Pique Arabesque

Frankly, I feel like most casual balletgoers in America - regardless of race - don't know the difference between the "soloists" and "principals." Also, soloists dance principal roles, and corps members dance soloist and even principal roles (depending on the company), so the lines are blurred even further. Misty's buzz has transcended the ballet world, which is why people who wouldn't know "Swan Lake" from "Agon" know who she is. I also hope that her SLs with the Washington Ballet go well.

I know Misty has taken some acting classes, but I don't think she sings.

I think that Rosamund Pike's dress would have looked okay if her back was covered. The straps are the most unflattering part of the dress. I thought that "Boyhood" was a great movie, but I felt that Linklater could have told an even more interesting story about parenthood. I would have preferred to see "Selma" win Best Picture.

I thought that Misty expressed herself in a clear, insightful, and honest way throughout the interview - the entire piece is an interesting window into the development, thought process, and work ethic of an artist. Also, it was published in 2009, so she has been working on Tchai Pas for several years. I found that she danced with clarity and authority on the broadcast - and several other informed BA posters + McBride enjoyed it as well. It is interesting how people can have such divergent views of the same performance.

This is an interesting excerpt from Misty on learning Tchai Pas: The entire article is here. I enjoyed her performance at the KennCen Honors, and I thought it was perfectly fine on an evening when Patty McBride was the center of attention.

If Misty wasn't talented, her dance career would have ended at the Boys and Girls Club in California (and Damian Woetzel wouldn't have invited her to his festival). The professional dance world is extremely competitive - especially for women - and everyone is there for a reason. I also don't think that dancers need to have sky high extensions to be interesting. I particularly enjoy this ballroom-contemporary ballet fusion from one of the YAGP galas. I think she is particularly strong in contemporary work.

In order to turn down the heat on this board: Misty will be speaking at Princeton University's Lewis Center for the Arts on February 16. (Damian Woetzel will also be giving a master class tomorrow!). Link here.

I do own a television, and I am very familiar with Misty's media appearances. Though I have heard her talk about struggling with weight and wanting to be "seen" earlier in her career, she has also frequently discussed being in a really great place at this point in her life. Misty is also not the first dancer to express her desire to be a principal. If I recall correctly, Ashley Bouder said in one of the city.ballet episodes that she knew from a young age that she wanted to move to New York be a principal at City Ballet. There is nothing wrong with being ambitious and setting goals for oneself, and Misty has never accused ABT of not promoting her to the principal rank because of racism. I have not seen that commercial. I saw a different commercial, in which Misty does chaine turns while a voiceover reads a rejection letter (which was not an actual rejection letter received by Misty).

Wonderful to learn this--she certainly can dance as if "on the edge of a volcano" ... Indeed! Mearns is a thrilling artist. Her love for ballet, music, the theatre --art in general-- informs all her performances. In the same interview she explains how Makarova (her role model) in a 1975 performance of Swan Lake "wanted everyone in the audience to go into the story." Mearns wants everyone in the audience to go into every ballet she dances in. Mearns is not the best technician in City Ballet's cadre of top principal women, but she brings a rich, dramatic quality to every role that she performs.

Anyhow, re the twerking: I recall reading an interview with Debbie Allen when she referred to twerking as "African isolations," and I thought that was interesting. Maybe some are reading vulgarity into the Scarlett choreography because it is not situated within the European classical/neoclassical tradition that we expect from ballet. As aurora mentioned, the real vulgarities are things that are actually triggering, like a rape scene or gratuitous violence. Also, I don't think that Misty as really "using her minority status" to get anything. She is continuing a relevant conversation that other great dancers like Raven Wilkinson and Lauren Anderson began. I do agree that this tangent probably needs to be relocated to a different thread, though. [Edited by Admin] There are numerous threads where this is being discussed, including the Misty Copeland thread in the Dancers forum: http://balletalert.invisionzone.com/index.php?/topic/39465-misty-copeland/]

This is what I have basically been trying to say. Anyhow, twerking is a form of movement, even if most people in this community think it is in bad taste. I am not personally offended by it, but I'm also under 30. Scarlett is just following in the tradition of the many other contemporary choreographers (Petit, Van Manen, Preljocaj, etc) who have pushed boundaries and buttons.

This is thread I was talking about. No Fairchild comparison, but choriamb, cobweb, and FauxPas all enjoyed Duo Concertant. vipa is more reserved. I

Misty is clearly not your cup of tea, which is fine, but I know that other BA commenters enjoyed her Coppelia and Duo Concertant (I think one person even said that they enjoyed her interpretation of the latter piece more than Megan Fairchild's at City Ballet). I didn't see her perform these pieces, so I can't offer my own opinion. I'm sure any contemporary ballet company in the country would love to work with her.

