Misty Copeland at American Ballet Theatre

Spring 2016 Ballet Review

From the Spring 2016 issue of Ballet Review

Robert Johnson on Misty Copeland at American Ballet Theatre

On the cover: Tiler Peck and Robert Fairchild in Balanchine’s Who Cares? Photograph by Paul Kolnik, NYCB

© 2016 Dance Research Foundation, Inc. 4 New York – David Vaughan 6 New York – Karen Greenspan 8 New York – Nancy Reynolds 9 Stuttgart – Gary Smith 11 Washington, D. C. – George Jackson 12 New York – Joseph Houseal 14 Paris – Vincent Le Baron 16 New York – Karen Greenspan 19 Hong Kong – Kevin Ng 21 New York – Karen Greenspan 22 Vienna – Gunhild Oberzaucher-Schüller 25 New York – Eva Shan Chou 26 New York – Harris Green 56 29 Stuttgart – Gary Smith 31 Jacob’s Pillow – Jay Rogoff 33 New York – Karen Greenspan Ballet Review 44.1 34 Jacob’s Pillow – Jay Rogoff Spring 2016 36 Chicago – Joseph Houseal Editor and Designer: 37 Saratoga Springs – Jay Rogoff Marvin Hoshino 39 Brooklyn – Karen Greenspan 41 New York – Harris Green Managing Editor: 43 Chicago – Joseph Houseal Roberta Hellman 44 Miami – Michael Langlois Senior Editor: 46 New York – Karen Greenspan Don Daniels 84 47 Chicago – Joseph Houseal Associate Editors: 48 New York – Harris Green Joel Lobenthal Henry Danton Larry Kaplan 50 Alla Sizova (1929-2014) Alice Helpern Webmaster: Robert Johnson David S. Weiss 56 Misty Copeland Copy Editor: Joel Lobenthal Naomi Mindlin 67 A Conversation with Pat McBride Lousada Photographers: 96 Michael Langlois Tom Brazil 72 A Conversation with Roberto Bolle Costas Associates: Merilyn Jackson Peter Anastos 84 Julie Kent Robert Gres kovic Leigh Witchel George Jackson 88 A Conversation with Myles Thatcher Elizabeth Kendall Paul Parish Elizabeth Kendall Nancy Reynolds 96 Night Shadow James Sutton David Vaughan Peter Porter Edward Willinger 88 103 Jurassic Beauty Sarah C. Woodcock Daniel Jacobson 106 A Conversation with Tiler Peck 116 London Reporter – Clement Crisp 124 Creative Domain – Susanna Sloat Cover photograph by Paul Kolnik, NYCB: 126 Music on Disc – George Dorris Tiler Peck and Robert Fairchild in Who Cares? 132 Check It Out Misty Copeland in Romeo and Juliet. (Photo: Rosalie O’Connor, American Ballet Theatre) 56 ballet review Misty Copeland nership. These two look wonderful together. As if this once-in-a-generation shuffling of personnel were not enough to makeABT’s sev- enty-fifth-anniversary season historic, there was the added drama of racial politics. It has Robert Johnson escaped no one’s attention that Copeland is black, and the first woman of color to earn Whatever else we may take away from 2015 principal status at ABT, in a nation and an in- (and at this writing, the year has not yet end- dustry where racial bias runs deep. Overcom- ed), ballet lovers will recall it as the season ing the race barrier is unquestionably a part dancer Misty Copeland saw her dreams come of this ballerina’s triumph; and it is a victory true. After making high-profile debuts in for ABT, too – not only on moral grounds, but Romeo and Juliet and Swan Lake during Ameri- also for practical reasons. can Ballet Theatre’s spring engagement at the When Copeland appeared in starring roles Metropolitan Opera House, the company an- this season, the composition of the audience nounced in June that it was elevating Cope- changed markedly. Suddenly black spectators land to the rank of principal dancer. appeared in large numbers, packing the Met- The promotion took “only” fourteen years ropolitan Opera House stalls where before for Copeland to earn. She joined ABT in 2001 there had been a sea of white faces. Many of and now, nearly thirty-three years old, she is those newcomers might never have purchased approaching an age when many ballet dancers a ticket to see Swan Lake or Romeo and Juliet, retire. Yet any frustration she may feel must were it not to admire one of their own. Cope- be outweighed by a sense of relief. A scarcity land’s thank-you gift to ABT, in exchange of principal openings is typical at ABT, where for her promotion, is this fresh and excited careers often advance at a snail’s pace and public, which is arguably the best gift that a young dancers must have luck timing their venerable arts institution could receive. This entrance into the company. Copeland’s pro- expansion of the audience likely will be the motion might not have been possible, even now, crowning achievement of the seventy-fifth without the retirement of three senior anniversary season. dancers including Julie Kent, who was named The subject of race is still not a happy one a principal in 1993 (then aged twenty-four) to raise, however, because inevitably Cope- and who became a fixture. land’s success will fail to satisfy everyone. Whether bydesign or by coincidence, Cope- Those who hope the number of black dancers land’s debut as Juliet was originally scheduled at ABT may grow to reflect the proportions of to take place on the afternoon of Saturday, American society as a whole will not be con- June 22, with Kent’s farewell perfo rmance in tent with asingle promotion– nor should they the same ballet to follow that evening – be. Less justifiably, others are arguing that poignantly