"I saw this image of dancer Raven Wilkinson for the first time in Ballets Russes, the 2005 documentary. I cried upon hearing a history I didn't know much about. As a black woman in the classical-ballet world, I realized then that, although things have evolved in the 50 years since Raven faced severe racism while performing with the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, black women still face an uphill battle finding their place as professionals in classical ballet.

"At the same time, however, I found comfort in knowing that there was someone else out there like me who had danced in an elite 'white' company and faced adversity. This sparked something in me that made me feel that I had a responsibility beyond my own ballet career: a responsibility to be a voice, a representation of hope for future and past brown ballerinas."

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