathy to inclusivity. Certain ballets have a lengthy performance tradition which was until recently entirely Caucasian in England. The single exception for many years was the outstanding dancer Johaar Mosavaal whose technique and acting ability made him a great favourite of the Royal Ballet Touring Company for a good number of years.

Opportunity to partake in excellence of training and employment in ballet for persons with talent should always be there and children as ever should be given the right climate in which they may aspire to be as good as they possibly can be, at what they choose to do.

For an interesting personal view on this area of discussion from behind the proscenium arch I would recommend an interview with Arthur Mitchell at the below link.

http://www.salon.com/people/bc/1999/06/29/...hell/print.html

[Pamela Moberg]

Reading Leonid's long post with great interest, I thought it might be interesting to know about the Swedish State ballet school. My daughter went there, so I have the facts.

Day pupils (there are no boarders in this country) are accepted from form four. Here that means that the pupils are ten or eleven years old. Dance classes every day including Saturday morning. Otherwise normal school curriculum - minus sports and gymnastics - to follow the rules laid down by the Ministry of Education.

After grade nine, which is the last form in the general education plan, pupils can apply to high school for another three years. I believe that the only dance high school is in Stockholm.

This tuition which is on a truly professional level is absolutely free of charge. As DD lived rather far from the school she was also given a free transport pass. School meals are also free of charge.

There are at the moment three state ballet schools, in Stockholm, Gothenburg (where we live) and in Malmö (in the very South of Sweden).

[Mel Johnson]

One minor question on a small point. Was there a dancing Basil Thompson of African descent? The one I worked with was from Newcastle, and even if he did have black curly hair, was mighty pale by African standards.

[bart]

Leonid, you have put so much thought and effort into this. I really respect those who seek out new information, and I thank you for sharing it with us.

Several of your points come very close to what I have observed in the US as well. For example:

I would also like to say I do not enjoy this discussion about dancers and their racial background because, so called black people are not a homogenous group and I am uncomfortable that the questions should be discussed as if they are.

There is currently much disagreement in the U.S. as elsewhere about the umbrella labelling of quite heterogeneous groups as "minorities," "non-whites," "people of color" etc. Even within sub-categories -- those for instance who check the "African American" or "Hispanic" boxes on government forms, there are many sub-sub-groups, and civil rights organizations representing these sub-sub-groups often have very different memberships and policies, based on education, income, region, and political ideology. On some issues it seems useful for ethnic leaders to create alliances. On others, unity is not a priority. To those who call for greater unity, the response given is often: "Don't treat us like we're all the same. We're not."

As the rest of your post suggests, economic and educational levels, as well as differences in cultural aspirations, seem to be the most significant variables in determining whether or not one pursues one career or another. This has been studied frequently in the US and seems quite incontrovertible. These studies suggest that we would be wrong to treat the under- or over-representation of ANY ethnic group in any specific career as direct proof of racial discrimination.

As to economics, you demonstate that ballet study is indeed costly and time-consuming, without any certainty of employment or security at the end of years of training. It seems that parents, especially those who may have experienced economic deprivation themselves and wish to avoid it for their children, are doing their own cost-benefit analysis and are frequently deciding that ballet is not the kind of career path they want to encourage or support.

I'm full of admiration that you actually went out and did your own field research!!! And you quantified it, too!!! I suspect that this is a first in all the years that this topic has been discussed on this Board.

Following the early posts and wanting to dive in straight away, I then thought hang on Leonid why not your colleagues ask and clients who mostly come from African and Afro-Caribbean background what they think. Only one out of 15 people (a very small sample) was interested in ballet as entertainment (but did not attend unless taken) and the rest thought it was too hard a training to put their kids through. One colleague who I know has two daughters who study ballet said if they wanted to become professional dancers they could. However she said I would be continuously worried of the depth of disappointment if they did not make it into regular employment. She felt due e to the very high cost to a working mother, her children would think that going to ballet class for a number of years was that it had to be training for work. Finance is

obviously a barrier for many parents and ultimately children.

