The Wind at My Back: Resilience, Grace, and Other Gifts from My Mentor Raven Wilkinson

Ballerina Copeland writes another memoir about the highs and lows of ballet stardom (following Life in Motion: An Unlikely Ballerina and Black Ballerinas: My Journey to Our Legacy), with a special focus on the celebrated career of pioneering Black ballerina Raven Wilkinson, who ultimately became Copeland’s mentor. Wilkinson was the first Black member of a major ballet company to grace stages worldwide with Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo in the mid-20th century. The parallels between Copeland’s and Wilkinson’s careers are clear: each won critical acclaim for her artistry—and also faced racism (some overt, some subtle) that affected their trajectories in the predominantly white ballet world. In a conversational tone, Copeland recounts her own barriers and triumphs as she rose to the rank of principal dancer at American Ballet Theatre, interwoven with highlights from Wilkinson’s less-known career. Balletomanes will enjoy the book’s blow-by-blow accounts of Copeland’s mold-breaking performance of Swan Lake and of Wilkinson’s interactions with dance luminaries like Alicia Alonso, although the book could have used more photographs to bring the subjects to life.