As a young dancer growing up in North Carolina, “West Side Story” star Ariana DeBose did not have a plethora of pop culture role models from whom she could draw inspiration. “There is an abundance of examples of white lived experiences. There just weren’t many with my specific lived experience,” said DeBose, who identifies as Afro-Latina. “There weren’t a ton of examples that I could look to, to see myself reflected in the work.”
One movie that did make an impact on her was “Center Stage,” the beloved cult classic from 2000 about twenty-something dancers competing in a cut-throat New York City ballet school. Making her big-screen debut, Zoe Saldaña played one of those dancers, a rebellious Boston girl destined for prima ballerina stardom. “Seeing a beautiful melanated queen doing ballet and doing it beautifully, doing it well — that was very influential on my childhood,” DeBose, 31, told TheWrap. “(Saldaña...
One movie that did make an impact on her was “Center Stage,” the beloved cult classic from 2000 about twenty-something dancers competing in a cut-throat New York City ballet school. Making her big-screen debut, Zoe Saldaña played one of those dancers, a rebellious Boston girl destined for prima ballerina stardom. “Seeing a beautiful melanated queen doing ballet and doing it beautifully, doing it well — that was very influential on my childhood,” DeBose, 31, told TheWrap. “(Saldaña...
- 3/17/2022
- by Missy Schwartz
- The Wrap
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