May 31, 2025 • 10 mins
New from the incredible teenage activist, prodigy, and compassionate CEO Bellen Woodard comes BALLET BROWN, her new inspirational picture book, coined term, and new crayon colors that literally changes the way we see ballet and dance—created to inspire young people to speak up for the change they wish to see in the world! BALLET BROWN is a heartwarming, inspirational story about authenticity and the richness that brings! Recently featured in TIME Magazine, her op-ed “You’ve Heard of Ballet Pink. It’s Time to Embrace Ballet Brown,” reflects on how Bellen questioned the longstanding default in ballet attire, much like her early experiences with “flesh” crayons being only available in peach. After realizing what was missing, Bellen created Bellen’s More Than Peach Project followed by her More than Peach crayons and picture book More than Peach to challenge these norms and broaden the visual language of color across multiple spaces. Her latest endeavor asks a simple, powerful question of the ballet world: Why is everything pink? In BALLET BROWN, Bellen decides to ditch the pink dance attire and instead embrace brown dance attire that better suits her skin tone. She finds a dance studio who is supportive of this change, because though ballet pink is tradition, Bellen believes that traditions are meant to grow as we do! And she names the change “ballet brown.”
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hello, and good morning. How are you doing today?
Speaker 3 (00:03):
Good? How are you?
Speaker 2 (00:04):
Absolutely fantastic. I am so glad that you have put
this book together because it is needed in so many
different ways. Because I'm inspired by the dancing. I'm inspired
by the activation of our word, and that is so
important in this moment where people are pulling back when
we need to be pushing out.
Speaker 3 (00:25):
Thank you so much.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
Where did the idea come into play?
Speaker 3 (00:31):
So for Balie Brown, So, I've been dancing since I
was two years old. And when I first started dancing,
the world of ballet was just full of color for
us little girls and for us little kids. And as
I started getting a little older, pink kind of became
more of the priority than just all these beautiful rainbow colors.
(00:51):
But then pink it kind of became the one color
that we had to wear. And I started wondering about
it because I was like, well, my legs are pink,
and they don't look like they really belonged to me.
And on stage, my friends look beautiful with the pink tights,
but I mean, the line is kind of breaking for me.
And so I started researching why the pink even why
(01:14):
do we wear pink? And I found out that back
when ballet originated in Europe, the pink was created to
elongate the lines of the company dancers and to make
them look nice and graceful and beautiful on stage, which
is exactly what we want. We want we want everybody,
but we want everybody to be able to look beautiful
in stage and to have those elongated line. And so
(01:37):
when I created Ballet Brown, I had I wanted. I
wanted to convey the message that ballet brown is not
even more it's not even just about putting well. Sorry,
as ballet has involved there has been more skin, as
more skin tellers have come into ballet, brown tights and
brown shoes have been starting to be worn, but it's
(01:57):
still not normalized. And so when I create a ballet brown,
which is not only my new book, but it's also
a term I coined and a mindset, and it kind
of corresponds to the term ballet pink, which is very
commonly used in ballet, which is the name of the
pink tights and the pink, the pink color and ballet.
(02:18):
So yeah, ballet brown is more, much bigger than just
wearing brown tides and shoes. It's really about normalizing equivalent
options and building spaces that are for everybody and for
everybody to excel.
Speaker 2 (02:29):
And I can so relate with this because I'm a
third degree black belt and our dobokes are always white
and I did not like that at all, and because
I mean, first of all, we're on the floor, We're
gonna get dirty, it's going to get filthy. But still
I wasn't able to recognize my other students out in
the real world when they when they had clothing of
color on. And so maybe that's my attraction to this
(02:51):
book is that you see so many different levels of color,
and that was one thing that I missed so much
in martial arts.
Speaker 3 (03:00):
Yeah, for sure, I feel like I feel like we
all deserve we all deserve better, and we all deserve
to be able to you know, we all deserve to
have that feeling and to feel good about ourselves at
the end of the day, especially in our sports.
Speaker 2 (03:17):
So yeah, this book is more than just a YA book.
There are things inside this book that really inspire me
about you as a person, because I mean, you've got
love notes here to the studios where where you're physically
saying we can do this together, we can grow together.
I mean you put a lot of thought thought into
this presentation.
Speaker 3 (03:38):
Yeah, I was. I've been wanting to create Bali Brown. Well,
it's been in the making for two years and it
finally sends out tomorrow. But before it was even starting
to be made, I've been. I've been, That's all I
was thinking about. I wanted to create Bali Brown, the
book so bad and so when I finally got to
create my book, it was well, first came more than Please.
Speaker 2 (04:01):
Do Not Move. There's more with Belln Woodard right around
the corner. Hey, thanks for coming back to my conversation
with author Bellen Wooder. The name of the book Ballet Brown.
