Ballerina Chloe Lopes Gomes will stay with the Berlin State Ballet. A settlement has been reached after the dancer accused Berlin's principal ballet company of racism.
Share
French ballet dancer Chloe Lopes Gomes poses for a picture outside the Deutsche Oper in Berlin on January 7. AFP
Black ballerina stands firm in Berlin racism row
Wed, 3 February 2021
Berlin State Ballet’s first black dancer Chloe Lopes Gomes said she has been made to feel different because of her skin colour since she first donned ballet shoes as a child.
But after she was again subjected to what she described as “racism” at Germany’s largest dance company, she has launched a fightback that has forced the State Ballet to launch an internal investigation into her complaints.
In an interview with AFP, Lopes Gomes stood by her allegations against the Berlin company, arguing that it was time for the classical ballet world to address the issue.
Black ballet dancer stands strong in Berlin racism row » Borneo Bulletin Online borneobulletin.com.bn - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from borneobulletin.com.bn Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Dancer speaks out about racism at Berlin’s Staatsballet
A ballet mistress at the Berlin State Ballet has been accused of making various racist remarks by ensemble member Chloe Lopes Gomes, a French dancer joined the Berlin State Ballet in 2018 as the first and to date only Black member. During those two and a half years, I was under the supervision of a ballet mistress who said that ballet should not take me because I am Black and a woman of color in a corps de ballet is something that is not aesthetic, not homogeneous, Lopes Gomes told DW. She made racist jokes and comments.