Tutus In The Hood

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For more delicious news, go to www.GoodNewsGoodPlanet.com, and scroll to bottom for more ways to find the feel good stuff!* TUTUS IN THE HOOD Ballerina Aesha Ash is on a mission, to help change the often demoralizing, objectified images of African-American women, and she’s doing it in a tutu. Her ‘Swan Dreams Project’ is aimed at promoting diversity in the arts through imagery. Ash learned just how effective photographs could be when she was a student at the School of American Ballet. After especially long, tough days of training, she would gain inspiration and courage by looking at photos of the black ballet dancer Andrea Long. The power of those images spurred her to create her own to help young women of color see new possibilities. So, after dancing professionally in the New York City Ballet for thirteen years, Ash decided to take her tutus and ballet slippers to another stage—the inner-city streets of Rochester, New York where she grew up. Her goal was to dispel some of the myths about women of color through ballet. The resulting photographs have gone viral— Ash in full tutu, posing en pointe before a porch full of young people, Ash teaching a pose to two young girls on the sidewalk, and Ash dancing on a basketball court while a game continues behind her. It is a visual conversation between the streets and the fine arts, highlighting her surroundings and the people around her just as much as they highlight the ballerina herself. The excessive positive response from her photo shoots have been remarkable. Ash wants her ‘Swan Dreams Project’ to encourage younger generations not to give up on their dreams, especially if those dreams involve tutus. She offers free dance lessons for children at her daughter’s school and has participated in nonprofits that mentor young women. Aesha Ash has a message to future ballerinas, of all colors: “I want to show the world, that beauty and grace, are not defined by status or race.” #### *Hungry for more of the Good Stuff? Search "Good News Good