Boston Ballet features one of country’s more diverse casts
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Boston Ballet features one of country’s more diverse casts
03:34
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BOSTON – The Boston Ballet company is one of the most diverse in the country, featuring dancers from all around the world, of just about every color. Those dancers are hoping to send a message to inspire the future generation.
WBZ-TV is shining the spotlight on Boston Ballet as a part of Black History Month.
Artist Sydney Williams and second soloist Daniel Durrett said they hope to show the next generation what is possible. But Durrett said it wasn’t easy as a young dancer growing up in Cincinnati.
“Being the only Black boy in the class, I feel like I was brainwashed into thinking that I didn’t deserve to be there,” Durrett said. “I had to work so much harder into getting a position and that I needed to be happy and accept any position or contract, or anything that was given to me instead of being like, ‘I’ve worked my butt off for this opportunity. I deserve just as much as an opportunity as the rest of these other kids.’”
While Williams looked up to world-famous dancer Misty Copeland as a child, she didn’t see many other Black faces at the ballet.
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She said that helped fuel her ambition.
“Even though I didn’t see myself, I had enough confidence that I would eventually see actually me on stage. It kind of was a motivator for me to be that for other young dancers,” Williams said.
Durrett said he knows how much representation matters.
“When I would go to the ballet when I was little and I didn’t see Black dancers, I was just very confused. I was like ‘Why aren’t there Black dancers on stage? Why do all the dancers look the same? Why are they all white?’” Durrett said. “So I hope that kids in Boston are able to come to the ballet and see ‘Oh, there’s a Black ballet dancer or there’s a Brown ballerina there. I know I can do it and I know I can pursue this career.’”
Boston Ballet opens Winter Experience on February 22 at the Citizens Bank Opera House.
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You can see Williams and Durrett, as well as the rest of the company, on stage through March 3.
Paula Ebben
Emmy Award-winning journalist Paula Ebben co-anchors WBZ-TV News at 5:30 p.m. Ebben is also an anchor for CBS News Boston and reports across all newscasts including WBZ-TV News’ “Eye on Education” reports.
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ALLSTON, MASS. (WHDH) – Boston police are searching for a gunman who opened fire in Allston Thursday and left one person hurt.
Police responded to a radio call for a person shot in the area of Brighton Avenue at approximately 6:46 p.m. When officers arrived, they said they found a male “juvenile” suffering from a gunshot wound. The victim’s age has not been released.
Boston police said the shooter fled the scene and remains at large. No arrests have been made.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Boston police.
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This is a developing news story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest details.
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A State Police trooper who was allegedly found “slumped over” in his car at around 5 a.m. in the South End with an open container of High Noon vodka has been “relieved of duty.”
Mass State Police confirmed to the Herald Wednesday night that Trooper Donovan Preston, 31, arrested for alleged drunken driving in Boston this past weekend, “has been relieved of duty.” Preston’s base pay is listed as $80,213.
A Boston Police report states that police arrived at Herald Street on Saturday to see Preston “stopped in lane 2 of the road” with his brake lights on. The suspect was slumped over “with his eyes closed,” the report adds.
“The officer observed that the car was on and in drive. The officer observed an open container of alcohol (High Noon) in the cupholder,” according to the report. The BPD officer then knocked on the window “for approximately 10 seconds before the suspect lifted his head up.”
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Once he picked his head up, police said he appeared “confused and he looked around. The suspect’s vehicle began to roll to which the officer announced, ‘Boston Police. Open the Door.’ ”
Preston stopped on the three-lane, outbound road with his black BMW in the middle of two lanes.
A State Police spokesman said in an email: “Trooper Donovan Preston was relieved of duty and will be subject to a department discipline process.” All other comments were directed toward the police report.
That report, provided to the Herald Wednesday night, added that State Police were notified after Preston’s arrest.
The can of High Noon was logged into the evidence book.
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This latest OUI case comes as State Police Sgt. Scott Quigley is being investigated in an alleged drunken driving fatal crash in Woburn in 2023 that killed a disabled passenger in a van.
In the Quigley case, his blood alcohol level reportedly tested at a .114 at the hospital following the crash (the legal limit is .08). That detail came out in a wrongful death suit filed by the victim Angelo Schettino’s family.
‘Unless he’s s###-faced, I’m not worried’: Mass State Police dash cam catches aftermath of deadly cruiser crash [+video]
The smashed van at the Woburn crash scene. (MSP body camera video screengrab)
