Osiel Gouneo, principal soloist at the Bavarian State Ballet, has written a book about his path as an Afro-Cuban in the world of classical dance. A conversation about his experiences with structural racism, dream roles, role models – and the wise advice of his grandfather.
Osiel Gouneo is one of the outstanding ballet dancers of our time. Since 2016 he has been principal soloist at the Bavarian State Ballet, a company in which people from 24 nations dance. Sounds like diversity. But the Afro-Cuban Gouneo and his compatriot Jonah Acosta are the only members of the ensemble with black skin. It’s no different in other top companies, and it’s not just since the black dancer Chloé Lopes Gomes sued the Berlin State Ballet for discrimination that the major dance institutions have been confronted with accusations of structural racism. In his biography “Black Romeo”, which has just been published by CH Beck, Osiel Gouneo describes his path into the “white world of ballet”. A conversation with the 33-year-old about stereotypical, colonial body images, self-empowerment and his visions for the Bavarian State Ballet.