“Neneh Superstar” in the cinema: Do ballet girls have to be white? – Culture

How the girls look alike, their résumés, bodies, faces. They all wear a bun and look serious, they’ve been dancing since they could walk, and they’re all elfin white. Their names – Morgane or Victoire – are like badges of social class. In these gated community a Neneh does not come in so easily. Neneh is black, wears a cheeky afrow and rode the local train to audition at the Paris Opera. She proudly explains to the teaching staff that her training was based on YouTube videos, and that she knows all the classic choreographies by heart.