StarTribune: Minnesota’s dance community needs to confront sexual consent, say former TU Dance dancers

By Kelly Smith

25 April 2020

The resignation of a renowned Twin Cities dance leader following sexual misconduct allegations has raised a call for greater protections and dialogue in the industry.

At TU Dance, a prestigious dance company in St. Paul, co-founder Uri Sands resigned at the end of December, nearly two months before the company reached an undisclosed settlement with a former dancer. Five former dancers told the Star Tribune they experienced years of misconduct from Sands. But through an attorney, Sands, 46, who started the St. Paul company with his wife, denied any misconduct, saying he “believed that he had consensual, adult relationships with those individuals.”

Now, some dancers are pushing the community to confront consent issues in the wake of the MeToo movement — like other industries, from yoga to gymnastics, have done.

“Definitely [what happened at TU Dance] has repercussions,” said Sally Rousse, a veteran ballet dancer, choreographer and co-founder of James Sewell Ballet in Minneapolis. “We need to talk about it. We could lead the work in the country in exemplifying appropriate touch, appropriate behavior. … Dancers are held up to [a] highly sexualized, objectified place. It would be great if we could reclaim the appropriate behavior.”

Read the full article in the StarTribune.