Who: Dancers Amplified, a global alliance of dance professionals in activism

What: Launch of “Empower” online platforms

When: April

Where: Online – dancersamplified.com

APRIL 2021 — Dancers Amplified, a global alliance of dance professionals in activism, builds virtual platforms to empower dancers and elevate new creative content.

Dancers Amplified is the first to bring dancers in activism together on such an ambitious worldwide scale—from the Netherlands to Austria to Brazil to the US—giving a collective voice to dancers who have historically been silenced.

Initiated by a core group of artists, dance scholars, and industry professionals across the world, the alliance represents a growing international roster of dancers from ballet companies big and small, freelance artists, and interdisciplinary creatives.

Dancers Amplified’s podcast series opens up conversations on racism and discrimination within the dance and art community. Its first episode welcomed Bejart Ballet Lausanne dancer Leroy Mokgatle in discussion about constructing more inclusive dance spaces. In addition to open and thoughtful dialogue between dancers, the podcast will also host master class episodes where artists can directly share their craft and practices.

Black Voices in Dance, a partner blog, serves as a written platform through which artists from the DA network can share their individual experiences. Blog writer Kara Roseborough shares, “If you’re like me, and you see that this dance world we love so much is crumbling under its own hypocrisy and narrow-mindedness, I encourage you to embrace the truth […] let’s make beautiful, disruptive, unapologetic, anti-racist noise as the Black voices in dance.”

Dancers Amplified is building The Amplified Network, an international web of artist connections. Members of The Amplified Network, within their companies and spheres, will motivate anti-racist behaviors and advocate for equitable procedures. Valuing collective strength and channels of discussion, Dancers Amplified is building a vetted Slack workplace that puts dancers from various parts of the globe in communication. Slack, an app that functions much like a forum with various channels, allows for direct messaging and document sharing. Recognizing that there is no one-size-fits-all approach in developing anti-racist policies, Dancers Amplified continually updates a growing list of resources for education and support, a directory of dancer-led initiatives, and a glossary of key terms defined by our experience in the field to guide us as we lead this culture shift.

“Our intellect reaches beyond our bodies, the studios, and the stages on which we present our work. Our work is alive. We are the activators leading the dance world towards an equitable, diverse, and inclusive future.” 

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ABOUT DANCERS AMPLIFIED

Dancers Amplified is a global alliance of dancers activating their voices to ignite and sustain a shift away from the harmful, divisive, and racist cultures that have long permeated the dance industry. Across multiple platforms, Dancers Amplified aims to center marginalized perspectives, empower artists who have felt unable to speak, and spotlight individuals, projects, and organizations working towards social justice in dance. Under the fiscal sponsorship of the International Association of Blacks in Dance, Dancers Amplified offers support— in resources and funding— towards keeping industry leaders accountable in taking genuine steps towards equity, diversity, inclusion, and access. 

CONTACT marketing@dancersamplified.com

Catch Gabrielle Salvatto, our September Cover model, and current dancer with Tanz Company Innsbruck, speaking about Dancers Amplified HERE 

Catch the Dancers Amplified campaign film here