by Nyamekye Smith For Dance Spirit | Nov 29, 2020 | Profiles, Training
Almost two years ago, Destiny Wimpye shared her goals and dreams with Dance Spirit, and left readers with this quote: “Following your dreams is definitely difficult, especially if you’re a ballet dancer of color. You have to work twice as hard, but hard...
by Kyra Laubacher | Aug 5, 2020 | News, The Latest
Memoirs of Blacks in Ballet , founded in 2015 by writer and activist Theresa Ruth Howard to preserve and promote the stories of Black ballet dancers, is offering three weekends of interactive education and conversation this month through its 2020 Virtual Symposium....
by Alexis Carter-Black For Dance Teacher | Jul 9, 2020 | Training
I recently spent a Saturday night with my husband and my 17-year-old dancing daughter, who sobbed at the foot of our bed. My daughter revealed her experiences with implicit bias and overt racism in school, and especially in the dance studio. For six years, she has...
by Thomas Ford For Dance Spirit | Jun 1, 2020 | News, The Latest
The dance community’s response to the death of George Floyd was immediate and sweeping on social media. Dance artists, including Desmond Richardson and Martha Nichols, used their social platforms to make meaningful statements about racial inequality. Theresa...
by Madeline Schrock For Dance Magazine | Oct 8, 2018 | News
Twenty-one ballet organizations have come together to support the advancement of racial equity in professional ballet. They’re all part of The Equity Project: Increasing the Presence of Blacks in Ballet, a new effort being led by Dance Theatre of Harlem, The...
by Chava Pearl Lansky | Jul 2, 2018 | Career, Profiles
In 2016, choreographer Jeremy McQueen founded the Black Iris Project with the aim of bringing together predominantly minority dancers each summer to create works that celebrate diversity and black history. This year, he’s mixing it up. In honor of South African...