When it comes to writing a book at your age,
and I hate to put that number out there, but
the thing is is that you're doing things with your
imagination that other people are probably doing as well, but
they're hiding the writing and they're putting it in places
(04:24):
because they don't want it to come out here, because
they're afraid of being judged. How do you inspire people
to become the writers that they are to be published?
Speaker 3 (04:33):
So how I think I've inspired people is to what
I communicate is that more than Peach is really just
about letting kids be kids and giving them the best options.
And so when you're going about these changes, I feel
like you should really trust yourself and I do convey
that message and really and have the courage to go
(04:56):
out and challenge these as clothes and just you don't
have to just accept just because that's how it is
or how it's spent for a while. You're allowed to
You're allowed to fight for something else. And even with
more than peach that. Originally when I first made it,
I made my first book more to teach. That was
my I wanted that was my goal to that was
(05:19):
my goal to commit a message that giving them the
best options, and I just want I wanted to change
the language of the Kang your creon and and teach
have a teach, teach the well.
Speaker 2 (05:36):
I totally, I totally understand all that. And the reason
why is because I mean, there are some businesses where
you can only wear a blue suit. It's like, really,
why and why why? I mean, we we should we
should be able to wear whatever colors we want to do.
And I think that's what's so fas you know, fancy
about this book is the fact that I think that
adults are going to pick it up and go, I'm
going to make a difference as well.
Speaker 3 (05:55):
Mm hmm.
Speaker 2 (05:58):
Now writing a book, your first book, the Age of ten.
I gotta tell you my second grade teacher, missus Keith,
saw the writer and me. That was second grade. But
I mean, is there a teacher that that deserves the
credit for saying, yes, do this, do this, You've got.
Speaker 1 (06:13):
What it takes. We need your storytelling abilities.
Speaker 3 (06:18):
I feel like when I first heard the echo of
my teacher, I feel like that was really something that
that's that's something that really inspired me. And I feel
like that was definitely like a turning point and how
I went about things because I was like, Wow, if
if this one teacher could use my own language from
when I was eight years old and take it and
(06:40):
started using it in her in the classroom that she ran,
then I wanted to I wanted to have this language everywhere,
and so I just wanted to keep going and keep excelling.
And so I feel like the support of adults and
teachers really just means more two children than you think,
because there's someone that you there are people that you
(07:02):
look up to, and having someone that you look up
to start using your messages is just something that that
sticks with them.
Speaker 2 (07:13):
One of the things that's been described inside your book
is the expansion of our norms in both language and perception.
I love that because you do, you do expand what
we think is normal.
Speaker 3 (07:27):
Thank you so much.
Speaker 1 (07:30):
To have the courage to do that. I mean that
that's amazing.
Speaker 3 (07:35):
Thank you. I definitely it was definitely. At first, it
was it was something I needed to kind of ease
into because I was at first I was not afraid,
but I was just a little nervous to see how
other people would perceive this. But if you know in
your heart that what you're doing is something that you
feel is needed, then just go for it, because you
(07:59):
never know how many people. You never really know how
many people you're helping. And I found out that this
language for more than specifically is what I'm referring to
right now. But this language wasn't something that I was
just hearing. It was something that even seniors have been
hearing for years, and so more and more than you
just created for all. And so that's exactly having that
(08:21):
in mind is just exactly that's exactly what needed to
be done.
Speaker 2 (08:25):
The book is your voice. Now, will you put your
voice in other places as well. In other words, will
we hear you on podcasts? Will we are you going
to develop something like that? I mean, because your activation
abilities are just unbelievable.
Speaker 3 (08:38):
Thank you. You know, a podcast doesn't done like.
Speaker 2 (08:40):
A bad idea, well, because I mean I talk with
more people of psychology and and basically of of what
this nation is all about, and they are putting their
focus on your generation. They believe that your generation has
the courage, the confidence, the perseverance to make positive changes,
and and so they're watching people like yourself.
Speaker 3 (09:01):
Yeah, I see podcasts are very popular nowadays, and I
feel like, you know, I could talk forever, So you know,
that may be a good thing for me.
Speaker 1 (09:13):
Creating with Fanny Liam.
Speaker 2 (09:14):
I mean, what was it like to be, you know,
with an illustrator like that and bringing this book together
through picture as well?
Speaker 3 (09:21):
Yeah, so we actually got we got to cheat or yeah,
so we've bought options of illustrators and we saw all
the different illustration styles that they're all beautiful, but the
way Fan Liam's illustrations were were just caught my eye.
And I feel like the way that she could tell
stories or just one picture, I just really I felt
that was exactly what I needed to have. I does
(09:44):
exactly what I needed in my book and is that
kind of illustration. So it was great to be able
to work with such an amazing illustrator that really captured
the moments so well.
