Since the 19th century, ballet has been in a phase called "Ballet-Blanc". This essentially means a majority of productions in the industry reiterate the "ethereal" white standard of ballet: from pale white costumes to literally, white ballerinas. Ballet has a serious diversity problem and one factor that is often overlooked contributes to the issue: Ballet shoes.

A child's first pair of ballet slippers is the gateway into the art form. It is important that we include ALL little boys and girls into the industry. Our first step into doing so is creating and marketing ballet shoes that match their skin tone. Not everyone's skin blends into the standard "pink" or "beige" ballet shoe, so many dancers are resorted to "pancaking" their shoes with makeup to match their skin tone (Dancer for the Royal Ballet, Eric Underwood, is famous for vocally speaking out against this as he instagramed his pancaking routine) Dancers should only worry about their dancing on stage, not about the makeup rubbing off their shoes during the rehearsal or performance. 

Any dancer can testify the aesthetic importance of wearing a shoe that blends into the leg seamlessly, how important it is to look like you on stage. Why exclude dancers of color from this privilege? How is it that pointe shoes are created in colors of green, red, black, yellow and purple but not natural flesh tones? Welcoming dancers across the board by including their diversity into dance attire is the very first step into cultivating diversity in such an influential art form for many. Especially in a world rapidly growing with diversity, it's important to welcome dancer's of color with open arms and genuinely make them feel like they have a place... to make them feel like they truly belong. 

This petition is to raise awareness and hopefully, have our voices heard by major dance shoe makers like the ones listed above. If shoe companies begin to add a greater spectrum of colors to choose from, dancers of color will no longer have to worry about dying their shoes at home (which is a burden for many). 

HEAR US OUT! Let's make the first step into welcoming diversity in an art form we all love!