juxtaposing Copeland’s arrival Copeland enjoyed an unfair advantage because with Kent’s departure. Unforeseen circum- of her ethnicity and because of the publicity stances advanced Copeland’s debut toTuesday, attending her rise,including anadvertisement yet the casting of the Saturday matinee, with airing on national television. And while Cope- dashing young Joseph Gorak as her Romeo, land is an eloquent and beautiful dancer, her still seemed like a changing of the guard.View- talent is not of the kind that will silence such ers came away feeling they had caught a skeptics definitively. glimpse of ABT’s future; and the pairing of Meanwhile, the problems bedeviling mi- Copeland and Gorak, who share a silken move- nor ity representation in ballet will remain ment qualityand a way of kindling in the spot- entrenched, and are also likely to remain un- light, suggested a potentially brilliant part- discussable: the ways in which the ballet body ©2016 Robert Johnson 57 represents a European ideal of beauty; the already makes room for “little swans” and “big aforementioned problem of job scarcity; and swans.” the insidious way those two factors entwine. Drawing undue attention to oneself as a Ballet is unquestionably elitist, like every corps dancer or intentionally distracting the activity that requires skill and professional audience from the performance of the stars training. would be frowned upon. Yet fans with binoc- Yet ballet is not racist in the manner of the ulars know that even in the corps, each wom - wealthy country club whose members guard an’s charm or lack thereof resides precisely in their privileges behind closed doors. The bal- her individuality. Because complete unifor- let’s rules were not designed to exclude peo- mity is impossible to achieve, no one has both- ple of African descent out of greed or out of ered to consider how insipid, robotic,and even ignorance, out of fear or plain malevolence. monstrous the ensemble would be if everyone Its rules were written for a different society in it were truly identical – not to mention that in another time and place. In its original then, among the clones, it would be impossi- European milieu ballet discriminates against ble to identify anyone with superior talent. individuals the way any selective institution Spotting talent in the corps, which depends discriminates. It is a meritocracy that meas- upon noticing distinctions, is a ritual of bal- ures individuals against standards of beauty letgoing and aprivilege of regular attendance. as well as other benchmarks of excellence. Perhaps there really are some people who see Only when transferred to a multiethnic the corps de ballet as an undifferentiated society like the United States does this art be- (white) mass with arms and legs sticking out, gin to discriminate against whole classes of but those people need glasses. people on the basis of their physical appear- While they are twirling in the limelight the ance. Naturally, throughout the profession, soloists, of course, would prefer that viewers individual teachers and directors hold their ignore the other dancers in the background. own views on race, with some likely to be bi- Yet, again, one of the hallowed practices of ased and others not. Dance Theatre of Harlem, ballet going, a bittersweet mixture of conso- formed in 1969, has greatly expanded oppor- lation and revenge, is looking where one is not tunities for black artists, many of whom have supposed to look – studying the corps de bal- gone on to careers as teachers and artistic di- let when the soloists are boring, or when, as rectors enriching the profession. the late choreographer Marius Petipa is re- Nevertheless the uniformity of the corps de ported to have said, “Madame no good.” ballet,an ensemble sometimes deployed pure- In brief, the argument for a uniform corps ly as a decorative element, is still cited as a de ballet is a racist canard not only because it reason for excluding people of varying skin excludes dark-skinned people from most bal- tones from theranks of companies not specifi- let companies at the point of entry, but also cally devoted to minority representation.This because it thoughtlessly assumes all light- argument is misleading, however, since the skinned dancers look alike. Evidently the skin corps is composed of individuals most of tone of corps members is less important than whose differences are routinely ignored. The staying in line and doing one’s best to dance women simply dress alike and move in uni- well. Increasing minority representation in son. No one asks them to dye their hair, for in- the corps would soon make a dark complex- stance; and wigs have largely fallen out of use ion unremarkable. And in any event the in cost-conscious America. Variations in argument for “uniformity” has never applied height are minimized by dividing the corps to soloists and principals, who rise out of into short and tall casts or by grouping dancers the corps because they are gifted and able to with othersof similar height, with tall women distinguish themselves from the herd. positioned at the center of a line. The ballet The shape and proportions of the body are 