A vintage original 5x6 1/2 inch photo from 1951 depicting Janet Collins, the first Metropolitan Opera House ballerina in Aida
Janet Collins (born March 7, 1917 in New Orleans, Louisiana; died May 28, 2003 in Fort Worth, Texas) was a ballet dancer and choreographer.
Janet Collins was one of the few classically trained African American dancers of her generation. In 1951 she won the Donaldson Award for best dancer on Broadway for her work in Cole Porter's Out of This World (musical). She also did Aida, Carmen, and was the first African American ballerina at the Metropolitan Opera. She could not tour in parts of the Deep South due to her race. In later life she taught dance.[1]
Janet Collins, the first black prima ballerina to appear at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, has died in Fort Worth. She was 86.
Collins was one of the few black women to become a prominent U.S classical ballet dancer.
In 1951, she performed lead roles in Aida and Carmen and danced in La Giononda and Samson and Delilah at the Met.
Starring in the 1951 production of Cole Porter's Out of This World , Collins won the Donaldson Award for the best dancer on Broadway.
But she struggled against racism and was not allowed to tour with the company during the off-season because she could not perform onstage with white dancers in the Deep South.
Collins left the Met in 1954 and toured with her own dance group throughout the United States and Canada.
On May-31-07 at 16:22:54 PDT, seller added the following information:
