Our Commitment to Antiracism

Dance Fremont believes that dance is for everyone and will work to create equity in our art form through the culture, values, and actions of our organization. We believe in justice for Black People and all People of Color. We celebrate diversity of body type and gender in our world and art form. Though Dance Fremont's offerings are concentrated in ballet and modern dance, which are Eurocentric and gendered in origin, we believe that these dance forms are made better and stronger the more diverse they become. We reject the racism that has held these art forms back, and are working towards a better, more inclusive future. This page is an active, growing collection of resources documenting Black contributions to ballet and modern dance, historical and continuing issues and struggles, and other related material.

If you have information or resources that you would like to add to this page, please let us know at info@dancefremont.com

Land Acknowledgment and Indigenous Dance Resources

Dance Fremont would like to acknowledge that we are on the traditional land of the first people of Seattle, the Duwamish People past and present. We encourage members of the Dance Fremont community to honor the land itself and the Duwamish Tribe by paying to Real Rent Duwamish

  • BRIDGE, Berkshire Resources for Integration of Diverse Groups through Education
  • Indigenous Direction is a consulting firm for companies and artists who want to create accurate work about, for, and with Indigenous Peoples'
  • First Nations Performing Arts, focused on cultural change, commissioning, touring and presenting Indigenous performance, and capacity building for the Indigenous and non-indigenous performing arts sectors.

BLM

Discussions/Videos/Podcasts

  • Eight Powerful Dance Works to Come Out of The Black Lives Matter Movement
  • PNB is Listening, a discussion series between dancers and staff at PNB about racism in dance, the importance of representation and diversity, and paths forward.
  • Dancer and scholar Theresa Ruth Howard presenting about Black influence on Balanchine
  • The Dance Union, a Black-run podcast creating change in the dance world
  • Decolonizing Wellness Dalia Kinsey has RD and LD degrees and took part in this video to talk about how everyone deserves access to mental health and wellness support

Historical Videos

Articles

  • Pointe Magazine article about the importance of diversifying hair in Ballet
  • DWC Blog profile on Dance Fremont faculty member Robbi Moore
  • This article reexamines racist elements in historical ballets. In this case, rather than using "but it's historical" as a reflexive excuse to keep them in, learning about the history of the ballet supported the argument for removing them.
  • Huffington Post article, "How Ballerinas of Color are Changing the Palette of Dance" by Rohina Katoch Sehra
  • Dance Magazine article about PNB's Amanda Morgan, and how she's speaking out and working for racial justice and equality in society and in ballet.
  • Why We Need To Confront Bias in Dance Criticism, an articly by Theresa Ruth Howard about when getting the next grant depends on having reviews of your work, who gets reviewed, and what is said has a ripple effect in perpetuating inequality.
  • Beyond Pink Satin: Dancewear Companies Reckon with Implicit Bias
  • Pioneering Black ballerina Raven Wilkinson, and what she went through to dance

Local Dance

  • PNB dancer Amanda Morgan's The Seattle Project. She has created a collaborative group of artists creating work to break down accessibility barriers in the community.

On Instagram

  • The Black Iris Project. Jeremy McQueen is photographing dancers to champion new Black-centric works and arts education.
  • Memoirs of Blacks in Ballet. MoBBallet works to preserve, present and promote the contributions of Blacks in Ballet internationally. Curated by dancer/scholar Theresa Ruth Howard.
  • Final Bow for Yellowface. Led by Phil Chan & Georgina Pazcoguin, follow new updates on the project to end Asian stereotyping in ballet as well as conversations and performances with Asian ballet dancers.

 

Dance Books for Kids

  • Trailblazer is a children's book about Raven Wilkinson's life that is great for the whole dancing family.
  • Firebird, by Misty Copeland is a beautifully illustrated book about achieving your dreams through hard work and dedication.
  • The Nutcracker in Harlem, a retelling of the holiday tale set in the Harlem Renaissance.

Mental Health Resources

Physical Therapy in Seattle