.jpg)
At the time when her older sister’s group, Destiny’s Child, was on the way to becoming a successful pop outfit, Solange had different plans mapped out for herself.
Five years younger than Beyoncé, Solange initially dreamed of studying dancing at Juilliard. Initially inspired by hours of watching Debbie Allen on the ’80s television show Fame, her aspirations were deepened when she saw Lauren Anderson dance with the Houston Ballet company. Anderson was one of the first black ballerinas to become a principal dancer in a major company.
Solange’s path deviated in 2000, when Destiny’s Child member Kelly Rowland broke two toes during a backstage change. With the group still needing to complete a few dates as the opening act for Christina Aguilera, the 14-year-old stepped into the gap. Unfortunately, a serious injury led her to step down a year later, but she spent her recuperation time penning her own songs. She said the songwriting “came out of a need to express another facet that my body couldn’t.”
And finding new facets is something Solange is great at.
Solange's Solo Album Debuted When She Was Sixteen
Although her father, who had spearheaded Destiny’s Child’s fame, was initially reticent about allowing his youngest daughter to enter the industry, he signed her to his record company in 2002. Her debut album, Solo Star, was released a year later.
By the time she released her single Rise fifteen years later, there was a vast difference in her music.
Inspired by the 2015 police killings in Ferguson and Baltimore, the song attracted major attention and critical acclaim, going on to become the lead track on her third full studio album, A Seat at the Table. The album shot to No. 1 on the Billboard chart, making Solange and Beyoncé the first sisters to each have a number one hit.
In February 2017, Solange’s name was cemented as one of the greats when her single Cranes in the Sky won the Grammy for Best R&B Performance.
The Album Also Led Her In A New Direction
Although she initially promoted the album with a conventional national tour, there was something new happening at the same time. The Don't Touch My Hair singer made full use of the visual medium of Instagram. Known for her love of vibrant fashion, she became one of the style icons of the medium, and has added it to the palette of her offerings.
Over the last few years, Solange has emerged as a highly respected performance artist.Since 2017, she has staged art events featuring her music, accompanied by elements of movement, sound, image, sculpture, and more. Structured completely by Solange, they’ve been presented to select audiences at elite art institutions across the world.
Solange grew up appreciating art. Growing up, the young girl regularly visited the Rothko Chapel, which featured 14 of the painter’s large-scale canvases in purples, browns, and blacks. She would sit there for hours. Always known for having a good eye, her events feature specific use of color.
She’s Staged Events At Prestigious Museums
Staged in some of the best-known museums in the world, Solange has made audiences sit up and take notice of her work. The Guggenheim, The Getty, and the Brooklyn museum are just some of the backdrops that she’s selected.
She’s also moved further afield, to venues like London’s Tate Modern and The Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, Germany.
In addition to the live events, Solange presents them online too. In 2018, Metratron's Cube premiered on the Hammer Museum’s website. Visuals saw dancers performing inside a white cube sculpture.
Sometimes performers seemed to pop in and out of a picture frame, and other times they marched down a set of stairs.
It's the kind of work that has seen Solange named Harvard Foundation Artist of the Year. She also received another big nod from the art world in 2019. Invited to present the closing ceremony at one of its most prestigious events, the Venice Biennale, she debuted a new work to great acclaim.
She’s Recently Composed A Work For The New York Ballet
Commissioned to compose an original work for the New York Ballet, she will be only the third woman in history to do so. The work, due to open in October 2022, will be choreographed by 18-year-old prodigy Gianna Reisen, and the music is set to be performed by the City Ballet orchestra and a soloist from Solange’s ensemble.
It seems Solange’s dream of being involved in ballet is finally coming true, although it's via a different route. And her fans are loving it.
And it's a win for NYB, which is gaining a whole new audience. The demand for tickets has been so great that the website now features a virtual waiting room to avoid a crash because of the high numbers.
Singer, songwriter, actress, choreographer, Grammy winner, and visual and performing artist. And now, Ballet composer. Solange is certainly not standing in anyone’s shadow.
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7tbTErZ%2Bippeoe6S7zGiuoZmkYrGwsdJmqqikkaO0pnnKp6awpJWoeqW7jJ%2Bmq2WRYrmqwsinnmg%3D