Speaker 2 (09:53):
Wow, Bell, And where can people go to find out
more about everything that you're doing, especially reading your books
as well as hearing your voice?
Speaker 3 (10:01):
So they can go to my instagram which is a
more than Peach project on Instagram, as well as I
have my website which is just at more than Peach
dot com.
Speaker 2 (10:11):
You gotta come back to the show anytime in the future.
The door is always going to be open for you.
Speaker 3 (10:17):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (10:18):
Will you be brilliant today? Okay, thank you too.
Hello, and good morning. How are you doing today?
Speaker 3 (00:03):
Good? How are you?
Speaker 2 (00:04):
Absolutely fantastic. I am so glad that you have put
this book together because it is needed in so many
different ways. Because I'm inspired by the dancing. I'm inspired
by the activation of our word, and that is so
important in this moment where people are pulling back when
we need to be pushing out.
Speaker 3 (00:25):
Thank you so much.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
Where did the idea come into play?
Speaker 3 (00:31):
So for Balie Brown, So, I've been dancing since I
was two years old. And when I first started dancing,
the world of ballet was just full of color for
us little girls and for us little kids. And as
I started getting a little older, pink kind of became
more of the priority than just all these beautiful rainbow colors.
(00:51):
But then pink it kind of became the one color
that we had to wear. And I started wondering about
it because I was like, well, my legs are pink,
and they don't look like they really belonged to me.
And on stage, my friends look beautiful with the pink tights,
but I mean, the line is kind of breaking for me.
And so I started researching why the pink even why
(01:14):
do we wear pink? And I found out that back
when ballet originated in Europe, the pink was created to
elongate the lines of the company dancers and to make
them look nice and graceful and beautiful on stage, which
is exactly what we want. We want we want everybody,
but we want everybody to be able to look beautiful
in stage and to have those elongated line. And so
(01:37):
when I created Ballet Brown, I had I wanted. I
wanted to convey the message that ballet brown is not
even more it's not even just about putting well. Sorry,
as ballet has involved there has been more skin, as
more skin tellers have come into ballet, brown tights and
brown shoes have been starting to be worn, but it's
(01:57):
still not normalized. And so when I create a ballet brown,
which is not only my new book, but it's also
a term I coined and a mindset, and it kind
of corresponds to the term ballet pink, which is very
commonly used in ballet, which is the name of the
pink tights and the pink, the pink color and ballet.
(02:18):
So yeah, ballet brown is more, much bigger than just
wearing brown tides and shoes. It's really about normalizing equivalent
options and building spaces that are for everybody and for
everybody to excel.
Speaker 2 (02:29):
And I can so relate with this because I'm a
third degree black belt and our dobokes are always white
and I did not like that at all, and because
I mean, first of all, we're on the floor, We're
gonna get dirty, it's going to get filthy. But still
I wasn't able to recognize my other students out in
the real world when they when they had clothing of
color on. And so maybe that's my attraction to this
(02:51):
book is that you see so many different levels of color,
and that was one thing that I missed so much
in martial arts.
Speaker 3 (03:00):
Yeah, for sure, I feel like I feel like we
all deserve we all deserve better, and we all deserve
to be able to you know, we all deserve to
have that feeling and to feel good about ourselves at
the end of the day, especially in our sports.
Speaker 2 (03:17):
So yeah, this book is more than just a YA book.
There are things inside this book that really inspire me
about you as a person, because I mean, you've got
love notes here to the studios where where you're physically
saying we can do this together, we can grow together.
I mean you put a lot of thought thought into
this presentation.
Speaker 3 (03:38):
Yeah, I was. I've been wanting to create Bali Brown. Well,
it's been in the making for two years and it
finally sends out tomorrow. But before it was even starting
to be made, I've been. I've been, That's all I
was thinking about. I wanted to create Bali Brown, the
book so bad and so when I finally got to
create my book, it was well, first came more than Please.
Speaker 2 (04:01):
Do Not Move. There's more with Belln Woodard right around
the corner. Hey, thanks for coming back to my conversation
with author Bellen Wooder. The name of the book Ballet Brown.
When it comes to writing a book at your age,
and I hate to put that number out there, but
the thing is is that you're doing things with your
imagination that other people are probably doing as well, but
they're hiding the writing and they're putting it in places
(04:24):
because they don't want it to come out here, because
they're afraid of being judged. How do you inspire people
to become the writers that they are to be published?
Speaker 3 (04:33):
So how I think I've inspired people is to what
I communicate is that more than Peach is really just
about letting kids be kids and giving them the best options.
