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Ballet Diversity

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Ballet Diversity
Kevin Williams
5/5/2013
WSC 002
Prof. Silvia

Ballet Discriminatory Diversity
Everyone cannot make it into the entertainment business. Specifically not everybody can become a dancer. It takes pure talent, and the natural ability to be great at dancing. On top of that many professional dance companies want the whole package. Yes dance companies choose people based on talent, but they unfairly make decisions on whom they want in their company based on discriminatory diversity. I know many great dancers who will dance circles around anyone, but will not succeed in the dance business because of their body type, age, race, and weight. It os not right that people do not get any dance opportunities based on their talent, but also how they look, and whether they fit the part or not. This type of discrimination happens most of the time in the Ballet form of dance. Ballet Dance choreographer, or dance company directors have a mind setoff what type of person they want for parts like Giselle, and what body type they want for the dancer playing Odette in Swan Lake. Some people waste their time walking into an audition because the ballet director already knows whom they want. The director just lets everyone audition so it seems like they are giving everyone a fair chance. I am waiting for they day when every type of dance does not discriminate, but looks beautiful no matter who is dancing.
Discrimination is one major issue in the dance entertainment industry. Most people do not realize it, but it is definitely being done. On the television program “So You Think You Can Dance”, they televised the audition process to get on the show. The only auditions that get shown are very good auditions, or the crazy ones. 1There was a female named Megan Carter who auditioned for the show because it was one of her dreams to be on the show. Megan was a very thick girl. There are all types of stereotypes about big girls and dancing. Many people say they can’t do as much because they



Cited: Collins, Karyn D. "DOES CLASSICISM HAVE A COLOR? (Cover Story)." Dance Magazine 79.6 (2005): 38-45. Academic Search Premier. Web. 6 May 2013. Callahan, Yesha. "En Pointe: Black Ballet Dancers Face Discrimination." Clutch Magazine. 7 Sept. 2012. Web. 06 May 2013. . Contemporary Dancer - Megan Carter. Dir. Nigel Lythgoe. Perf. Megan Carter. YouTube. YouTube, 24 June 2010. Web. 06 May 2013. . Goldhill, Olivia, and Sarah Marsh. "Where Are the Black Ballet Dancers?" The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 04 Sept. 2012. Web. 06 May 2013. Kourlas, Gia. "DANCE; Where Are All The Black Swans?" The New York Times. The New York Times, 06 May 2007. Web. 06 May 2013.

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