Loading
Dance Data Project
  • About
    • Our Purpose
    • The DDP Team
    • The DDP Advisory Council
  • Research
    • Our Research
    • Research Calendar
  • Advocacy
    • Connecting the Dots: Yes This Is An Arts Story
    • #AskB4UGive
    • Financial Literacy Checklist
    • Minding The Gender Pay Gap
  • Resources
    • 2020-2021 Season Status Updates
    • Covid-19 Resources
    • Competitions, scholarships, w/ deadlines, requirements, stipends, grants, etc.
    • List of Women in Prominent Creative Roles
    • Choreographer Checklists
    • Books and Film on Ballet and the Business of Ballet
    • Articles and Research
    • Previously Published Research
    • Minding The Gender Pay Gap
  • Interviews
    • Global Conversations
    • DDP Talks To
  • News
    • Announcements
    • DDP in the News
  • Contact
  • Donate
  • Search
  • Menu Menu
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram

News

"The Devil Ties My Tongue" SKETCH Series 2013 | photo: David DeSilva

Pointe: Beyond Solidarity Statements: The Real Work Ballet Organizations Must Do to Dismantle Systemic Racism

August 27, 2020/0 Comments/in Pay Equity, Transparency and Safety, News /by dancedata

By Shaté L. Hayes

25 August 2020

Black squares on your organization’s social media profile. Posting videos and images of the Black dancers within your company or school. Buttoned up, PR-approved statements that fall in line with what everyone else is saying and doing. Many Black dancers have had enough of performative solidarity from ballet organizations, stemming from the uprisings over the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and so many others. It feels trendy, and it’s not landing.

“I see some companies grappling with it, and I see others patching things, wordsmithing a statement, or negotiating how much responsibility they want to take,” says Theresa Ruth Howard, founder of Memoirs of Blacks in Ballet who’s also an educator, writer, consultant to The Equity Project and seasoned diversity strategist. “When it’s about checking boxes, it’s clear it’s performative.”

Where some organizations are missing the mark is in the misalignment between what they’re posting outwardly and what their dancers of color are experiencing behind closed doors. When a ballet organization’s culture doesn’t feel “Black- or brown-friendly,” as Howard frames it, then any statement promoting racial justice won’t resonate with those who experience something different day to day.

Black dancers are still experiencing various forms of racism in ballet. Sometimes it’s clear macroaggressions, not unlike voter suppression or redlining, where certain groups are kept from equal opportunities. This was the case with Alexis Carter-Black, who says she was told by an instructor at her daughter Ainsley’s ballet school that they didn’t think students should get private lessons and later witnessed that same instructor giving a private lesson to a white dancer. “It seemed like they’d do anything to keep her from progressing,” says Carter-Black.

Other times racism comes in the form of microaggressions—very subtle discriminatory language or behavior that’s harder to prove but still stings nonetheless. For a Black Brazilian dancer, it’s being asked if you can speak English. For the Black dance mom, it’s being called “aggressive” when you ask an instructor about how she handled a conversation with your daughter about her hair. For choreographer Ja’ Malik, who danced with numerous ballet companies and is director and founder of Ballet Boy Productions, it’s being asked if you have a background in African or hip hop when your materials clearly indicate otherwise.

Read the full article here.

Share this entry
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on WhatsApp
  • Share on Pinterest
  • Share on LinkedIn
  • Share on Tumblr
  • Share on Vk
  • Share on Reddit
  • Share by Mail
https://www.dancedataproject.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Screen-Shot-2019-12-17-at-12.41.18.png 532 1018 dancedata https://www.dancedataproject.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/DDP_logo_Primary.png dancedata2020-08-27 10:01:472020-08-27 10:01:47Pointe: Beyond Solidarity Statements: The Real Work Ballet Organizations Must Do to Dismantle Systemic Racism
0 replies

Leave a Reply

Want to join the discussion?
Feel free to contribute!

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Categories

  • Initiatives Worth Following
  • DDP in the News
  • Global Conversations
  • #YesThisIsAnArtsStory
  • DDP Talks To
  • Ballet Programming, Awards, and Season Announcements
  • Choreographer/Artist Profile
    • New Voices
  • Pay Equity, Transparency and Safety
  • News
  • Other Arts & Related Fields
  • DDP Announcements

Tags

Akram Khan Alastair Macaulay Alexander Sanger Alexandra Botti Alexei Ratmansky Anna D- Shapiro Ballet West Black Swan Caroline Miller Classical Indian Dance Courtney Escyne Cristina Rocca Dance Data Project Dance Magazine Eri Yoneda Financial Times Flesh and Bone Gia Kourlas Gianna Reisen Griselda Murray Brown Harvey Weinstein Heather Hartley Helen Pickett Jennifer Stahl Lauren Lovette Lauren Wingenroth Liza Yntema Luke Jennings Michael Scolamiero New York City Ballet New York Times Not Our Fate Odissi Orlando Ballet Patricia Baretto Peter Martins phindie PRI Public Radio International Ritha Devi Roell Schmidt Tania Castroverde Moskalenko The Guardian Twyla Tharp Vail Dance Festival

Contact Us

Reach out to us to learn more about our mission.

Contact Us

"The Devil Ties My Tongue" SKETCH Series 2013 | photo: David DeSilva

About DDP

  • About the Dance Data Project
  • The DDP Advisory Council
  • The DDP Team
  • DDP in the News

Research

  • Our Research
  • Research Calendar

Interviews

  • Global Conversations
  • DDP Talks To

Resources

  • Resources
  • 2020-2021 Season Status Updates
  • Articles and Research
  • Books and Film
  • Choreographer Checklists
  • Competitions & Scholarships
  • Covid-19 Resources
  • List of Women in Prominent Creative Roles
  • Minding The Gender Pay Gap
  • Previously Published Research

Advocacy

  • Advocacy
  • #AskB4UGive
  • Financial Literacy Checklist

Contact Us

© Copyright - Dance Data Project
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • Data Disclaimer
  • Press
  • Submit Your Data
The Guardian: Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater: Shelter review – moves with... New York Times: Dancing in the Streets of Harlem, and Gathering to Dance, M...
Scroll to top