Yesterday, I found out
that a friend of mine was diagnosed manic depressive or bi-polar late in her life. I was stunned, because I had not noticed any
of the obvious symptoms that people with this disease display. The late Janet Collins was a Renaissance woman. Truly gifted and creative in many areas; she
broke the color barrier as the Metropolitan Opera’s first African-American prim a ballerina. Her stint at the Met was brief and she later toured with
Katherine Dunham and Lester Horton’s companies.
She also taught dance, choreographed, designed her own costumes, and
commissioned music for her dance pieces. She was also a gifted visual artist. Janet was not diagnosed as bi-polar until well
into her later years. I find it extraordinary
that she was able to work past her demons and continue to create works of art
and dance. Being artists, many of us struggle with depression and our
creative dreams. As artists, we are
vulnerable to depression by just being artistic. We have even more significant
vulnerabilities if we experience any type of abuse in our childhood. Like a shooting star, Janet Collins reached
her pinnacle. Her legacy
was breaking the color barrier on the Met stage and paving the way
for African-American dancers.
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| Photo: vintageblackglamour.tumblr.com |
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Photo: vintageblackglamour.tumblr.com
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