We saw Misty Copeland (that’s her below) dance Giselle on last Friday night in New York. It would be hard to find a more generous, beautiful, open-hearted performance. Her technique was incredible, strength, precision and expression. Although watching her should be the same as watching anyone else I could not help but be aware of her ground-breaking role in the world of ballet. Then I found this article about her relationship with Ravin Wilkinson, a pioneering ballerina some fifty years her senior. The accomplishments of women like these only get recognized when they speak loudly enough that its impossible to ignore them.
Speaking of which, we followed that up a couple days later with “A Doll’s House, Part 2,” in which Nora returns fifteen years later because her independence is still compromised b y the patriarchy of that society–her husband never filed for divorce (she couldn’t do it) and so the independent life she had built since leaving was threatened. While a lot of the dialogue comprised what to us are familiar tropes about feminism and women’s roles, the play nonetheless packed a powerful emotional punch. Actress Laurie Metcalf brought Nora’s dilemma alive, and made me wonder why it took Misty fifteen years at ABT to become a principal. Perhaps there were no ‘isms’ involved.