58 ballet review Le Corsaire. (Photo: Marty Sohl, ABT) another matter and are far more significant ceived as flawed are often cut before they in determining a ballet dancer’s potential for have a chance to display their talents. Ironi- success than many people realize. No less an cally just as ballet spread around the globe artist than Anna Pavlova was in the habit of during the twentieth century, winning ad- ordering photographs air-brushed to improve mirers among a variety of peoples, the value the shape of her feet. Ballet is, among other accorded to an “ideal” figure simultaneously things, a visual art. Crooked or thick legs; feet increased as abbreviated modern fashions that lack a pronounced instep or can’t stretch; revealed more of the body. general lack of pliancy and the “wrong” pro- Because of the variety that exists within portions (short legs and a long torso) willelim- populations of different ethnicity and geo- inate a candidate at an audition regardless of graphic origin, science tells us that the con- her strength, skill, or intelligence. At audi- cept of race is a cultural fabrication with no tions today, dancers whose bodies are per- basisin fact. Yet the general dispersal of phys- spring 2016 59 As Miss Subways in On the Town with Tony Yazbeck as Gabey. (Photo: Joan Marcus, Maxolev Productions) ical traits throughout humanity has not been of their legs and feet, or for other physical helpful in integrating the ballet, because the traits similarly regarded as undesirable. incidence of certain traits may still vary from Body parts and their shape thus assume one population to the next. even greater importance than pigmentation To the extent that non-European origins in the hiring of ballet dancers. And while it may predispose an individual to feet with a would be relatively easy to dismiss a bias lower instep, for instance, that person is at a against dark skin for arbitrarily disadvan- disadvantage in auditioning for a job as a bal- taging a particular ethnic group, it is much let dancer because ballet prizes high insteps more difficult to dismiss a bias against a phys- almost to the point of fetishism. Prominent ical trait that cuts across ethnic lines, even buttocks become another disadvantage in this when people belonging to one group bear the context. The question of inequality does not brunt of this discrimination. Under the sec- arise at these auditions, however, because ond set of circumstances, it becomes possible the majority of dancers of European origin to disadva ntage the members of one group are also eliminated either for the appearance while falsely claiming to treat all people fair- 60 ballet review ly and equally. The results of this attitude while American Ballet Theatre is not “the speak for themselves. only game in town,” the number of opportu- In ballet todaythe same rules apply to every- nities at regional companies is not remotely one, but we should note that,significantly, ex- large enough to place ballet in the same ceptions are often made for men because male category with other professions. ballet dancers are fewer and in greater de- While on the subject of scarcity, it also may mand than women. This observation brings be worthwhile to imagine what an integrat- us to the economics of scarcity. Ballet, as a ed ABT would look like in terms of numbers. profession, becomesmore difficult to integrate If ABT employs a total of eighty-four dancers, than other fields that confer status, like law and the ratio of blacks to whites were ap- or medicine, for the simple reason that the prox imately equal to that of American socie- number of opportunities is so severely limit- ty as a whole (15 percent), then ABT would em- ed. For all intents and purposes there is no up- ploy a total of twelve black dancers of both per limit to the number of people who can be- sexes. The company has a long way to go be- come lawyers or doctors in America, despite fore it achieves even that dubious mark of the difficulties entailed and the exclusivity of fairness. Yet at the same time if twelve jobs certain law firms. Our most elite universities represent the best that can be achieved, then award diplomas by the thousands. Compare dancing for ABT can only be a reasonable goal this situation with American Ballet Theatre, for a tiny minority of black dance students. which offers corps contracts to a scant hand- Ballet dancing is not a normal profession; the ful – perhaps three to five dancers – in any opportunities are too scarce. And for black given season. dancers in particular, working at ABT – nev- The competitiveness of admission to ABT er mind being promoted to principal – must and admission to a top university cannot be be like joining the lonely crew of the first mis- compared without also eyeing the respective sion to Mars. number of applications. But if Harvard Someone had to do it, though, and Misty College, for instance, admits even 5 percent of Copeland just did. applicants, then students seeking a bachelor’s The above remarks are in no way meant to degree have much better odds in Cambridge excuse the status quo or as an invitation to than dancers seeking employment have at