Your 15 respondants may have been a "small" sample, as you say. But they're a lot more than I've bothered to talk with since these threads began.

Thanks for "walking the talk," as people used to say in the days of American civil rights marches.

How about others reading this thread? Do your experiences tend to confirm or not confirm leonid's conclusions?

[Helene]

To attend a major ballet school in the UK like the Royal Ballet School the annual fees for boarders is 28000 English Pounds and for day pupils approximately half that amount (Bursaries can be awarded). Half decent seats in the amphitheatre (the highest tier) at the Royal Opera House for ballet (e.g. Sleeping Beauty) are 59 English Pounds, the best seats 87 English Pounds. So in England where the average national wage is 24000 English Pounds and some families have less than 59 EP to spend on food per week , of course relative poverty is a deterrent for some parents to consider dancing as a career for their

children.

Pacific Northwest Ballet's DanceChance program for elementary school aged children offers "full tuition scholarship with dance attire, transportation and complimentary tickets to company performances."

[leonid17]

One minor question on a small point. Was there a dancing Basil Thompson of African descent? The one I worked with was from Newcastle, and even if he did have black curly hair, was mighty pale by African standards.

I trusted my memory on Basil Thompson and cannot now find supporting evidence. I apologise.

[Mel Johnson]

Not a problem; Baz was a helluva fine fellow, a good teacher and ballet master. Anybody being his namesake would have a lot to live up to!

[fandeballet]

Making perf./fine arts curriculums mandatory fr. 1-12 grades would partially address the underrepresentation of parts of the socio-economic strata in this country. Involvement in ballet helped my daughter to become a fine all-round student in high school. Life lessons are in part taught inevitably.

[bart]

Making this mandatory might be difficult to get passed and funded in most parts of the country.

But there is a compromise being explored in many middle and high schools around the country: giving "phys ed" credit for dance classes, or giving them the status of an extracurricular sport, with letters, recognition at Sports Nights, etc.

As someone who was always very athletic and maybe even hyper-active, but who did not have the interest in or sklls and temperament for team sports that were the be-all-and-end-all of athletics in my community, I would very much have appreciated being offered an option like that -- or other non-traditional alternatives.

I agree that performing arts participation does great things for self-esteem, character-building, and social poise. In this county (mixed urban, suburban, and rural), where there are performing arts magnet programs and two very excellent secondary public arts schools, you can tell the difference in maturity levels between students at (for example) Dreyfoos and those from regular schools -- or between students at regular schools who are devoted to "drama" or "music", as comopared to those who are devoted to .... (well, the kinds of thing most kids are devoted to ...) Recently, Dreyfoos H.S. of the Arts, and I believe the major middle school of the arts as well, has swtiched its admissions standards from one based entirely on auditions and recommendations (plus academics) to something closer to an affirmative action approach. This has led to some controversy. But it has been handled very positively in the dance department, I've been told.

[2dds]

Back online and happy to see how thoughtfully this thread is developing. This topic is a difficult and challenging one even with a degree of consensus and determination (the necessart first steps). I am a bit embarassed that I did not put even more time into my early suggestions, but I'm glad they are of some use as they stand. I tried to recall stray thoughts and conversations occurring over a considerable period oof time with a range of people concerned about ballet and this issuet. Since it was informal, I cannot quantjfy how many people or when—another reason my hat is off to Leonid and others who have expressed a desire to talk to friends and colleagues about this.

I applaud Leonid's work especially the impulse to go to the source. I do have a couple of comments/supplements on seeking such opinions.

First: there are some real contrasts between the UK and US. In the Americas generally we have societies composed primarily of immigrants and this affects the sense of citizenship, ownership, entitlement, and access. Where immigrants are a minority and also of a different ethnic/racial group, things may play out a little differently. This would be relevant to a do your own thying attitude, as well as self-exclusion vs being denied access.

