dirac Posted December 13, 2020 Share Posted December 13, 2020 An obituary for Sara Leland by Roslyn Sulcas in The New York Times. Quote Ms. Leland was promoted to principal dancer in 1972, just before City Ballet’s Stravinsky Festival, which opened with “Lost Sonata,” a pas de deux created by Balanchine for Ms. Leland and John Clifford. That same evening she performed the second movement with Edward Villella in the premiere of Balanchine’s “Symphony in Three Movements,” a ballet with which she would be associated throughout her career, and which she later taught to generations of City Ballet dancers. Link to comment
dirac Posted December 13, 2020 Author Share Posted December 13, 2020 Chloé Lopes Gomes, a former member of Staatsballett Berlin, says that she was asked to wear whitening makeup during her time at the company. Quote Lopes Gomes, 29, said the dance teacher forced her to wear white makeup to “blend in” with other dancers in Swan Lake, and she had refused to give her a white veil for a performance of La Bayadére, telling her: “It’s because you’re black.” She said the teacher repeatedly told her her skin colour was not aesthetically acceptable and used her to recreate a painting of a black dancer surrounded by white dancers, telling her she would show her friends that the company “also has one of those”. Link to comment
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