(Knopf, 249 pp.)
Michaela Prince and her adoptive American mother tell the inspiring story of how she went from an orphanage in Sierra Leone to becoming a member of the world-famous Dutch National Ballet in Amsterdam. Along the way she breaks stereotypes held by the ballet community.
Here's an excerpt from "Taking Flight":
“I had learned from a former teacher that wearing pink tights is supposed to give the body the illusion of greater length and extension. But pink tights don’t have the same effect on a black dancer as they do on a white dancer. When I wore pink tights, I was cut in half – shortened – and I was already short enough. I was at a disadvantage dancing in a room full of white ballerinas. They looked long and slim. I looked short and squat.
“At the DTH [Dance Theater of Harlem] we were required to wear dance shoes and tights to match our skin. In the case of most of the girls, including me, that meant brown. My particular shade of brown was Fashion Brown, and it came in a spray can. I sprayed all my pointe shoes that color and dyed my tights the identical shade of brown. It was uplifting to be able to wear brown pointe shoes and brown tights. I had never felt so long, lean, and elegant before."