Second: there is another constituency to be approached, namely the once and future Dunhams and Primusses (that spelling looks awful, please excuse). I think I understand and sympathize with the desire to have Stein's just dancers, and Dunham and Primus are both quintessentially simply American as Leonid so accurately states. However, these leaders own characterizations of themselves cannot be so quickly labled as "personal privilege." It is important that these artists, especially Dunham, saw themselves as pioneers, activists, and explicitly invoked the racial aspects of their identity. However, much we may wish this were a non issue, we are not there yet, and we risk being dismissive and disrespectful when we ignore this inconvenient and uncomfortable aspect of these important figures public personas.

Of course, it is important to recognize the heterogeneity of these diverse groups who often share little more than the discrimination itself. It is equally important to acknowlege activists who want to raise consciousness not necessarily to create divisions, but in this case to use racial awareness to address all the subtle and insidious ways this divide affects us.

When we jump to be color blind while some dancers daily lives both in and outside ballet are still sharply circumscribed by race and ethnicity, we may inadvertently mute the testimony and ignore the experience of dancers who feel race/ethnicity is an important part of their personal identity and of how they are treated in the ballet world. This uncertain reception is one of the reasons the future Dunhams may hesitate to speak up annd risk appearing oversensitive or like whiners. Ironically the wish to get beyond the current divisive stage can only be achieved by acknowleging it, and working through it. There are so very many reasons for the underrepresentation of diversity in ballet at all levels. Some of these reasons also discourage dancers from speaking out on how race and ethnicity may be affecting them.

I want to hear more from the precious few people of color already in the game, and this discussion must be as open to opinions that race shouldn't matter as it is to the fact that some may feel that it does. As I keep saying, our different experiences produce different perspectives. For an example, look at the interview with Arthur Mitchell and note #1 how his realistic and typically held (this apparent cynicism would likely have been viewed as healthy and realistic by most members of the black Harlem community of his birth) belief that he would be discriminated against because of not being "blonde and blue-eyed," is described as 'defeatist'. Harsh and possibly condescending judgment of a youngster. #2 Mitchell only escapes this crippling personal 'misperception' after being discovered, rescued and rehabilitated by his guidance counselor. Additional activist interventions on Mitchell's behalf that explicitly addressed the issues of race and discrimination in dance ultimately led to him breaking barriers in ballet that may still remain unbroken for ballerinas (black males seem to benefit more from Mitchell's pioneering). It helps that Mitchell was so tremendously talented, but that was not sufficient without certain interventions that facilitated his successes.

Like Dunhan and Primus, Mitchell was pretty forthright in how he addressed race, opportunity, and ballet. It inspired the founding of his school and company. Did the continued presence of these issues lead to the current status of Dance Theatre of Harlem? We can only wonder and hope...

Thus I suggest we look not only to those who do not live and breathe ballet (and this would be most folks regardless of identity), but also to those unlikely (typically underrepresented) few who do live and breathe it. What are their suggestions for increasing inclusiveness? Let's take care not only to avoid muting these voices, let's empower them and listen to their own characterizations as both underrepresented and as ballet insiders. This is my delayed response to Bart's query on the original thread about what I meant in tterms of taking people on their own terms.

This won't work if we second guess it and ask folks to leave their issues at the door. It will work if we channel discussion into specific avenues like: what could make it easier or more comfortable? What can be done to increase inclusiiveness?, etc. rather than asking first for proof of didscrimination or suggesting it's all in your head. This is tricky work, but we already have a few experts among us, probably (and understandably) reluctant and skittish, but exxperts nonetheless.

[Lynette H]

The Chance to Dance programme which has been running for more than ten years now at the ROH may be of interest

http://info.royaloperahouse.org/Education/...?ccs=815&cs=936

You need to scroll down to see how many students are currently in training as a result of this.

[2dds]

For anyone (everyone probably! ) who gave up on my infernally long post just before this, here's the gist:

I think it's great to talk to and consult with people of color already in the ballet world to get their expertise on inclusion issues. They may be shy to participate for a range of reasons (many explored in the longer post) and need encouragement. I have found the term "color blind" to be favored by people (usually majority, not minority) who want to be fair and judge on matters of talent, quality, etc. giving everyone full access and equal treatment. This term, however, frequently raises a red flag for people most often targeted by discriminatory practices. For them, often minorities, it sometimes seems to mean, don't bring up issues of race. Let's get past that. This miscommunication can lead to problems.

