Why a Booktrail?
1935 onwards: Raven Wilkinson, the first African American woman to dance for a major classical ballet company
Trailblazer: The Story of Ballerina Raven Wilkinson
What you need to know before your trail
When she was only five years old, Raven Wilkinson’s parents took her to see the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo.
Raven perched on her crushed velvet seat, heard the tympani, and cried with delight even before the curtain lifted. From that moment on, her passion for dance only grew stronger.
No black ballerina had ever danced with a major touring troupe before. Raven would be the first.
Travel Guide
New York City and the story of Ballet
Raven Wilkinson was born on February 2, 1935, in New York City. From the time she was a little girl, all she wanted to do was dance. Her uncle gave her ballet lessons on her ninth birthday and she completely fell in love with dance. Years, later, when she was a student at Columbia University, Raven auditioned for the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo and was finally accepted on her third try, even after being told she couldn’t dance with them because of her skin color.
When she started touring with her troupe in the United States in 1955, Raven encountered much racism in the South, but the applause, alongside the opportunity to dance, made all the hardship worth it. Several years later she would dance for royalty with the Dutch National Ballet and regularly performed with the New York City Opera until she was fifty.
Streetview Maps
A) NYC- Harlem Dance School
C) NYC - American School of Ballet
Booktrail Boarding Pass: Trailblazer: The Story of Ballerina Raven Wilkinson
Destination : USA, New York City Author/Guide: Leda Schubert Departure Time: 1935 onwards
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