A Ballerina's Tale is a sympathetic filmed portrait of Misty Copeland, the first African-American principal dancer with American Ballet Theatre. It's a little unclear to me why this is such a big deal, since even Copeland says "I'm an artist; I am a dancer." Certainly she struggled to succeed in classical ballet, growing up in a broken home in San Pedro, California, overcoming everything from poverty to an a leg injury during her first major role. But has everyone forgotten about The Dance Theatre of Harlem, Arthur Mitchell's company that clearly demonstrated that black dancers can dance classical ballet as well as anyone? True, Dance Theatre of Harlem has only just begun to tour again, after close to ten years of financial problems.
And why is it necessary to bash George Balanchine while celebrating Copeland? The idea that Balanchine only wanted flat-chested pinheads for dancers has been promoted, by among others, Gelsey Kirkland, and has been debunked numerous times. Among the many "curvy" ballerinas promoted to principal are Karin von Aroldingen, Patricia McBride, Suzanne Farrell, and Native American Maria Tallchief. One of the reasons for the effectively individual qualities of Balanchine's ballets is the variety of dancers with whom he worked. It is true that no African-American woman has yet been principal at the NYC Ballet but Balanchine did promote male dancers Arthur Mitchell and Mel Tomlinson and Albert Evans became a principal after Balanchine's death.
Copeland should be celebrated first as a dancer and, somewhat unfortunately, Nelson George is more interested in celebrating her as a successful African-American woman. To see how good a dancer she is I will have to see her perform by overcoming my general distaste for the mostly tedious American Ballet Theatre repertory.
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