I really do appreciate efforts to go to the source like Leonid's who CLEARLY does not intend to be dismissive or disrespectful of anyone. He is obviously wanting to be constructive. Yet I noticed that the author of the article praising Arthur Mitchell inadvertently and harshly criticizes him (as a youth) without intending to do so even in the process of celebrating his discovery of ballet and early training. It's just such a mine field, I was trying to warn against some pitfalls I have seen...

I will try harder to be more short and sweet. You think I would have learned my lesson. Apologies all around, will redouble my efforts (but not my posts!) in future.

Moving on to other issues I couldn't even get to in my previous endless post:

ballet (and the arts in general) as a luxury and lack of exposure

The expense of ballet is a hurdle that must be addressed as well as the relative unattractiveness of such a relatively modest income for so much up front investment of time and money. Benefits of ballet extend far beyond having a professional career and publicizing/promoting these benefits might impress the more practically minded working class or other families supporting more traditional career choices. Also even as a career, many semi professionals or recreational dancers derive many benefits while having another way of making money with ballet as an avocation. Adding that dancers performing in many other styles benefit from ballet might broaden appeal as well. This focuses on training, but may increase audiences as more train. Question how do people feel about some of the methods (relaxing male dress code, calling it dance rather than ballet, venue in the target neighborhood, etc.) Mitchell used to expand his appeal? How far is too far? I have also seen lack of information about the availability of scholarships and the scholarship process prevent some potential students from pursuing ballet.

It's interesting to compare to state supported programs like the Swedish one and those described by other posters. Do these state supported programs share the idea of the arts as a luxury for the well heeled? Are performances similarly affordable?

Regarding Dance Chance in Seattle, obviously a laudable and well thought out program. How many students go on to the third year and integration into PNB's regular school?

Mandatory performing arts??? Seems tough in these times of restricted school bugdets, but the overall well documented educational (general benefits outside the studio and stage) benefits of arts education might be a selling point. Ballet fulfilling PE can work well. I have seen this used at a high school for the arts to meet state guidelines. Glad to hear about the success of Dreyfoos. "Stakeholders" (parents, teachers, administration, community members, etc.) are so desperate for results, publicizing these programs might generate funding. One way to go would be to piggyback on initiatives coming out of ed schools and/or gifted and talented program funding.

I love the idea of sharing ideas and strategies. Bravo North Carolina Dance Theatre and Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux, as well as sharing the many local initiatives at the grassroots level. Another technique I have seen to increase audiences and access beyond the usual are mixed bills where several companies present at the same time and place.

In the context of conferences as venues for sharing strategies, I seem to recall there was a conference last summer in the UK with the lack of representation in ballet as a theme. Anyone else remember this or know about it? Ditto a Canadian conference on inclusion in dance (performers and content), I think this past winter in Toronto. Sorry to be so sketchy, but I didn't record these when I ran across them. If no one attended either one, I'll try to do more research tracking these down.

Still a long post--hopefully sweeter and a little shorter. :blush:

[bart]

Thank you, Lynette. I'm moving the most important details here, because they are very relevant to this disscussion. I have highlighted some of them, as well.

Since 1991, thousands of children and adults have benefited from opportunities to develop individual abilities, to participate in dance related activities and to experience the excitement of live performances by professional dancers at the Royal Opera House and elsewhere.

The project provides free initial dance training for talented children who represent the rich ethnic diversity of the population of London. It functions on a number of levels.

More than 1,800 7 year olds in three London Boroughs participate in a programme of demonstrations and workshops in their schools during the autumn. The total number of children who have taken part in these activities and participated in the audition process is now 21,710.

A number of children are then selected to attend weekly classes in their community. To be eligible, they must show outstanding potential and not have previously studied ballet. Since 1991, 1,009 children have been introduced to classical ballet technique in this way). Students are provided with free dance kit and are eligible for associated activities and outings forming part of the project. At the end of two years children receive a certificate but those who continue to make good progress may continue for 4-5 years

This his real relevance for the US, since the UK has become in recent decades a multi-ethnic, multi-colored society to a degree that would astonish most Americans. Many ideas that are being tested there could quite usefully be considered here.

