Created in 2012, the Brown Girls Do Ballet® Photo Project initially focused on highlighting underrepresented populations of girls in ballet programs in and around North, Central, and South Texas. Brown Girls Do Ballet® has since morphed into a movement seeking to celebrate while increasing attention to the need for diversity in ballet.

The special Stories in Black Excellence gallery highlights 15 African American dancers over 3 cities: Dallas, New York, and Chicago. It features professional dancers Amanda Smith, Ebony Williams, Daphne Lee (Miss Black USA 2017), and Addison Ector, as well as pre-professional phenoms Destiny Wimpye, Kayla Thomas, and Najaah Malonne. The pieces highlight a dancers journey from their 1st class to the rise to professional status. It also gives a peek into the body image, and skin color issues a young dancer of color may face in the classical ballet world.