complacency. They are made in the hope that 890 Broadway. The process of selecting a clearer understanding of this system and dancers is simply more drawn out. This year its values will prompt dialogue and an active ABT accepted about a third of the 4,600 stu- response. Finding long-term solutions to dents of various ages who auditioned for spots facilitate the racial integration of our ballet in its Summer Intensive programs in twenty- companies will not be easy. It will either de- one cities nationwide. In addition, the com- mand modifying time-honored aesthetic pany has 364 students enrolled at its affili- ideals or compensating for the varying in- ated Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School, with cidence of physical traits among different sixty-four in the preprofe ssional division. communities and applying standards in a Of the thousand-plus students accepted manner that appears unequal– both troubling for advanced training, however, only a very prospects in a conservative art that celebrates small number squeeze through the bottleneck rules, tradition, and hierarchy. admitting dancers to the preprofessional Yet we should keep in mind that, however ensemble known as the ABT Studio Company. obsessed the dancers themselves may be with That ensemble has fourteen members. The their bodies and with the strict criteria gov- artistic director then picks dancers for the erning their selection and advancement, a bal- professional company from that lot as if let company does not exist in order to select straining them through afine-mesh sieve. And dancers. It exists for the purpose of staging spring 2016 61 wonderful performances. And if modifying exist as pure abstractions in the mind, but our mental picture of the ideal ballet body is must come into the world via rough mechan- part of the solution, then we can take some ics. Sweaty and determined, the dancers seek comfort from the fact that this ideal already to give this vocabulary a form as close to per- has evolved over time; while in our own day fection as possible, simultaneously endowing ballet professionals of different schools may it with human feeling and the inspiration of disagree about it. music. Because of Copeland’s turnout, her When the material of art is the body itself, entrechats and cabrioles are lovely to behold, it may be hard for observers to separate aes- as is any step where she raises her leg to the thetics from the emotions that bodies arouse. side à la seconde or in écarté. This is especially true in a society with a long Swan Lake is full of such développés, offer- and infuriatinghistory of racial bias. But per- ing many opportunities to watch those legs haps we can at least do away with passing unfold. I remember two moments in parti- fashions. Photos from the nineteenth centu- cular: The first is the Black Swan Odile’s pir- ry reveal ballet dancers who were shorter ouette à la seconde, with the ballerina’s leg and often stouter than their modern counter- extended in space perfectly turned-out and parts. Women’s busts were pronounced in chiseled, with the flat of her thigh angled up- corseted nineteenth-century costumes, bely- ward. The second is a small movement that ing the opinion held in certain quarters today barely qualifies as a step itself but is really the that for women, at least, the ideal ballet body preparation for a step. At the start of Odile’s is prepubescent. variation, her leftfoot darts out low to the side That bizarre, prepubescent view, surely gathering energy for a turn. Though it offers no more ancient than the 1960s teen model the ballerina a chance to display her foot, Twiggy Lawson and the latter years of chore- the moment is so brief and most dancers ographer George Balanchine, violates histor- are so focused on the difficulties ahead that ical precedent and has done incalculable dam- they throw away the opportunity. Copeland’s age to the self-esteem and even to the bodies turned- out foot went naturally into position, of young women. Yet while no artistic direc- however, and for the split-second that is the tor brings a champagne glass into the studio most this art of movement will allow, all was to measure the size of a woman’s breasts, perfection gleaming in a satin shoe. awkwardness may arise if a generously en- Copeland’s performance in Swan Lake was dowed performer (like Misty Copeland) is re- notentirely magical, however, when she made quired to wear an unstructured top as part of her local debut at the matinee on June 24. Yet her costume in a Balanchine ballet. That’s the before recalling the point at which she came easy fix: it simply requires changing the cos- to grief, her elasticity should be mentioned tume. and the way that natural stretch combines Each body is unique, of course, and Cope- with a certain kind of muscle reflex to pro- land has a figure some other ballerinas might duce effortlessly lyrical movement that the envy. Though she looks compact, rather than ballerina can nevertheless, when she chooses, attenuated, she has high insteps and straight break off suddenly to intensely dramatic ef- legs turned out from the hips. Her turnout (a fect. Elasticity