BLACK BALLERINA, a feature length documentary-in-progress, is a story of passion, opportunity, heartbreak and triumph of the human spirit. Set in the overwhelmingly white world of classical dance, it tells the stories of several black women from different generations who fell in love with ballet.
Six decades ago, while pursuing their dreams of careers in classical dance, Joan Myers Brown, Delores Browne and Raven Wilkinson confronted racism, exclusion and unequal opportunity. In 2015, three young black women also pursue careers as ballerinas. Do they find that the color of ballet has changed? If so, how? If not, why?
BLACK BALLERINA uses the ethereal world of ballet to engage viewers in a subject that reaches far outside the art world and compels viewers to think about larger issues of exclusion, equal opportunity and change.
Producer/Director Frances McElroy is a 2009 Pew Fellow in the Arts and 2010 Leeway Foundation Transformation Awardee.
Shirley Road Productions is a non-profit organization. DONATE NOW to help complete BLACK BALLERINA. Contributions are tax deductible.
Project supporters include the National Endowment for the Arts, the PA Partners in the Arts and the Capezio Foundation.