Ruth Essel, 30, founder of Pointe Black Ballet School, poses for a picture with her students Maya, 10, Kalani, 8, Dior, 10, and Kioni, 10, as they gather to watch the musical film 'The Wiz' at Essel's flat in south London, Britain, May 29, 2023. It was a pointed comment about her Afro-braided hair that spurred Essel to carve out what she calls a safe space for Black dancers. The founder of Pointe Black Ballet School in London said when she was a child, teachers and assistants all but punished her for not fitting the traditional ballerina mould, as if she was using her race as some kind of rebellion. Those challenges inspired Essel, a deputy programme manager at a unit of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, to establish Pointe Black in 2020 at the age of 26. "I wanted there to be a Black environment. I wanted there to be people who looked like me. I wanted there to be a teacher that looked like me," she said.  REUTERS/Alishia Abodunde SEARCH "ABODUNDE BALLET SCHOOL" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.