The Misty Effect: Rachel Hutsell, Corps de Ballet, New York City Ballet

February 8, 2018

New York City Ballet corps member Rachel Hutsell was practically destined to join the company: “When I was about two years old, my grandmother gave me a video of New York City Ballet performing George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker, and I watched it every single night for two years!” she says. “That was what first sparked my love of dance.” Now, her preternaturally assured dancing makes her a natural fit for her dream company.

Hutsell—who hails from Houston, TX, and trained at Allegro West Academy of Dance until she enrolled at the School of American Ballet—initially had more anxiety about making it in NYC than about her racial identity. “In my apprentice year, I was asked to be part of a New York Times piece on diverse dancers. I kind of woke up and realized, ‘Oh, that’s right. I’m black. And I’m part of this conversation.’ ” She’s disappointed that that conversation has taken so long to happen. “We want to see beauty and diversity come together in unity, because that’s what America is,” she says. “Misty has gone out there and said, ‘I’m diverse, I’m beautiful, and I’m going to succeed.’ And that’s an important example for all of us.”