The dance community's response to the death of George Floyd was immediate and sweeping on social media. Ballet companies, including Dance Theatre of Harlem, American Ballet Theatre, and New York City Ballet all pledged that #BalletRelevesBlackLives, an online campaign to show solidarity with the Black community. Dance artists, including Desmond Richardson and Martha Nichols, used their social platforms to make meaningful statements about racial inequality. Among the most vocal supporters have been dance students, who continue to share the faces and gut-wrenching last words of Black men and women who have died in police custody on their Instagram feeds and Stories.
The work we're doing on social media as a community is important and necessary—and we should keep at it. But now, that momentum must also carry us into taking action. Because to be a true ally, action is required.
A responsible ally amplifies Black voices. They choose to listen rather than speak. And they willingly throw their support, and, if they can, their dollars, behind Black dancers and Black dance organizations. Here are some ways you can do your part.
Participate in the Dance Industry Blackout
Activists are encouraging dancers to participate in the Dance Industry Blackout, happening today, June 2. To join the effort, first, post a plain black image to your social feeds. Then, avoid posting content for the remainder of the day. Suspend classes, rehearsals, and meetings, and use this time to identify ways to uplift black dancers and the organizations that support them. Be brave, and try to feel okay in the discomfort that these conversations may create.
Attend a Dance Class Fundraiser
Fundraising classes are a win-win experience: you get to train with master teachers and choreographers, and your donation goes to furthering causes that help propel Black artists. Here are a few options:
- Peridance Capezio Center will host a full week of online classes starting June 6, with funds raised going to organizations that fight against racial inequality.
- Gibney Dance will donate all online class revenue through the end of June to organizations on the front lines of the effort.
- Former Nederlands Dans Theater dancer Spenser Theberge will teach three ballet classes this week, and all proceeds will go to the organization Color of Change.
- Martha Graham Dance Company is offering all revenue from this week's online classes to the Minnesota Freedom Fund.
- Instagram account Movement for Hope is hosting classes all week, with the proceeds going to a different organization fighting for equality each day.
- Next week, the "Cindies Ballet Class" (with ABT principals Isabella Boylston and James Whiteside) will be collecting donations for @fairfightaction and @aclu_nationwide.
Educate Yourself
Seek out works by authors of color, because their perspectives will most accurately reveal what it means to be Black in America. The arts also play a major role in reflecting society, so watching dance works and reading poems that navigate concepts like racial injustice and white privilege can have an equally educative effect on you. A good starting point is this guide, which offers 24 peaceful ways you can get involved in the fight for black liberation without protesting in the streets.
Here are some other resources. This is, of course, an incomplete list—we hope it leads you into independent research.
Books
- Ain't I a Woman by bell hooks
- CHOKEHOLD: Policing Black Men by Paul Butler
- The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander
- Post-Traumatic Slave Syndrome by Dr. Joy DeGruy
- White Fragility: Why It's So Hard For White People to Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngelo
Poems
- "I, Too" by Langston Hughes
- "Riot" by Gwendolyn Brooks
- "Caged Bird" by Maya Angelou
- "Ballad of Birmingham" by Dudley Randall
- "For Malcolm" by Margaret Walker
- "Power" by Audre Lorde
Dance Works
- Jacob Jonas The Company performs "AN ARTIST'S DUTY IS TO REFLECT THE TIMES," choreographed by company member Mike Tyus
- Royal Ballet principal Marcelino Sambé performs "I Can't Breathe"
- ink, a dance film by Camille A. Brown and Dancers
- Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater performs Ode, choreographed by company member and resident choreographer Jamar Roberts
Interviews
- Legendary dance artist Katherine Dunham on overcoming 1940s racism
from Pointe https://ift.tt/36TQ6YJ
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