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| Jenelle Figgins tucks her hair into a tight twist for a day of rehearsals. Photo: MASHABLE, HEATHER MARTIN |
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| Jenelle Figgins practices an upcoming performance that includes three male dancers. Photo: MASHABLE, HEATHER MARTIN |
Today, the ballet world still has a race issue. Brown ballerinas are almost invisible, rarely in the spotlight. Pools of talent are left untouched, as major dance companies glide over people of color in favor of white dancers. Dancers of color don't often get coveted principal or soloist roles, and browsing through the corps de ballet roster of renowned institutions like the American Ballet Theatre and the New York City Ballet shows that diverse swans are in short supply.
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| Alvin Ailey American Dance Performers, Sept. 24, 1998 Photo: © JULIE LEMBERGER/CORBIS |
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| Arthur Mitchell stands in the middle of dancers in the Dance Theater of Harlem in 1973. Photo: BETTMANN/CORBIS |
Mashable: The brown ballerina exists. Why we need to lift her up
