Janet Collins

Dates: born March 7, 1917 (New Orleans); died May 28, 2003 (Fort Worth)

Janet was born in New Orleans, Louisiana but her family moved to California when she was four years old. She began her first dance lessons at a Catholic community center in Los Angeles. Janet faced much discrimination and racism. There were very few African-American ballet dancers at the time. She studied classical ballet and was admitted to the prestigious Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo when she was 15. They wanted her to paint her face and skin white to perform, however, so she chose not to accept the admittance. She moved to New York and began dancing in many plays and performances. Janet was the first black ballerina to dance with the Metropolitan Opera. Later in life, she was a ballet instructor in New York. Though she had difficulty gaining success as a dancer due to the racial barriers, she helped to pave the way for many black dancers to follow. Janet also loved to paint.