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A review by lediamond4
The Swans of Harlem: Five Black Ballerinas, Fifty Years of Sisterhood, and Their Reclamation of a Groundbreaking History by Karen Valby
emotional
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
4.0
Very eye opening. I admittedly know very little about ballet. But even I have heard about Misty Copeland “the first Black ballerina”. In reading this book however, I was treated with the story of a group of ballerinas preceding not only Misty Copeland’s career, but her birth.
Almost entirely erased by a whitewashed history, the Dance Theatre of Harlem was a troupe of Black ballerinas, male and female. It’s a fascinating story, rife with heartbreak and frustration, but also inspiration. Karen Valby includes their struggles, growing up in poverty, abusive relationships, racism, etc. and also their triumphs, performing for the Queen of England, Mick Jagger, Stevie Wonder, and other celebrities. In reading this book, I felt like I too was there, in the room with these women as she talked and they answered. Their stories are powerful. It’s a complicated story all together. But one tjay is so important.
Almost entirely erased by a whitewashed history, the Dance Theatre of Harlem was a troupe of Black ballerinas, male and female. It’s a fascinating story, rife with heartbreak and frustration, but also inspiration. Karen Valby includes their struggles, growing up in poverty, abusive relationships, racism, etc. and also their triumphs, performing for the Queen of England, Mick Jagger, Stevie Wonder, and other celebrities. In reading this book, I felt like I too was there, in the room with these women as she talked and they answered. Their stories are powerful. It’s a complicated story all together. But one tjay is so important.