INTRODUCTION
The three-part introduction traces the path of the anthology’s development and lays the foundation for ideas that appear in the twenty chapters that follow. Editors Kate Mattingly and Iyun Ashani Harrison begin by describing conversations that led to this collection, and their own positionality. Part Two of the Introduction, written by Mattingly, examines the history of racism in ballet in the United States by looking specifically at critics’ and teachers’ comments, caricatures, and casting decisions. Part Three, written by Harrison, focuses on how racism is perpetuated through teachers’ biases about bodily features of dancers of color, and the toll this racism takes on ballet dancers of color. Drawing from studies of psychology and communication, Harrison explains five barriers to equitable pedagogies, and examines their impact on students’ experiences of otherness in the ballet studio, on stage, and in social settings.
