Ballet Shoes for Black Dancers

Royal Ballet soloist Eric Underwood interviewed with BBC magazine about the struggle black dancers face in the ballet industry that is historically predominantly white and has so far refused to accommodate darker skin tones.

Ballet stores sell flesh-coloured shoes in beige, pink, and “nude” tones but usually have no options for darker skin. Underwood told BBC, "Instead I have to 'pancake' my shoes with make-up before I can go on stage," a messy, expensive and frustrating process that inconveniences most non-white dancers.  

Ballet is about grace, an effect that is achieved in part through the seamlessness of flesh-coloured tights and shoes that create the elegance of being barefoot. Brooklyn Mack of the Washington Ballet told the BBC, "Not being able to buy shoes is a reminder that you are an anomaly and that you aren't given the same consideration as other dancers."

Underwood posted a video on Instagram “pancaking” his ballet shoes calling on ballet shoe manufacturers to take action and create shoes in shades made for darker-skin. Bloch, a major producer of dance accessories, contacted Underwood and together they made a darker coloured shoe called “Eric Tan” that the company claims is the first black flesh tone ballet shoe, according to BBC.

Hopefully this progress will inspire other companies to produce their own shoes for dancers with darker skin, and in the future a range of tones for all shades that will encourage diversity within the ballet industry.

Original Story: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-35629323

Mary Schlichte