is, no doubt, the key to her form of physical conditioning every ballet turnout, but natural stretch – as opposed to dancer works to achieve) is particularly beau- the hard-won kind – is not only a blessing, as tiful and allows her to execute certain steps it can reduce the height of a dancer’s leap. with a clarity and exactitude that are excep- Compared to others in her profession (not to tionally gratifying for connoisseurs to ob- us, poor mortals), Copeland lacks elevation serve. and can be classified as a terre-à-terre dancer So much of ballet is about the steps. They in the line of the famous nineteenth-century 62 ballet review ballerinaFanny Elssler. Then, too, while Cope- couple of iffy pirouettes in attitude during the land’s feet are attractive they are not terribly Black Swan variation, she still had to face the strong and sometimes they do not sustain her infamous series of thirty-two fouetté turns in in turns. the coda. Though she made a strong start with Here is where her Swan Lake disappointed, alternating single and double fouettés, she and the letdown was no minor thing. After a quickly fell out of them and began keeping

Swan Lake with James Whiteside. (Photo: Gene Schiavone, ABT) spring 2016 63 time with single pirouettes from fifth posi- without necessarily compromising their ar - tion. Accidents are always a possibility dur- tistry. ing live performances, making viewers wince, When Copeland performs Swan Lake again, but this one was particularly dismaying. Oth- she should perform a manège à la Plisetskaya. er ballerinas have performed this sequence Then her detractors can say whatever they with aplomb, but Copeland still hadsomething please. Her fans will be free to enjoy her per- she needed to prove. formance without regrets, and she will have The ballerina had already danced Swan Lake the dignity of having made an artistic deci- in Australia and in Washington, D.C., and sion. The broader lesson to be learned from clearly she had taken every care to prepare artists like Ferri and Whelan is that in the herself for her New York debut as Odette/ future, Copeland must choose her repertory Odile. At every other moment she appeared judiciously with an eye to her strengths. polished and in control, mistress not only of While Kitri in Don Quixote has been sug- the steps and phrasing, but also with a fully gested as an ideal vehicle for her, I don’t developed characterization that reflected her agree. Kitri is a jumping role, and while a own ideas. Her Odette was liquid and mercu- ballerina’s extension can distract from the rial, with a wild heart beating beneath her height of her jumps in the opening scene, in modesty; her Odile was elegant, yet cynical the jumps of the so-called “Vision” scene, she and incisive; and, best of all, throughout these has no where to hide. Then, once again, the changes in persona the ballerina appeared coda of the grand pas de deux in Don Quixote entirely natural without any of the exagger- involves those pesky fouettés. At some point ations or stock expressions that denote fak- most of the nineteenth-century Russian clas- ery. So how could an artist so well-prepared sics resort to that deadly whirl, which Cope- fall at the crucial moment? land should avoid. She will be more at home The fouettés were a disaster because they in the English repertory, in gentle pieces opened the door to sneers from those who like Ashton’s Cinderella and A Month in the Coun- would go on to question Copeland’s abilities try. MacMillan’s Manon would be her apo the- and her subsequent promotion. People who osis. know nothing else about Swan Lake know how In the meantime, we already have the ex- to count to thirty-two. All this seemed un- ample of what she can do in Romeo and Juliet. necessary. Although Odile’s fouettés are em- Because Copeland is a seriousdramatic actress blematic, one of the greatest dancers of the and not a soubrette, the scene of Juliet chas- twentieth century, the late Maya Plisetskaya, ing around a room with childish glee and thought nothing of substituting a manège of taunting her Nurse is not this ballerina’s fin- piqué turns. est. Her mischief feels jaded and she is not Not every ballerina is a “fouetté girl” eager convincingly giddy. From the moment Juliet to compete in David Lichine’s Graduation Ball. begins to mature, however, Copeland stepsful- Alessandra Ferri, for instance, found the sen- ly into the role. Her entrance at the Capulet sual plasticity of Kenneth MacMillan’s ballets ball is sensational, and not only for the inno- much more to herliking, and similarly, at New cent wonder of Juliet’s expression as she looks York City Ballet Wendy Whelan gravitated to around to assess the glittering assembly – an modern works. When it was Whelan’s assign- emotion this dancer, as a child of poverty, may ment to fouetté, as Hippolyta in Balanchine’s understand particularly well. No, Copeland’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, it always seemed entrance is also remarkable for the way her as if the stagehands at the New York State upturned face catches the light, for the quick- Theater flooded the scene with extra smoke. ening of energy that