Nude Barre has signed on to sponsor The Black Iris Project, a ballet collaborative and education vehicle, creating new classical ballet works celebrating diversity and black history! Joffrey Ballet Choreographers of Color Award winner, Jeremy McQueen assembled a conglomerate of extraordinary Black Ballet dancers and production team, to reinforce the validity of black-centric works. McQueen looked to Nude Barre, the only brand with an assortment of 16 shades of nude hosiery tones. The Black Iris Project is comprised of Black ballet dancers from; American Ballet Theatre, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, An American in Paris on Broadway, Ballet West, Collage Dance Collective, and Dance Theatre of Harlem, just a to name a few.
As a former professional dancer, Nude Barre, CEO Erin Carpenter wouldn’t pass on the opportunity to empower performing artists of color and assist at modernizing original ballet works inspired by Black heritage. Providing Opaque convertible tights for three original Black Iris Project ballets rooted in black history, Madiba (the story of anti-apartheid activist, Nelson Mandela's), Brown Baby (inspired by the life of Black model, Beatrice Reynolds Cox), and a restaging of Black Iris, originally created as part of McQueen’s 2013 JoffreyBallet Choreographers of Color Award.
"The Black Iris Project initiatives are directly in line with Nude Barre’s continued commitment to empowering performers. We want all performers to feel comfortable with who they are and where they come from no matter what body type or skin color they have." ~ Erin Carpenter
"I'm really inspired by Erin's entrepreneurial spirit, starting her own company from a vision that is driven from her journey as a Black woman in dance. Partnering with Nude Barre just made so much sense to me. Nude Barre celebrates diversity and the variation of hues we see in the world. I'm thrilled that The Black Iris Project can celebrate her line by having our dancers wear Nude Barre tights exclusively for our performances this summer to specifically showcase the spectrum of hues that exists in the ballet world beyond the traditional pink and black." ~ Jeremy McQueen
To learn more about Nude Barre, visit www.nudebarre.com