Levelling dance floor for everyone is Stacey's aim

NOTTINGHAM COMPANY MAKING BALLET MORE ACCESSIBLE FOR ALL

- By GEORGE PALMER-SOADY

WHEN Stacey Green started dancing in 1979, she remembers feeling like “the only one in the room”.

The 50-year-old from Forest Fields has spent almost her entire life in the dance industry, mainly performing and teaching ballet.

“When I started dancing, I didn’t know why we wore pink,” she said. “As you educate yourself and find out more about dance, it becomes apparent and I started to understand.

“I started questioning it and saying it wasn’t fair on people with darker skin tones who want to do ballet.”

That's how Shades Dancewear was born.

The business, which Stacey set up in 2023 with business partner Laura Grant, creates dancewear designed for a range of different skin tones, rather than the traditional pink ballet suits and shoes that have historically been the standard.