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A local ballet company will present The Hair Journey, an original work using Black culture, fashion and dance to reflect upon a crowning glory.
Inspired by Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s familiar classical ballet The Nutcracker, The Hair Journey tells the story of Zuri, a young girl who has definite ideas about how she wants to wear her hair. After a rainstorm puffs up her straightened curls, she embarks upon a dreamlike adventure through various realms of Black hair, such as the Weave Kingdom and the Land of Locs and Fros.
The ballet is the brainchild of Princess Johnson, founder of Royal Expressions Contemporary Ballet in Greensboro.
“So being a Black woman in the dance world is a very interesting journey,” she said with a laugh, “especially when you’re a lover of ballet.
“As someone that runs my own dance company, one of the things that I’ve been able to do is liberate us through our hair,” she said. “Instead of them having to straighten their hair and get extensions to create a bun that mimics that of what you would normally see on a White ballerina, my girls just simply slick their natural hair back with the products that we know and love and we just wear afro puffs. So that is what our buns are.”
Additionally, Black ballerinas may struggle to find skin-toned tights and shoes and deal with other established aspects of the dance world “just because,” she said. “So that’s what this show is about, about challenging what exactly is ballet when it comes to Black people, what is ballet for us? So I wanted to create something that told a story that we could relate to.”
Rather than a specific technique, ballet is actually telling a story through dance, Johnson explained. So her dancers will perform in a wide range of styles, including jazz, contemporary, hip hop, lyrical, even majorette.
“You’re gonna see all of that happening to tell this story and coming together. But there is some ballet,” she said. “We put it in there. For those who are really, really wanting to see it, we give ‘em a little taste.”
Johnson created The Hair Journey during the alleged racial reckoning after the murder of George Floyd and as the CROWN Act was being considered. Intended to prevent racial hair-based discrimination, the act has been adopted by 27 states and numerous municipalities, including Greensboro.
“I wrote the story in 2021, so that kind of gives you an idea of just how high racial tension was at the time. And I just wanted to create something a little more joyful because it had been such a hard year in 2020 for so many of us,” she said.
Royal Expressions is presenting The Hair Journey for a second time this year after it was well received in 2024.
“At least 10 people came to me and said ‘This needs to be on Broadway.’ And some people were like, ‘Oh, it seemed like a Disney production!’ So people see the vision, they see the dream and they see themselves. They just were so moved by it,” Johnson said. “Even had a bald man - he was like ‘I hope y’all tell my story one day!’”
Five performances of The Hair Journey are scheduled June 26-28 at the Carolina Theatre, 310 S. Greene St. in downtown Greensboro. The first show is a special one for children at 11 a.m.
Tracy Fields is a veteran journalist and a Greensboro native covering arts and entertainment for the Peacemaker.
