Shaping the Future Shaping the Future digital FINAL X | Page 16

Photography By. Mott Expressions
DANCE
Photo By. Mott Expressions
Finding the right shade of anything is always hard to do when “flesh-colored” items are never actually the color of your flesh. African
American ballerinas have to pay upwards of $50 to have tights that are the same color as their legs. If they don’t pay the price, they
spend hours dying them and coloring their pointe shoes. Besides the difficulty of matching their clothes with their skin tone, they
are defying the social-norms set by society. Black ballerinas show the world that elegance and grace has no ethnicity or race. They
exemplify that black girls can do everything, from the hype dances of Southern University’s Dancing Dolls to the classical counts of
Alvin Ailey ’s dance company.
Dancing is a major form of artistic expression for black people as a whole. Sunday morning services typically consist of the praise team,
mimes, and liturgical dancers. All of the aforementioned dancing styles were brought about by the oppression of African Americans.
Not being allowed to read or write, black people chose to tell their stories with their bodies. They were able to say their prayers without
actually using their words. This is why dancing is so important. It is not to be considered something that is just fun or nice to watch. It
is something to be appreciated.
INTRODUCING THE MODELS Models listed from left to right: Jessiya, Beyljon, Jyrah, Printess & Jesse.
S H APIN G TH E FUTU RE | APRI L 2019
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