‘I Hate To Say It—’ CNN’s Chris Wallace Asks Pioneering Black Dancer Was She Ever Forced To Make Herself ‘Look More White’
CNN anchor Chris Wallace asked pioneering Black ballet superstar Misty Copeland if she was ever asked to lighten her skin or make other changes to “look more White.”
Wallace interviewed the Copeland for this week’s edition of his Max series Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace on a variety of topics, including the high and lowlights of being considered the “Jackie Robinson of ballet.”
The host did not shy away from asking the uncomfortable questions about her treatment in a White-dominated field, like being made to lighten her skin:
WALLACE: Were you ever asked to lighten your skin or to shade your nose to look – I hate to say it – but to look more white?
COPELAND: Yes, and this is something that has been going on for generations and generations with Black and brown dancers in the classical ballet world. They make you lighten your skin. And that’s something that, you know, the conversation has evolved, you know, to kind of change what that means.
WALLACE: What kept you going through all the naysaying?
COPELAND: I’ve had a transformative life changing experience — by having ballet, having the arts having live music a part of my life.
WALLACE: Here you are dancing one of the great roles in ballet and that is the lead in Swan Lake. You’ve said, though, that you had a lot of self-doubt taking on that part. Why?
COPELAND: Yeah, you know, I think about this kind of generational trauma for Black dancers that come with that role. We’ve been told, for so many, you know, decades and generations that the swans should be white, that that’s not a role that can be played by a Black or brown woman.
Or if I’m, my artistic excellence isn’t up to someone’s standards, that maybe there won’t be another Black woman at American Ballet Theatre who is given this opportunity. But, you know, with a lot of support that I’ve had, from incredible mentors in my life, have allowed me to understand that being an artist is about, it’s about being yourself, it’s about bringing yourself to these things to these roles, and making them your own.
Wallace also asked Copeland how she feels being compared to the baseball legend who broke MLB’s color barrier:
WALLACE: In 2015, you became the first African American woman to be a principal dancer at American Ballet Theatre, and you’ve been called the Jackie Robinson of ballet. How do you feel about that comparison?
COPELAND: Um, that’s a….that’s a lot of pressure. You know, I understand, you know, what I mean, for the Black community in particular, to, you know, to be the first in my company. And, to me, it’s not just about being the first – there have been so many Black women who have done incredible things for the ballet community, the ballet world, but haven’t been acknowledged. And I feel that that really is my purpose. I feel that that really is what I’m meant to be doing.
WALLACE: But whether you like it or not you did, you were a groundbreaker, you were a trailblazer. How much resistance did you meet?
COPELAND: Yeah, it’s been extremely difficult. You know, I spent the first decade of my professional career with American Ballet Theatre, the only black woman in the company, a company of almost 100 dancers. Of course I’ve experienced, you know, difficulties being a Black woman when you stand out, especially in the court of ballet when it’s supposed to look uniform, and everyone kind of you know, in the same tones wearing pink tights, which represent the color of your skin. And that wasn’t always the case. I mean, there were…there were times that I was not cast in certain roles because I would stand out too much and kind of ruin the aesthetic.
Watch above via Max’s Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace.
