Dallas Black Dance Theatre is coming to OU for a residency in the School of Dance, for the second consecutive year.
The company will teach classes for dance students on Friday, and will have a performance that is open to the public on Feb. 25.
Founded in 1976, Dallas Black Dance Theatre (DBDT) is the oldest continuously operating professional dance company in Dallas. The 14-dancer company is in its 46th season, and performs modern, ballet, contemporary and ethnic works by nationally and internationally renowned choreographers.
DBDT Artistic Director Melissa Young said that OU has fostered a relationship with DBDT for over two decades. Many OU alumni have danced with the company, including current company members McKinley Willis and Jessica Popoff. For aspiring professional dancers, the ability to foster a relationship with a company is an influential aspect in their ability to visualize their futures.
“The dancers from OU have historically had stellar careers, and so bridging the gap between university and professional dance life is a sensible collaboration,” Young said. “And it's rare that any professional dance company has the opportunity to engage with students in in multiple ways.”
Even with a cultural push to recognize diversity in the dance world, companies that are built primarily of dancers of color are often not individually represented. Frequently, one or two companies from major arts cities are uplifted, and many companies like DBDT with a vision for promoting diversity in dance are not given the same attention.
School of Dance Director Michael Bearden said that the geographic proximity to DBDT helps make the partnership sustainable, and that it provides an opportunity to get to know a vibrant dance company that is a neighbor to Oklahoma.
“The art that they're creating and the synergy they're creating in performance is unbelievable,” Bearden said. “I ultimately hope it's inspirational for all of our students, and eye opening to another company out there that can sometimes be under the radar.”
The ability to work with professional company members in such close proximity is an important opportunity for the OU School of Dance. However, Bearden said that he hopes it especially brings inspiration to students of color.
“For our underrepresented students, because we're not in the most diverse community and because we're not the most diverse school in our faculty makeup, I hope it helps give many of our students that example of ‘This is a person successful on the dance field that I can get to know, I can be inspired by,’ even if it's for residency," Bearden said.
Having a career as a professional dancer is difficult, and lack of representation makes the path even more strenuous for dancers of color. Young said that the residency at OU brings dancers of color the essential experience of seeing representation.
“(DBDT) is proud in the ways that we try to embrace diversity, which extends far beyond race. Having students of color experience DBDT, either for the first time or a repeated experience certainly brings hope,” Young said. “It's so vital to see a representation of yourself in these spaces. It brings realism and it really amplifies one's confidence in terms of the possibilities that they see for themselves and what their goals are.”
The residency provides an opportunity for connection and inspiration between the students of the School of Dance and the company members of DBDT, but the experience for the wider OU community can also be enriching.
“In my personal opinion, dance is a form of self-care,” Young said. “We all need to be uplifted and encouraged in different ways each day. Experiencing our company allows people to see a reflection of themselves and brings that human connection in a fresh way.”
The company will perform "TRIBUTE," by Matthew Rushing, a group work that involves spoken word and singing. Popoff will perform a solo by Boston Ballet dancer My'Kal Stromile called Baile del Coroazón.
This story was edited by Silas Bales. Ansley Chambers and Nikkie Aisha copy edited this story.
