Ballet and Social Media

My daughter told me one day if she had the opportunity to train in an all year-round ballet program she wanted to do it if I would allow her to. I’m sharing my daughter’s story because of her love of ballet. One thing I know for sure is that my child LOVES ballet. She has been in an arts school since elementary. Since my daughter has been dancing I’ve noticed that there are not too many african-american girls that focus solely on ballet.

If I didn’t know anything else I know one thing is for sure, my daughter has a passion for ballet. So what does social media and ballet have to do with what I am writing about? Well, my daughter auditioned and was accepted into a year-round ballet program at Nutmeg Ballet Conservatory in Connecticut.

She received a Merit Scholarship, but the costs are expensive and with me being a single mother I don’t have $25,000 laying around. Why should my daughter not be given the chance to train and dance? That’s why I am reaching out to my network on my social media platforms. We always say our children are our future, in this case I have a child that is striving to reach her personal goals as a ballet dancer.

She already has many challenges facing her in the world of ballet such as; being african-american, A recent article done by The Guardian, brought to light the lack of “color” there is in ballet. Many of the dancers interviewed for the article cited various instances of discrimination from different ballet companies. Ballerina Aesha Ash blames traditionalism, “I have a strong sense that, behind the scenes, donors are saying that they don’t want to see African-Americans promoted in ballet. They want to see Giselles as pale, they want things to remain how they are – for the ‘pure’ swans to look like the traditional swans they’ve seen their whole lives.”

As a mom it’s hard for me to read and hear these stories, I want to automatically protect her from what’s to come, but at the same time I see my daughter perform and watch how she studies ballets on youtube, and most importantly her passion, dedication, and discipline.

Now she is given the opportunity to train all day year-round who knows where that could take her. Will she be able to break barriers like her Mentor Misty Copeland the first African-American Ballet Soloist with American Ballet Theatre? We will never know if she doesn’t get to take on this opportunity. We need your help. We are asking for a $5 donation to help my daughter to attend Nutmeg Ballet Conservatory.

Please watch her video here and learn more about my baby girl. We need your support! When a child has a dream we as parents should encourage that child to never give up on that dream.

If you feel compelled to assist us would you please share with your network. We truly appreciate you and your support. xoxo

Facts:

The reason there are few black students to choose from is complex. For Virginia Johnson, a former star of Dance Theater of Harlem and the editor of Pointe magazine, the disparity stems from three issues: artistic vision, economics — ballet is expensive and competitive among women no matter their skin color — and culture.

Articles:

En Pointe: Black Ballet Dancers Face Discrimination

Why Are There So Few Black Ballet Dancers?

Where are the black ballet dancers?

Instagram App of the Day: 100 Cameras in 1

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Instagram I love you!

If you don’t know by now, I LOVE instagram. I’m on most social media platforms, but for some reason I immediately gained interest in instagram. So what’s so different about instagram then the other platforms you may be thinking. I can tell you for me I feel a different connection with my followers then I do on Facebook or Twitter. It’s more intimate. That’s the best way to describe it for me. We all interact in some form or fashion. Not that I don’t interact with my users on the other platforms, but for some reason I feel like I am truly getting to know my followers by what images they post.

So why is it different from Facebook? I don’t have to hear all the noise and random posts. With instagram you kind of know what you’re gonna get once you logon. Pictures of some sort. Pictures speaks volumes. So my question to you is are you using instagram correctly? Are you telling a story? Do you have a theme? My followers kinda know what to expect when I upload a pic or saying. It’s either about my ballet dancing daughter, my single mom diaries of sayings, black and white images, and just life pics of food, water, etc. So what’s your theme? Take a look at this video to get a better understand of what I mean. Let me know your thoughts!

Watch Filmmaker Casey Neistat lists all the important do’s and don’ts in his quirky and informative guide to ‘not sucking so bad on Instagram’ in the following video.

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Instagram App of the Day: Instasize

We all want our pictures to look perfect on instagram right? Have you ever experienced a problem where your image just was not fitting right when you uploaded an image to instagram? Well here is fix it all. If you haven’t tried this already download Instasize which will post the entire image without cropping. It’s that simple. I love it! Try it let me know how you like it!

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How to Repost an Instagram Pic

Instagram App of the Day:

I’m a big fan of Repost for Instagram. I use this app when I find a pic or saying that I like. I also do this to give the original poster credit. I’m sure you see pics that you want to share with your followers. Here is a good way to do and give the person credit. Download the app it’s free for IOS users. Repost for Instagram makes it easy to #Repost your favorite photos on Instagram while giving credit to the original Instagramer. All it takes is 3 simple steps. Check it out and let me know how you like it!

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