Though people on here seem to think that Copeland is McKenzie's "golden goose," she is very clearly determined to be a principal, and I don't think she wants to linger at the soloist rank for much longer a la Abrera. If she is not promoted within the next year or two, I could see her going to a place like SFB or Houston (where she could join the company as a principal). As for Kochetkova, I think that New York is still regarded as the center of the dance world in America. As superficial as this sounds, being an ABT principal - despite whatever one may think about its current state - does carry more prestige than being an SFB principal.

I actually felt that the Al Green tribute was shorter than the Sting tribute, and definitely shorter than the Hanks tribute. Loved the inclusion of Mavis Staples at the end. Also, the crowd was full of square politicians, which is why the 'bopping' probably seemed awkward.

I believe that Ashley Bouder has been injured this fall (someone please correct me if this information is inaccurate). I am not sure about Sarah Lane's situation, but she could have declined their offer. Patty appeared to enjoy all four excerpts, and America got to see several leading dancers in some Balanchine classics. I'd say it's a win on all fronts. Pique Arabesque, Ashley was not injured in the fall (I saw her in several performances) and I just saw her last Saturday night as Sugarplum. I think she may have had a minor injury the first few weeks of Nutcracker after the debut night when she danced Dewdrop. I saw tweets from her from Rome,Italy about 1 week ago so it may be she wasn't available when the Honors actually happened. Thanks for the clarification! Lily Tomlin is weird (in a great way), so I thought it was totally appropriate!

I believe that Ashley Bouder has been injured this fall (someone please correct me if this information is inaccurate). I am not sure about Sarah Lane's situation, but she could have declined their offer. Patty appeared to enjoy all four excerpts, and America got to see several leading dancers in some Balanchine classics. I'd say it's a win on all fronts.

God forbid a group of black women go the ballet and enjoy a performance! Quelle horreur!

Helene, you are a gem.

I really enjoy Harss' criticism. I think she should have a higher profile in the dance world.

I don't think that someone can simply market their way to the top - McKenzie obviously saw something in her dancing that earned her the promotion. Also, the media attention surrounding Misty is fairly recent (in the last 2-3 years). If I'm not mistaken, she was promoted to soloist back in 2007. The media attention followed her promotion, not the other way around. I have read passing criticism of her in other places, but most of the discussion about her in the mainstream press is very positive - and even glowing.

Ballet has very strict gender roles - especially the really classical ballets (princes and princesses, etc). Men are expected to be powerful, strong, charismatic, and generous partners. It's not surprising that a number of black men who have ascended to the principal ranks of elite companies are/were known as great partners (Albert Evans, Carlos Acosta, Arthur Mitchell). The man's role in ballet dovetails with the "strong/powerful/hyper-masculine black man" stereotype (think Shakespeare's Othello). Women, on the other hand, are expected to be light and feminine, and white women are seen as most feminine and desirable women in society. These may not be your personal views, but many people have been socialized to think this way over the past four centuries. Balanchine explores this dynamic pretty explicitly in the Agon PDD. My core argument - and this argument transcends Misty's particular situation - is that these notions of femininity and desirability affect who gets singled out/championed and who doesn't. There are a ton of female dancers vying for a few slots, and directors likely make decisions based on instinct. Project Plie is shrewd in the sense that even if it doesn't produce the first black female ABT principal, it will probably produce a black lawyer/doctor/arts administrator who will become an ABT subscriber. I don't think it's a PR concoction/cynical attempt to silence Misty. P.S. Tapfan, I didn't mean to criticize you! I agree with everything that you (plus aurora, Drew, Plisskin, and dirac) have said in this thread.

I agree that many dancers complain about a lack of coaching/development, etc. At ABT, in particular, it is an institutional problem that transcends race. However, black women in ballet have to deal with these "typical dancer" concerns + centuries of stereotypes that depict them as unfeminine, etc. While I'm sure that Martins had no conscious animus for Ash, he may have underestimated her potential. That's unfortunate for everyone.

Black men have actually have had quite a bit of success in the ballet world - I agree with you in that sense. Black women are the ones who still face barriers. I used Finlay as an example because his fast (and controversial) ascent to the principal ranks was largely based on potential. And he and Martins are essentially cut from the same danseur noble cloth. Saying that Misty "embellished" her memoir still suggests that she is not being completely honest/is being hyper-sensitive about her experiences. I feel no reason to doubt her story unless some other compelling evidence emerges.

I think it's worth noting that most of Misty's claims are related to the beginning of her career with ABT. Here, she talks about being overlooked as a young dancer in the corps: "Certain people, they’d come in and cast ballets and wouldn’t even give me the time of day or the chance to see if I was talented enough to portray certain roles. They think the corps de ballet should be [racially] uniform and that’s the thing." Full link - http://nymag.com/thecut/2014/03/misty-copeland-on-ballet-race-and-her-new-book.html She seems very content with her current position in the company.