Janet Collins played a major role in the history of ballet in America. She grew up in Los Angeles where she trained in dance with Lester Horton and Carmelita Maracci. She ofter auditioned for ballet roles but was not accepted because she was black. Though she had a light complexion she was told she could only perform in white face. Though she refused she later got a part in a movie “Thrill For Brazil”, in which she performed a solo. Her performance was so outstanding that she was awarded a scholarship to study composition with Doris Humphry.
A noted critic, John Martin, often wrote about Blacks and ballet. He implied that their bodies could not conform to the strict regulations of ballet. However, upon seeing Janet Collins, he wrote a favorable article about her and ignorantly called her the exception. In 1951, Janet became the first Black prima ballerina at the Metropolitan Opera. Ms. Collins also taught at the School of American Ballet in New York.
Janet’s dancing career inspired her cousin, Carmen De Lavallade, to pursue a ballet career as well. De Lavallade and her soon-to-be husband, Geoffrey Holder, would later be hired by the Met as lead dancers. Carmen studied with Lester Horton and later with Alvin Ailey. She succeeded her cousin as principal ballerina at the Met. Carmen retired after two years to give birth to a son and was later relegated to Modern dance.
Geoffrey Holder was from Port of Spain, Trinidad, like Pearl Primus, and joined the Met when his wife retired. He also pursued a career in art. Holder was the recipient of a prestigious Guggenheim Fellowship in art as well. The husband and wife team quickly rose to stardom and became noted choreographers as well as dancers and actors. “In the late 1960s, De Lavallade joined the Yale School Of Drama as choreographer and performer in residence”.
7
Holder did choreography, direction, and designed costumes for two Black musicals,
Timbuktu
and
The Wiz
. He won Tony awards for both.
Another famous ballet dancer of this time was Arthur Mitchell. He attended the High School of Performing Arts, and upon graduation was offered two scholarships to study dance. He was also cautioned that he could not become a great ballet dancer because he was a Black man in America. Regardless, he pursued a ballet career and later joined the New York Ballet. There are great pictures and videos of Arthur Mitchell and the company that he would later found.
Our study of ballet will be somewhat intensive because critics had always claimed blacks could not perform ballet. Mitchell was often praised more in other countries because racism in America would not allow him to receive the credit he deserved. He wasn’t even allowed to dance on television because there were few Black women ballet dancers and if he performed a pas de deux (dance for two dancers), he would have to dance with a white woman. America would not allow that on television. It wasn’t until 1968 that Mitchell was finally allowed to dance on television. He performed a pas de deux with a white partner on the progressive Tonight Show eighteen years into his career.
I would like students to attend a master class in ballet for classic training somewhere local yet noted like the New Haven Ballet. The students will pick music they feel is suitable for the dance. Videos of famous ballets like
The Nutcracker
as well as those showing Arthur Mitchell at the height of his career will inspire our dance.
