Berlin: Staatsballett's first black female dancer accuses it of racism

Berlin: Staatsballett's first black female dancer accuses it of racism

By Kate Connolly

Chloé Lopes Gomes, a French citizen, joined Berlin’s principal ballet company in 2018. Photograph: @pickledthoughtz

The first black female dancer at Berlin’s principal ballet company has accused the institution of racial harassment, claiming she was repeatedly told she did not fit in because of her skin colour.

Chloé Lopes Gomes, a French citizen, who joined the Staatsballett as a corps de ballet member in 2018, said she had faced recurrent racial abuse from her ballet mistress.

In an interview with the Guardian she also accuses the company of institutional racism after managers failed to act even after various incidents were brought to their attention.

Lopes Gomes, 29, said the dance teacher forced her to wear white makeup to “blend in” with other dancers in Swan Lake, and she had refused to give her a white veil for a performance of La Bayadére, telling her: “It’s because you’re black.”

Full Story: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/dec/09/berlin-staatsballetts-first-black-female-dancer-accuses-it-of-racism