UK Edition
English National Ballet star attacked for refusing to wear pink tights on stage
A black ballerina has been targeted by dance traditionalists after revealing she will no longer wear pink ballet tights on stage.
American-born dancer Precious Adams has announced she will now wear brown tights when performing, as she believes they allow her to look her best on stage.
And despite criticism from many in the ballet industry, the first artist at the English National Ballet said the company had welcomed her decision, ushering in a new tradition for the industry's dancers.
The 23-year-old, who is currently performing in Lest We Forget, told the Evening Standard that she always wants to look her best in front of an audience and brown tights were the obvious choice to match with her skin tone.
“When I was a student I never really thought about the uniform - it was just pink tights and pink shoes,” Miss Adams said.
But since turning professional she realised the tights no longer “made sense” for her.
“It changes the aesthetic, you want there to be continuation between your upper and lower body and there’s a big disconnect if I put pink tights on,” she said.
“I want to look my best on stage. I’m not colourblind and I think it ruins the line of my body.”
Despite this, she said traditionalists had often questioned her decision, claiming it was “incorrect” ballet uniform.
“They’re like ‘But pink tights, that’s what ballet is’,” Miss Adams said. “They think me wearing brown tights in a tutu is somehow incorrect.”
One social media user went as far as to brand her decision “a disgrace to the tradition of ballet”. But the ballerina, originally from Canton, Detroit, did reveal she has the support of ENB director Tamara Rojo.
She said: “Luckily Tamara [Rojo] has been very receptive. The thing is [dancers] can’t do whatever we like, especially in the corps.
“Times change - it’s just a natural evolution for these things to be questioned.
“Tamara’s really changing the company. It’s incredible working under her. She wants us all to be human. Dancers aren’t robots, we’re not clones. Everyone is an individual, and she tries hard to play to people’s strengths.”
Five years ago, Miss Adams gave an interview to The Moscow Times in which she said that her dark skin had prevented her from getting parts.
She explained that looking back she had been naive when speaking in the paper, and that the interview had caused her “problems”.
“I knew what I was going into when I went to school in Moscow. But the whole world has changed,” she said.