We've had discussions previously on Ballet Talk about various local programs here in the US that include aspects of the London proram. I must say, however, that the Royal's approach seems particularly well thought out.

It also deals with potential criticisms from both sides. Those who support active and supportive programs that encourage, and not only train, should be delighted. (The free dance kit seems like a wonderful idea.) But those who fear a watering down of ballet standards should also be pleased by the audition requirement. In other words, a double winner. :blush:

[Helene]

But those who fear a watering down of ballet standards should also be pleased by the audition requirement. In other words, a double winner. :blush:

This is another difference between training in the Royal Ballet and other state-sponsored ballet academies (formerly Royal-sponsored) and the US. In the state-sponsored academies, there are auditions to enter the program, with the expectation that the vast majority of the dancers who enter the corps of their related companies will come from the school, having been trained there from an early age. With recognition that this is changing, due to EU rules and the willingness of Russian academies to take on Western tuition-paying students, in the US, there are two types of training: from independent schools and from company-affiliated schools. Training in most of these schools is two-tiered: early training for mostly local children -- ex. Donald Trump's daughter Ivanka who studied at SAB -- and a pre-professional track from early teenage years. The expectation for companies in the US is that those dancers who are hired into the corps will come from pre-professional programs. Very few local children who start their early training in a school go on to the pre-professional track, let alone make it through the ranks of a ballet company.

For SAB, considered the most important training ground in the US, I can think of three dancers who rose from training at SAB as a child through the pre-professional ranks to Principal at SAB: Fugate, Boal, Somogyi. (Please tell me if I've missed someone.) New Yorkers Calegari and Saland, for example, received early training from other schools and were accepted into the pre-professional SAB track. (I don't know if the school training was split as formally when Leclerq, Villella, and d'Amboise attended SAB.) When SAB accepts an eight-year old, there is no great expectation that that child will make it into the pre-professional division, let alone the company. The company ranks are expected to be filled by those who are accepted into the pre-professional division, and these kids come from all over the country. (PNB has a parallel track for teenagers who aren't in the professional division, who are usually on a college track.) When the Kirov or Bolshoi accepted a child, aside from the children of the highly placed government officials, they were investing in a potential dancer, if not for their companies, for companies throughout the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe.

[bart]

Thanks for that clarification, Helene. It's all very specialized, and an outsider (as I am) has to be aware of many individual differences in school programs, hiring patterns, etc. This is a good thing to keep in mind.

2dds, raises a number of points that got me thinking. Here are two of them:

It is equally important to acknowledge activists who want to raise consciousness not necessarily to create divisions, but in this case to use racial awareness to address all the subtle and insidious ways this divide affects us.

I agree this this should not be ignored, especially in our society where "activists" of all sorts have been resposnible for so much beneficial change. However, the double-eged sward of "racial awareness" -- how do you use it "postively" while discouraging negative or even racist usage? -- has to be wielded carefully.

I recall that in th 70s many institutions -- schools, businesses, governmental and NGOs -- felt it important to devote time and money to increasing diversity sensitivity among staffs, clients, etc. Programs of "sensitivity training" or "diversity training" also became part of many schools' curricula. Their accomplishments were mixed and haven't been studied adequately. But the mere fact of their existence -- and the willingness of those in power to invest time and money in them -- may have sent an important message and helped change people's attitudes and comfort levels.

Ironically the wish to get beyond the current divisive stage can only be achieved by acknowledging it, and working through it. There are so very many reasons for the underrepresentation of diversity in ballet at all levels. Some of these reasons also discourage dancers from speaking out on how race and ethnicity may be affecting them.

This is a real paradox. We do need to learn from those who are affected just how discrimination works and how people are affected, even when this may be invisible to the majority. We also need constructive recommendations of what to do about it. So we have somethow to make it "okay" to speak about these things. This will require levels of maturity and good will on both sides. Are we capable of it?