denotes her character’s Then, too, as dancers age they begin to restrict excitement and the artist’s eagerness to per- their repertory, eschewing “tours de force” form. It’s the moment Copeland reveals her- 64 ballet review Romeo and Juliet with Joseph Gorak. (Photo: Rosalie O’Connor, ABT) self as a star, more dramatically and more spurt, carries her beyond adolescence. Expe- genuinely than if someone had snatched a veil riencing the first tingle of romantic attrac- from her face. tion is not what makes her a woman as much During the Capulets’ ball, she dances with as coming to recognize the world’s cruelty and her customary softness, shyly slipping away stupidity. from Paris with a delicacy and celerity that In the scenes that follow the ecstasy of love- convey Juliet’s youth. After Juliet is discovered making, Copeland deepens this interpreta- in a private tryst with Romeo, Copeland has tion and our sense of Juliet’s maturity. She is another stunning moment. When the Nurse not hysterical, but insightful – an intelligent whispers Romeo’s identity in her ear, this and determined young woman driven by cir- Juliet’s face registers a depth of sorrowful cumstances to an act of desperation. Cope- understanding that, like a sudden growth land’s Juliet knows what she wants, and can spring 2016 65 see clearly what the consequences of failure must take priority. Slavery was first and fore- will mean. She has had a taste of freedom; most an economic institution; and if we could and perhaps she dreads losing that agency as undo the economic segregation that exists in much as she dreads losing her true love. America’s housing market today, then racial To see Juliet this way– not as an adolescent segregation woulda lso diminish,with the cor- driven by passions over which she has no con- responding benefits that accrue when barri- trol, but as a woman battling for the right to ersfall and people of different conditions grow order her own life – is to realize the full po- accustomed to sharing neighborhoods. The tential of the nineteenth-century Romantic point is that where injustice exists practical movement in ballet, where love and freedom steps must be taken to eliminate it without are intertwined and pitted against moral waiting for opposition to soften or for soci- corruption, against conventional notions of ety’s consciousness to enlarge. To liberate the propriety and monetary gain, or against the mind, we need healthy communities. authority of a soul-crushing and despotic To that end, American Ballet Theatreshould regime. This approach suits Copeland and act immediately to hire more African Ameri- her personal narrative especially well, mak- cans as guest soloists and principals, drawing ing it likely that Juliet will be among her finest upon the existing pool of talent and bypass- roles. ing the excruciatingly slow “trickle-up” sys- It’s easy to imagine that Copeland’s own tem of promotion from within the company. struggle has given her some insight into Juli- Some names immediately come to mind: et’s character. Romanticism, carried forward Michaela DePrince, Osiel Gouneo, Brooklyn into the twentieth century and updated by Mack, and Ashley Murphy. They could begin composer Serge Prokofiev and the librettists by performing roles already familiar to them, of the ballet Romeo and Juliet, evidently still has while using their time in residence to learn revolutionary work to do in the twenty-first other pieces in the repertory and adjust to century, where many battles for freedom re- ABT’s house culture. Guest contracts would main to be won. also have the advantage of not wasting the In the United States of America, discussing artists’ time (ballet dancers spend an inordi- racism is essential and cannot be avoided. nate amount of time waiting to appear on Those who seek tochange the status quo should stage), and not robbing, and thus penalizing, not be content to focus on racism exclusively, the companies that currently employ those however, as if discussing the economic or cul- dancers. Within a single season, ABT could tural systems in which racism embeds itself reach a goal that otherwise might take decades were merely a distraction or a way of chang- and another generation to attain. ing the subject and dodging the all-important Whether such guest contracts would reduce moral issue. Placing racism first on the agen- the pressures onABT’s current standard-bear- da can even be counterproductive. Would any- er, Misty Copeland, or merely add to her bur- one argue, for example, that racism needed to den, the effort is necessary. While Copeland be vanquished before the United States could surely has many wonderful performances yet abolish slavery? If that were the case, the South to give, in a sense she has already played her would still be in chains. role by breaking through a barrier. A sudden Because opening people’s minds is all the explosion of black talent at America’s nation- more difficult within fossilized systems that al ballet troupe now would signal a forward- perpetuate racism, changing those systems looking start to the next seventy-five years.

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