About
Brown Girls Do Ballet® is a division of Brown Girls Do.™ , Inc, a registered 501(c)3. Our purpose is to promote diversity in the arts by providing annual scholarships, a mentor network, and community programs to empower young girls. Our mission is supported by merchandise sales and fundraisers.
Mission Statement
The mission of Brown Girls Do Ballet® is to help increase participation of underrepresented minority populations in ballet programs through organizing and arranging ballet performances, photo exhibitions, and providing resources and scholarships to assist young girls in their ballet development and training.
Our Story
Brown Girls Do Ballet®, a philanthropic organization often featured for its noteworthy Instagram movement, began in 2013 as a personal photography project by TaKiyah Wallace in an effort to highlight girls of Hispanic, African, Asian, East Indian, and Native American ancestry in Ballet programs. Wallace was taken by surprise upon discovering the lack of cultural diversity in local ballet schools while searching for a program for her then 3 year old. Like any mom, she grew concerned of how her daughter would feel in a class where no one resembled her.
Through her engagement with dancers, their families and the ballet community, TaKiyah developed a passion for re-defining a classically Euro-centric art form to reflect what America is today: beautifully diverse. Striving to touch the lives of little ballerinas, she set out to simply provide a media outlet highlighting the diversity. Little did she know, a movement would be born and this photo project would become so much more.
The Team
TaKiyah Wallace- Executive Director
Eva Shonuga - Grant Writing
Sekani Robinson- Research Intern
Clover Marie - Intern
OUR Board
Jasmine Anderson
Katoiya Bell
Amber Cabral
Tamara Cobb M.A.
Meka Langely, BA, SHRM-CP
Daphne Lee
Janis Roberson, M.A., LPC, NCC
Sherry Williams, Esq
2017 Scholarship Information
Current and Past* Initiatives
Brown Girls Do Ballet Photo Project
Ambassador/Mentorship Program
Tiny Dancer Book Club
The Great Brown Ballerina Road Trip
Brown Girls Do, Inc Summer Intensive Scholarship
Brown Girls Do, Inc College Scholarship
Brown Girls Do, Inc Small Studio Grant
