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A review by wanderingraccoonbooks
The Swans of Harlem: Five Black Ballerinas, Fifty Years of Sisterhood, and Their Reclamation of a Groundbreaking History by Karen Valby
4.0
*Thank you to Libro.fm, Pantheon, & Penguin Randomhouse for the free ALC in exchange for an honest review*
This was so, so informative, but so emotional. Most people today with even a cursory knowledge of dance have heard of Misty Copeland and think of her as the "first Black principal dancer" or "first Black prima ballerina". This book - The Swans of Harlem - highlights just how much cultural erasure has happened within the world of ballet and within the greater culture (at least here within the United States) that has hidden all the Black dancers that came before.
Dance Theatre of Harlem (DTH) began in 1969 during the Civil Rights Movement (and still exists today). The women discussed within this text - Lydia Abarca, Gayle McKinney-Griffith, Sheila Rohan, Karlya Shelton, & Marcia Sells - performed ballets across the world, graced the covers of magazines, and even starred in The Wiz. Yet they have been largely forgotten to history.
During the struggle to bring DTH and Black dancers into the ballet world, there was a heavy amount of body shaming to keep the women "bone thin" to fit the typical thin, white, ballet "ideal" and honestly it was really uncomfortable to hear the Director, Arthur Mitchell, forcing this "standard" on these young women. These women (and their male counterparts) battled through racism, colorism, extreme pressure on their weight, and so much more just to pursue their passion for their art. They pioneered the expansion of flesh tones by literally painting their shoes with makeup to match their skin! They had to fight for so much, only to need to fight to be remembered now.
The audio version includes segments by the women themselves (or family members if the women highlighted here were not able to read for the book).
-Jena B.
This was so, so informative, but so emotional. Most people today with even a cursory knowledge of dance have heard of Misty Copeland and think of her as the "first Black principal dancer" or "first Black prima ballerina". This book - The Swans of Harlem - highlights just how much cultural erasure has happened within the world of ballet and within the greater culture (at least here within the United States) that has hidden all the Black dancers that came before.
Dance Theatre of Harlem (DTH) began in 1969 during the Civil Rights Movement (and still exists today). The women discussed within this text - Lydia Abarca, Gayle McKinney-Griffith, Sheila Rohan, Karlya Shelton, & Marcia Sells - performed ballets across the world, graced the covers of magazines, and even starred in The Wiz. Yet they have been largely forgotten to history.
During the struggle to bring DTH and Black dancers into the ballet world, there was a heavy amount of body shaming to keep the women "bone thin" to fit the typical thin, white, ballet "ideal" and honestly it was really uncomfortable to hear the Director, Arthur Mitchell, forcing this "standard" on these young women. These women (and their male counterparts) battled through racism, colorism, extreme pressure on their weight, and so much more just to pursue their passion for their art. They pioneered the expansion of flesh tones by literally painting their shoes with makeup to match their skin! They had to fight for so much, only to need to fight to be remembered now.
The audio version includes segments by the women themselves (or family members if the women highlighted here were not able to read for the book).
-Jena B.