{"id":493,"date":"2022-07-11T16:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-07-11T16:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bigrecipes.net\/?p=493"},"modified":"2024-05-31T17:39:40","modified_gmt":"2024-05-31T17:39:40","slug":"meet-cira-robinson-senior-artist-with-ballet-black","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bigrecipes.net\/index.php\/2022\/07\/11\/meet-cira-robinson-senior-artist-with-ballet-black\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet Cira Robinson, Senior Artist with Ballet Black"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cMy growth as a dancer is never over, and that\u2019s one of the many reasons why I still love it,\u201d says Cira Robinson<\/a>. The Cincinnati native trained under Arthur Mitchell<\/a> at Dance Theatre of Harlem<\/a> and joined London\u2019s Ballet Black in 2008. A senior artist in the company, she\u2019s originated roles in ballets by Annabelle Lopez Ochoa<\/a> and Will Tuckett<\/a>, toured internationally, and performed for a 100,000-strong crowd with British rapper Stormzy at the 2019 Glastonbury Festival<\/a>. She\u2019s a force offstage, too: Her 2017 collaboration with Freed of London<\/a> produced two pointe-shoe skin tones for Black, Asian and mixed-race dancers\u2014Ballet Brown and Ballet Bronze. And on social media, she was candid about a 2020 health scare that created a shift in her \u201ckeep-going\u201d mentality. \u201cIt\u2019s a phenomenal thing, what dancers do, but we are not superhumans,\u201d says Robinson.\u00ad \u201cHealth needs to be at the top of the list.\u201d<\/p>\n

When She Knew:<\/strong>
\u201cBallet was always something that just clicked. It wasn\u2019t until I did my last summer program at Dance Theatre of Harlem, at 18 years old, that I knew this is what I wanted to do forever.\u201d<\/p>\n

PreShow Jitters:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cMy dancer mentality wants to hit every step perfectly, but then my human side kicks in and I accept that I\u2019m a professional and I\u2019ve got this\u2014and if I don\u2019t, I better figure it out! Then I Tiger Balm everything, take a couple of deep breaths and leave Cira in the dressing room.\u201d<\/p>\n

Making Dance More Diverse:<\/strong>
\u201cThings are happening, but not at the rate that they should. People should\u00a0want\u00a0<\/em>diversity, development and inclusion in their schools and companies\u2014it\u2019s more than having one person of color as a teacher or on the board.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"
Cira Robinson. Photo by Laura Gallant.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Collaborating With Freed:<\/strong>
“I had always pancaked my shoes, but even though it’s something that needs to be done, it’s tedious. I went to Freed of London to inquire about having a custom brown shoe made for me, and they told me that I needed to find the proper brown satin for the shoes, so I did. I went to seven different fabric stores before I found the perfect swatch of brown. When I informed my director Cassa Pancho<\/a> about customizing a shoe, she sprang into action with Freed, and a collaboration was birthed.”<\/p>\n

Her Turn as Teacher:<\/strong>
“I try to keep the values, etiquette, and ‘good stuff’ that I grew up with that helped me to navigate through this dance world, but I also know that I have to adapt to this generation of students. There’s a level of respect that should be there amongst the teacher and student, but ultimately, I like to be as appropriately real as possible with the older students while helping to feed the imagination and dreams of the little ones.”<\/p>\n

Growing as an Artist:<\/strong>
“Diving deeper into the acting side of the various narrative roles I’ve portrayed in the past five years, I’ve noticed that that’s where I thrive and feel full. Being extremely vulnerable and consumed in a role onstage and being able to take the audience with me every step of the way is what I’m recently most proud of and what I try to bring to everything that I dance.”<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

The post Meet Cira Robinson, Senior Artist with Ballet Black<\/a> appeared first on Dance Magazine<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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