The Black Sheep In Swan Lake by Emma

The Black Sheep In Swan Lake by Emma - July 2017 Scholarship Essay

My dance teacher once told me that "dance is the only art form in which we ourselves are the stuff with which it is made." For this reason, and so many others, I have been a dancer for eight years. For as long as I can remember, I have been inexplicably drawn to dance as an art form. I am a contemporary dancer with five years of classical ballet training, as well as some experience in a variety of other genres of dance. I am a firm believer that no matter one's experience, size, or color, everyone is a dancer.

However, I am startled by the exclusivity that has continued to persist in the dance world. And for this reason, if I were given the opportunity to create an educational TED Talk, it would be about what society can do to diversify dance. The dance world has built up so many walls, keeping out people of color and people with different body types.

I want to talk about this topic because it strikes a personal chord for me; I was once excluded from the dance community for the way I looked. I adore ballet. Everything about ballet calls out to me: the structure and poise of the legs, the fluidity and grace of the arms. Despite this, I do not have a body that aligns with what one might think of when they think of a ballerina. One day after class, my ballet teacher approached me and she said, "You know, Emma, I think you and your mom should join Weight Watchers together." And while this statement and others that followed hurt at the time, this experience helped me realize that my story was not singular. I saw my experience reflected in dozens of other dancers.

One in five ballerinas develop an eating disorder in their lifetime. In nearly all dance forms, you are trained to look in a mirror for hours on end and compare your body to that of the dancer next to you. In my experience, this frequently leads to unhealthy mentalities and poor self image, and even damages physical health. I believe that light needs to be shed on the mental and physical damages that many dancers face because of a lack of tolerance for different body types.

In addition, ballet is a traditionally European activity, and many outdated European ideologies have remained in the sport. One such ideology is the exclusion of people of color. Misty Copeland is a principal dancer in the American Ballet Theater, and she became popular in 2014. When she rose to fame, I was initially overjoyed that a stunning, black ballerina had finally become a prima ballerina for a major ballet theater. But shortly after, I wondered: how on earth did it take this long for a black ballerina to become a principal dancer at a major studio? I would have expected those boundaries to be broken decades ago.

The primary way to fix this issue is to encourage everyone to dance, no matter their shape, weight, race, or gender. Several studies have shown that dance improves mood, and can even help to manage mental disorders such as anxiety, depression, and many others. It is unjust for anyone to be denied the mental and physical benefits merely because they don't "look like" a dancer. Everyone should be given the opportunity to enjoy the beauty and joy of creative expression through dance. No one should ever be denied the freedom to move in a way that feels expressive and healing.

These harsh truths are often hidden behind the glitz and glam of dance, so I would want to use the platform of a TED Talk to inform people of a little-heard perspective. With my TED Talk, I hope that the black sheep in "Swan Lake" don't feel quite so alone.