The dance company iRule Dance Studio in Beaumont, Texas is home for these young dancers. At first the photo shoot was meant to just be bonding moment for the girls but they quickly realized the meaning of the moment after seeing the shoot.
Angela Malonson, one of the parents of the dancers said, “These girls work so hard, and although they don’t complain about it, sometimes we like to do something fun. It just so happened to be February and what better month to do in honor of Black History Month.”
Copeland has most certainly created a new generation of Black ballerinas, including 11-year-old Charlotte Nebres, who recently made history as the first Black lead in the Nutcracker. But Copeland was not the first, with a line of Black ballerinas coming before her including pioneering ballerina Raven Wilkinson, the first African American woman to dance full time with a major ballet company.
Photo Courtesy of Bee Photography
