The Color of Dance

From the photographer behind the Instagram sensation Brown Girls Do Ballet, this stunning coffee-table book showcases breathtaking images of ballerinas of color of all ages and levels that reflect today’s beautifully diverse world of dance. 

For decades the prominent image of a ballet dancer has been a white body with pale clothing. It took 75 years for American Ballet Theatre to have its first African American female principal dancer, Misty Copeland. When TaKiyah Wallace-McMillian went to enroll her three-year-old daughter into her first ballet class, she immediately saw this lack of diversity and representation—even on her local dance studio’s website. Within weeks TaKiyah, a freelance photographer, began shooting a project she called Brown Girls Do Ballet, which eventually became an Instagram hit and a nonprofit organization that provides resources, mentorship, inspiration, and encouragement to young dancers of color worldwide.

For her first book, The Color of Dance, TaKiyah traveled around the United States seeking out dancers of African, Asian, East Indian, Hispanic, and Native American ancestry. With these more than 190 breathtaking images of colorful ballerinas of all ages and levels, both amateur and professional, TaKiyah gives a voice to dancers who have been underrepresented for too long.

With dozens of quotes throughout from ballerinas themselves, The Color of Dance redefines what this classically Eurocentric art form has looked like for centuries and will inspire dancers—and all of us—to pursue our dreams no matter what barriers are put in front of us.

• "The Color of Dance illuminates the beauty and promise that Black and brown girls bring to the field of ballet. With rich, joyful, and poetic imagery, TaKiyah Wallace-McMillian captures the timeless nature of the phrase ‘dare to dream.'"
  Alicia Graf Mack, Dean and Director, Juilliard Dance
• "TaKiyah Wallace-McMillian has lovingly centered young dancers of color as never before. This long-overdue tribute to humanity’s beauty and diversity as seen through ballet’s lens is both necessary and breathtaking. Brava!"
  Nikki Hefko, Director, New Orleans School of Ballet