And so when you're going about these changes, I feel
like you should really trust yourself and I do convey
that message and really and have the courage to go
(04:56):
out and challenge these as clothes and just you don't
have to just accept just because that's how it is
or how it's spent for a while. You're allowed to
You're allowed to fight for something else. And even with
more than peach that. Originally when I first made it,
I made my first book more to teach. That was
my I wanted that was my goal to that was
(05:19):
my goal to commit a message that giving them the
best options, and I just want I wanted to change
the language of the Kang your creon and and teach
have a teach, teach the well.
Speaker 2 (05:36):
I totally, I totally understand all that. And the reason
why is because I mean, there are some businesses where
you can only wear a blue suit. It's like, really,
why and why why? I mean, we we should we
should be able to wear whatever colors we want to do.
And I think that's what's so fas you know, fancy
about this book is the fact that I think that
adults are going to pick it up and go, I'm
going to make a difference as well.
Speaker 3 (05:55):
Mm hmm.
Speaker 2 (05:58):
Now writing a book, your first book, the Age of ten.
I gotta tell you my second grade teacher, missus Keith,
saw the writer and me. That was second grade. But
I mean, is there a teacher that that deserves the
credit for saying, yes, do this, do this, You've got.
Speaker 1 (06:13):
What it takes. We need your storytelling abilities.
Speaker 3 (06:18):
I feel like when I first heard the echo of
my teacher, I feel like that was really something that
that's that's something that really inspired me. And I feel
like that was definitely like a turning point and how
I went about things because I was like, Wow, if
if this one teacher could use my own language from
when I was eight years old and take it and
(06:40):
started using it in her in the classroom that she ran,
then I wanted to I wanted to have this language everywhere,
and so I just wanted to keep going and keep excelling.
And so I feel like the support of adults and
teachers really just means more two children than you think,
because there's someone that you there are people that you
(07:02):
look up to, and having someone that you look up
to start using your messages is just something that that
sticks with them.
Speaker 2 (07:13):
One of the things that's been described inside your book
is the expansion of our norms in both language and perception.
I love that because you do, you do expand what
we think is normal.
Speaker 3 (07:27):
Thank you so much.
Speaker 1 (07:30):
To have the courage to do that. I mean that
that's amazing.
Speaker 3 (07:35):
Thank you. I definitely it was definitely. At first, it
was it was something I needed to kind of ease
into because I was at first I was not afraid,
but I was just a little nervous to see how
other people would perceive this. But if you know in
your heart that what you're doing is something that you
feel is needed, then just go for it, because you
(07:59):
never know how many people. You never really know how
many people you're helping. And I found out that this
language for more than specifically is what I'm referring to
right now. But this language wasn't something that I was
just hearing. It was something that even seniors have been
hearing for years, and so more and more than you
just created for all. And so that's exactly having that
(08:21):
in mind is just exactly that's exactly what needed to
be done.
Speaker 2 (08:25):
The book is your voice. Now, will you put your
voice in other places as well. In other words, will
we hear you on podcasts? Will we are you going
to develop something like that? I mean, because your activation
abilities are just unbelievable.
Speaker 3 (08:38):
Thank you. You know, a podcast doesn't done like.
Speaker 2 (08:40):
A bad idea, well, because I mean I talk with
more people of psychology and and basically of of what
this nation is all about, and they are putting their
focus on your generation. They believe that your generation has
the courage, the confidence, the perseverance to make positive changes,
and and so they're watching people like yourself.
Speaker 3 (09:01):
Yeah, I see podcasts are very popular nowadays, and I
feel like, you know, I could talk forever, So you know,
that may be a good thing for me.
Speaker 1 (09:13):
Creating with Fanny Liam.
Speaker 2 (09:14):
I mean, what was it like to be, you know,
with an illustrator like that and bringing this book together
through picture as well?
Speaker 3 (09:21):
Yeah, so we actually got we got to cheat or yeah,
so we've bought options of illustrators and we saw all
the different illustration styles that they're all beautiful, but the
way Fan Liam's illustrations were were just caught my eye.
And I feel like the way that she could tell
stories or just one picture, I just really I felt
that was exactly what I needed to have. I does
(09:44):
exactly what I needed in my book and is that
kind of illustration. So it was great to be able
to work with such an amazing illustrator that really captured
the moments so well.
Speaker 2 (09:53):
Wow, Bell, And where can people go to find out
more about everything that you're doing, especially reading your books
as well as hearing your voice?
Speaker 3 (10:01):
So they can go to my instagram which is a
more than Peach project on Instagram, as well as I
have my website which is just at more than Peach
dot com.
Speaker 2 (10:11):
You gotta come back to the show anytime in the future.
The door is always going to be open for you.
Speaker 3 (10:17):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (10:18):
Will you be brilliant today? Okay, thank you too.
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