Cultural Analysis Essay Black Dance In America

Cultural Analysis Essay – Black Dance in America
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Cultural Analysis Essay – Black Dance in America
Directed by Copeland and Nelson George, A Ballerina’s Tale is a feature-length documentary that examines the ballerina’s prodigious rise alongside body image, injury and issues of race in the elite ballet world. There are five examples in A Ballerina’s Tale that correspond with the course content.
1. History: Ballet emerged in the late 15th century Renaissance court culture of Italy and further developed in the French court from the time of Louis XIV in the 17th century. Along with music and opera, ballet evolved into a touchstone of European culture (0:59 – 1:27).
2. People: Ballet is a white-dominated art. This is evident when Copeland states that when she moved to New York, she realized that she was the only African American woman in a company of eighty dancers (11:14 – 11:20).
3. Race: The film shows that racial ideologies have a role in shaping opportunities available to black women. The opportunity to do principal roles as a soloist was not something Copeland thought would come again because such opportunities were not presented to the black community (26:56 – 28:08).
4. Age: A Ballerina’s Tale opens with footage showing a young Copeland dancing at the studio (0:00 – 1:29).One must demonstrate promise in the art from an early age. One does not have to be a ballet aficionado to recognize their abundant talent.
5. Vocabulary: ABT (a ballet company that was founded in the belief that it could emulate France and Russia in terms of having a world-class company) (6:51 – 7:06).
Should black as a descriptor or contextual marker be retired?
“Black” as a descriptor or contextual marker should be retired because it limits the opportunities available to black women. As seen in A Ballerina’s Tale, because she was” black,” Copeland was rarely given the opportunity to do major roles such as soloist because such opportunities were not availed to the black community (26:56 – 28:08). As a contextual marker, “black” is responsible for the exclusion of black dancers from classical ballet. The exclusion of black dancers is evident in A Ballerina’s Tale when Copeland discovers she is the only black dancer in a group of eighty dancers (11:14 – 11:20).
“Black” should be used as a continued descriptor because when a black individual succeeds, it brings much delight to the black community. In A Ballerina’s Tale, it is stated that only one percent of ballerinas make it into elite companies each year and an even smaller fraction of those ballerinas are black women. By describing Copeland as the first “black” principal dancer, it signifies that black people can also achieve great things (2:51 – 3:16). “Black” as a descriptor should not be retired especially in black performance as it allows black Americans to participate in discourses of recognition (DeFrantz, 2005 pg 1).
Describe two definitions/perspectives of “beauty” advan...