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"The Devil Ties My Tongue" by Amy Seiwert performed for the SKETCH Series, 2013. Photo by David DeSilva. Courtesy of Amy Seiwert's Imagery
Pointe: Ingrid Silva Stars in New Nike Video Series Celebrating Black History Month (Plus, Serena Williams Narrates)
By Chava Lansky
Yesterday, the first of Nike’s new Common Thread video series dropped, and we were thrilled to see that it featured dancers; namely, Dance Theatre of Harlem member (and June/July 2017 Pointe cover star) Ingrid Silva, and Florida-based ballet student Alex Thomas. Even better, it’s narrated by tennis phenom Serena Williams. This series of short videos celebrates Black History Month by focusing on representation in sport. (We’re not crazy about ballet being called a sport, but we’ll let it slide.) In each installment, athletes united by a common thread discuss their passion, and the lack of role models they saw in their fields while growing up.
Interspersed with gorgeous dance footage, Silva and Thomas tell each other their stories. Silva talks about growing up in Brazil, and how it wasn’t until she moved to New York to train at DTH that she saw dancers who looked like her. Thomas discusses the loneliness he felt as the only dancer of color in his childhood studio. “Representation matters, and you can’t become something you don’t see,” says Silva, who later adds, “Directors have to take the first step in hiring dancers of color, so the stage looks like what the rest of the world looks like.”
Watch this inspirational video below now!
Read the full post on Pointe’s blog.
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