Battle at the ballet as traditionalists take issue with dancer’s brown tights
‘You want there to be continuation between your upper and lower body’
A BLACK ballerina has fallen foul of dance traditionalists after revealing she will no longer wear pink ballet tights on stage.
Precious Adams, an American-born dancer, has announced she will now wear brown tights when performing, as she believes they allow her to look her best on stage.
And despite criticism from many in the ballet industry, the first artist at the English National Ballet (ENB) said the company had welcomed her decision, ushering in a new tradition for dancers.
The 23-year-old, who is currently performing in Lest We Forget, told the Evening Standard that she always wanted to look her best in front of an audience and brown tights were the obvious choice to match her skin tone.
“When I was a student I never really thought about the uniform – it was just pink tights and pink shoes,” Miss Adams said, but since turning professional she realised the tights no longer “made sense” for her.
“It changes the aesthetic, you want there to be continuation between your upper and lower body and there’s a big disconnect if I put pink tights on,” she said.
Despite this, she said traditionalists had questioned her decision, claiming it was “incorrect” ballet uniform.
But the ballerina revealed that she has the support of Tamara Rojo, ENB director.
“Luckily Tamara has been very receptive,” she said.
“She’s really changing the company. It’s incredible working under her. Everyone is an individual and she tries hard to play to people’s strengths.”