Royal Ballet star lightened his skin to try to ‘blend in’
Fernando Montaño, the Colombian soloist, said using make-up reflected his inner insecurities
A ROYAL Ballet soloist has told how he felt he needed to wear make-up to lighten his skin in order to be selected for major roles.
Fernando Montaño, who has performed for the Prince of Wales, said he used cosmetics during his early years at Britain’s largest ballet company as he was one of only three black dancers.
While Montaño, 33, felt his skin colour placed him at a disadvantage when auditioning for roles, he said he never believed he was discriminated against, adding that his use of make-up instead reflected his inner insecurities.
Born in the Colombian region of Valle del Cauca, Montaño’s dancing talents allowed him an es- cape route from the poverty and drug violence that plagued his district. He joined the Royal Ballet in 2006, but said he struggled to adjust to life at the Royal Opera House, partly because of fears that his race could count against him when competing with white performers.
Montaño told The Sunday Telegraph: “When I joined the company there was only Carlos [Acosta] and another black American ballerina.
“I was feeling like there was no one like me, and then of course I was trying to fit in, i and so I used to put on light make make-up, on my hands and my face, so I could look like the others and blend i in.” Montaño said he h was “extremely grateful” for the opportunity o given to him by the Royal Roy Ballet, claiming other black artists do not choose the t performance dance because b of its perceived “elitism”. “You “Yo do not see many black classical ballet dancers, dan most of them the are more cont temporary, maybe because ballet can be very elitist – they do not even try out for other roles because they don’t have many role models.” He added: “I remember I met Prince Charles and I did not know how to address him properly.
“I had to watch what the other people in the company did and try to copy what they were saying and what they were doing.”
His comments come at a time when the lack of diversity in some sections of the profession is being highlighted.
Last month, Freed of London, the ballet kit manufacturer, made brown shoes available to dancers from minority ethnic backgrounds for the first time in the UK. Dancers not catered for by standard-issue pink shoes have previously had to rely on pancaking – the application of make-up to their shoes – to make them match their skin colour.
Montaño graduated from the National Ballet School of Cuba at the age of 14 and went on to perform in Italy. He became the first Colombian to dance with the Royal Ballet, with his energetic performances earning the nickname the Colombian Billy Elliot.
The Prince and the Duchess of Cornwall were enthralled by a private per-
‘You do not see many black classical ballet dancers … maybe because ballet can be very elitist’
formance of The Dying Swan from Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake, during a state visit in Colombia in 2014.
Since the death of his mother when he was 21, Montaño has continued to support his loved ones at home. In 2016, he returned to Colombia, where he is a television personality and the patron of a charity tackling child poverty and violence.
Earlier this year, he left the Royal Ballet for a year-long sabbatical, but intends to rejoin on his return to Britain. His autobiography is due to be published in the spring.
A Royal Opera House spokesman said: “The Royal Ballet is proud to foster an inclusive company and is committed to making ballet accessible to all. Our dancers come from many different backgrounds and cultures from around the world. The question of colour in ballet is a global issue and is something that the global ballet community is actively addressing.”