Other than their genius and achievements, what do Queen Latifah, Aretha Franklin, Vanessa Williams, Chaka Khan, Diana Ross, and Mariah Carey have in common? To begin with, they all were born in March — Women’s History Month. We could add several others; perhaps most notably Harriet Tubman, the great abolitionist.
However, another Black woman born in March — on Mar. 7, 1917, to be precise — should also share the spotlight at the moment: Janet Collins, a prima ballerina, choreographer, and teacher.
A native of New Orleans, Collins became a pioneer in ballet dancing and one of the few Black women of her generation to be classically trained. In the 1940s, she collaborated with Katherine Dunham as a member of her company. By the late ’40s, she had earned countless glowing reviews, including as a standout in Cole Porter’s musical “Out of this World.”
Collins was at the height of her career in 1951 when she was hired as the first Black ballerina of the Metropolitan Opera. Among her memorable performances, praised highly by critics, was her artistry in Aida, Carmen, La Gioconda, and Samson and Delilah.
After abandoning the stage and concert tours, Collins devoted herself to teaching, and applied the same rigorous training of style and technique that made her such an outstanding dancer to her students. Noteworthy, too, was the creativity and innovations she wove into the choreography of various operas.
As formidable and talented she was as a teacher, though, she is best remembered for the composure she brought to her creations: “at once cool and exotic … a study in perfectly controlled power and tension.” One critic said that she harnessed a precise harmony of technique and invention.
In 2000, no longer the extraordinary dancer and retired as a teacher and choreographer, Collins moved from Seattle to Fort Worth to be closer to family members. She died in 2003 at the age of 86. Her thousands of fans remember the grace she exuded as she leaped and spun her magic on the stage. Women’s History Month could not be better represented than by the brilliance and magnetism of Janet Collins.