Raven Wilkinson and Alicia Alonso

Alicia Alonso was a guest artist with the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo at the time Raven Wilkinson was in the company. Alonso had an olive complexion and after performing with the company, sent Wilkinson a bottle of clown-white makeup (through the assistant wardrobe mistress as a messenger) in order to achieve the “white ballet” look. Wilkinson felt that Alonso was trying to share her own experiences and personal tricks while using the messenger to make the situation less awkward. Wilkinson admired Alonso’s dancing, particularly her ability to use her head while dancing. 

 

 

 

Sources: 

Black Ballerinas Dancing on the Edge: An Analysis of the Cultural Politics in Delores Browne’s and Raven Wilkinson’s Careers, Joselli Deans
Photo: Alicia Alonso Obituary, The Guardian

 

 

 

More about Alicia Alonso:

Alicia Alonso was a Cuban prima ballerina and choreographer. She was born in Havana, Cuba and studied with the Sociedad Pro-Arte Musical and at the School of American Ballet. She began her career dancing in musicals and was a soloist with Ballet Caravan, the American Ballet Theatre, and a guest artist with Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo from 1955 to 1960. In 1948, she began her own company, Ballet Alicia Alonso, which later became Ballet de Cuba in 1955. She is known for her exquisite performance of Giselle. From the age of nineteen, Alonso was afflicted with an eye condition and became partially blind. Her partners always had to be in the exact place she expected them to be, and she used lights in different parts of the stage to guide herself.

 

 

 

 

 

Sources: 

Black Ballerinas Dancing on the Edge: An Analysis of the Cultural Politics in Delores Browne’s and Raven Wilkinson’s Careers, Joselli Deans
Alicia Alonso, Wikipedia

 

Thandi Steele