It was a pointed comment about her afro-braided hair that spurred Ruth Essel to carve out what she calls a safe space for black dancers. The founder of Pointe Black ballet school in London says that when she was a child, teachers and assistants would all but punish her for not fitting the traditional ballerina mould. Those challenges inspired Essel to establish her dance school in 2020 at the age of 26. ‘I wanted there to be a black environment. I wanted there to be people who looked like me. I wanted there to be a teacher that looked like me,’ she says
https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/gallery/2023/oct/04/pointe-black-london-ballet-school-breaking-racial-barriers-in-pictures
