“This is the dancer, bold like the sun, a prima ballerina in 1951.”  You may have heard of ballerinas Misty Copeland and Maria Tallchief.  But do you know about the dancer born in Louisiana Janet Collins? Her mother made costumes for other dance companies and that is how she paid for Janet’s lessons.  Janet was extremely talented and was offered a spot in the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, but they wanted her to paint herself.  She bravely refused and still went on to eventually become the first ballerina of color to be the Prima Ballerina at the Metropolitan Opera House.   (Prepared by: Helen Prince, Gold Hill Elementary, princeh@fortmillschools.org)    (South Carolina Book Awards, 2020-2021)