In 1957 an owner of a hotel in Atlanta, Georgia, asked Wilkinson if she was black. Additionally Wilkinson often had to wear white makeup onstage to conceal her racial identity. Wilkinson had pale skin, and in order to perform with the Company in the South, she was asked not to publicize her race. Performing with the Company also meant, as Wilkerson would soon discover, touring throughout the U.S., including the still racially-segregated South. On her third try, Sergei Denham, the company’s director, informed her that she would be accepted into the Company. Twice she was rejected but Wilkinson persevered. Seeking to become a professional dancer, Wilkinson first auditioned for a position with the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo in 1954. She later transferred to the Professional Children’s School in the Bronx where she continued her training, remaining there through her last two years of high school. On her ninth birthday an uncle gave her the gift of ballet lessons to the Swoboda School. Wilkinson had been a fan of ballet since the age of five. She was promoted to soloist during her second season with the troupe, and remained with the company for six years. Raven Wilkinson became the first African American woman to receive a contract to dance full time with a major ballet company, the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo of New York City in August 1955 at the age of 20.
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