Continuing Black History Month: Resources to Explore

In honor of Black History Month, we’ve compiled a list of various resources to not only educate ourselves but also to help promote and celebrate Black voices in the ballet community year-round.

Organizations To Know/Follow:

• The Black Iris Project

• Dance Theatre of Harlem

• Brown Girls Do Ballet®

• Alonzo King LINES Ballet

• The International Association of Blacks in Dance

• MoBBallet

To Read:

• Books for Black Dance Legacy, A-F Authors – The International Association of Blacks in Dance

• Brown Ballerina Blog — Brown Girls Do Ballet®

• BunHeads by Misty Copeland
  • Misty Copeland’s ‘Bunheads’ is an ode to friendship in the dance studio | PBS NewsHour

• African American Ballet Dancers Who Made Ballet History | A Ballerina’s Tale | Independent Lens | PBS

• Ashley’s Dance Bag: Pointe Magazine

• Dance Magazine Article, Tokenism vs. Representation: How Can We Tell Them Apart?

Documentaries & Shows to Watch:

• PBS KIDS Talk Race and Racism: A heart-warming, authentic, and age-appropriate conversation with children on race hosted by Amanda Gorman featuring our SE Campus, Level 1B student, Raelynn Bernard (along with father Rahsaan Bernard, President of Building Bridges Across the River/THEARC).

• A Ballerina’s Tale – Documentary on Misty Copeland (available on Prime Video)

• Debbie Allen’s Dance Dreams Hot Chocolate Nutcracker on Netflix)

• BLACK BALLERINA: Tells the story of several black women from different generations who fell in love with ballet while confronting racism, exclusion, and unequal opportunity.

Performances to Watch:

• Dance Institute of Washington’s Our Spiritual Journey streaming Feb. 28. Divided into seven scenes, Our Spiritual Journey takes viewers on a journey through Black diasporan history, culture, and ancestry, and focuses on how history interfaces with Black life today.

• NY City Center’s Honoring Black History Month Series:  Kyle Abraham’s piece, to be seen, featuring ABT principal Calvin Royal III.

• Jacob’s Pillow Curated Playlists. 

Webinars:

• Conversation with Monica Stephenson: Columbia Community Arts Collective | Facebook 
• Open Space: an Artist Connectivity Series – The International Association of Blacks in Dance
• IADMS Nine Part Webinar Series on Mental Health and Covid Series

Black Dancewear Companies:

• Black Dancewear Companies: List from International Association of Black Dancers

Other: 

• The Constellation Project: Mapping the Dark Stars of Ballet. Presented by MoBBallet

• UMD’s Clarice Performing Arts Center is holding the first BlackLight Summit March 4-6. “The BlackLight Summit seeks to be a spark that ignites daring innovation and reveals the creativity within the dance ecosystem in America. The summit asks, through the practice of being socially responsible within the arts: How do we create traditions? How do we transform them into enduring legacies?” Events are virtual and FREE to all.