Artistic Trailblazing with Brown Ballerina Ambassador Gracie Butler
Gracie Butler is a 14-year-old Brown Ballerina Ambassador making history today. She lives in Chicago, IL, and considers herself the first artist in her family. Although her older sister practiced ballet for a while, she’s the first in her family to take it seriously.
In her interview below, Gracie discusses her experience as an artistic trailblazer, where she gains inspiration, and advice for other dancers who are the first in their family to seek a career in dance.
Related: Reflecting on Creating History with Brown Ballerina Ambassador Kennedy Simone
Photo: Gracie Butler; shot by Lauren Steed
What history do you hope to make, or have you already made, as a dancer?
I hope to make history by being a trailblazer in the journey to helping dancers of all colors, ages, and more feel more widely accepted in the dance world.
Making history takes bravery, courage, and imagination. What inspires you to create your own path and make history?
What inspires me to create my own path and make history is how alone I felt as a dancer when I was younger. I remember auditioning for Nutcracker and feeling like I could never be a soloist or have a principal role because I had a different skin color then everybody else in the production. I want to make sure that no other dancer has to feel the way I used to feel. You can be or do anything you want as long as you put in hard work and never give up.
What advice do you have for other dancers who may be the first in their family to take their art seriously and/or pursue a career with it?
Focus on your own goals. Do it for yourself and not for anyone else. Just because someone in your family may be a teacher or a doctor, that doesn't mean you have to be as well. Stick to what you love and do what makes you happy. After all, you are the one who is going to be doing it.
What legacy do you hope to leave behind?
The legacy I hope to leave behind is showing other ballerinas of color to be confident in who they are. You don't have to hide because of the color of your skin. A lot of times when I scroll through social media, there isn't much representation for people of color in dance. We need to be the representation.
What other changes do you hope to see in the dance world in the future?
In the future, I hope to see the community of diverse ballet dancers grow. We are all beautiful and we should let the world see it.
Who is a Black ballerina in history who inspires you and why?
A Black ballerina who inspires me in Lauren Anderson. I was lucky enough to have taken a class with her, and in that class, I learned more than just ballet. I learned that there are many more ballerinas of color and we can be amazing too. If we never give up, we can inspire the generations after that, like how Lauren Anderson inspired me.
Do you have anything else you’d like to share with dancers reading this article?
Never give up! Although that sounds really cliché, it works! I am the youngest dancer in my level and that can be hard sometimes because I never feel like I am as good as the other dancers. As long as I focus on myself and don't worry about what everybody else is doing, everything will be okay.
You don't have to be better than other people in your class, you just have to try to be better than you were the day before. But I will admit, this is much easier said than done. Sometimes, I feel really down about myself, but it's important to bounce back and not let one bad day or one bad moment decide my future.
Photo: Gracie Butler; shot by Lauren Steed
Gracie started dancing around age 3 at Chicago Ballet Arts. When she was about 5 or 6, I started dancing at Ruth Page Center for the Arts. Over the years, she has studied ballet, tap, jazz, hip-hop, Afro-Cuban, and modern.
You can follow Gracie’s dance journey or message her for advice on Instagram!
Our Brown Ballerina Ambassador program is designed to create opportunities for young dancers in training to be seen as leaders and to eventually become mentors to other Brown Ballerinas in training. To find out more about our ambassador program and how you can support it, visit our Ambassador/Mentorship Program page.
Be sure to check out our Brown Ballerina Blog, where we feature spotlights on our Brown Ballerina Ambassadors, updates from our organization, useful tips for ballerinas, interviews with dance professionals, and more!
Note: This interview has been edited for concision and clarity.