On May 6, there was a tear in the universe and a void opened up when Debora Chase-Hicks died. For a large portion of the Black dance community, her name needs no qualifiers like “former star of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.” A dance giant fell, and yet, if one paid close attention to news outlets […]

For the first time in 84 years, this summer, “America’s longest-running outdoor symphonic drama” has stopped using redface. The Lost Colony has also promised to cast Native American roles exclusively with Indigenous people and use authentic Native American dance and music. Since last year’s Black Lives Matter protests, dance and theater organizations worldwide have pledged […]

“Asian American” is a term that is inadequate to capture the breadth of diversity and experience it seeks to represent. Just as “dance” is shorthand for an endless range of styles from jazz to Kuchipudi, “Asian American” encompasses a vastness of cultures ranging from Korean adoptees to South Indians living in the U.S. The Asian-American […]

Catalyzed by the national reckoning on racial injustice last summer, much of the dance world began to ponder some tough questions, one being: “Who does traditional dancewear leave out?” Brands heard the growing calls for a greater range of options and have begun producing and promoting new lines of flesh-tone shoes and tights. Meanwhile, dance […]

Although choreographer Sorah Yang travels the world teaching her power-packed style of hip hop, runs her own company and was featured by Dance Magazine as one of our “25 to Watch” this year, she is often underestimated because of the way she looks. Throughout her career, she has spoken out against the racism and misogyny […]

U.S. college dance curriculums have long been criticized for being too Eurocentric, emphasizing Western techniques like ballet and modern while making culturally diverse dance classes optional (if they’re offered at all). In these academic systems that elevate whiteness, dancers of color don’t always feel welcome. Some face daily microaggressions from peers and faculty, casting discrimination […]

At Jacob’s Pillow’s June gala, something happened that outraged me: A patron who identifies as black/biracial felt a white man seated behind her touch her tightly coiled hair. When she ignored him, he audibly complained that her hair would block his view of the stage. At dinner, the patron was further subjected to a series […]