The Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Ensemble, a historically and predominantly black modern dance company from Denver, was performing "Southland" at the University of Florida. It's a work created by iconic, pioneering black choreographer Katherine Dunham in 1951 about lynchings in the U.S. South.
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The dance piece mentioned in this article, “Southland,” sounds absolutely breath taking and I can only imagine the energy in the room at Young’s University of Florida performance. It is extremely disheartening that the United State’s State Department banned this show from performance because it negatively portraying the country. Lynching, racial targeting, and racial discrimination are deep rooted in this country’s history, and that is a fact that should not be wiped out and erased; instead, we need to educate about the wrongs of the past and create and environment that brings these issues to light. The article also talks about black dancers, and how they are marginalized for “uniformity” purposes. I danced for 13 years and have watched many friends struggle with the pale pink ballerina uniforms that unsuccessfully try to remove their identity, as well as the comments of black artists being “snappy” or “sassy.” It’s becoming exhausting reading about the lack of acceptance of diversity even in our progressive society, and I hope shows like “Southland” bring these issues to the forefront and create opportunities for black artists to express their emotions and show their art.
I was having a conversation with my friend Liam, who is an epileptic dancer, about the fact that the rockettes still danced at the 45th president's inaugural ball despite him being a sexual predator and them being women who should protest that. He said something that really stuck out to me, that being "dancers can not be political". He said that and it made me think about the fact that dancers are so expendable that they don't get to have their own political and moral standards.
The problem with that is that black people don't get a choice in being political. Because our skin bears so much history and hurt in this country, we have to be political. So how does a black dancer reconcile that for themselves?
The answer is with pieces like this. "Southland" challenges a white audience where there will be white audiences to examine their racism and also the fact that white women have been truly barbaric to black men throughout the years. I also think movements like"hiplet" which combines the dance styles of hip hop and pointe to make a space for black ballerinas.
One day all the black ballerinas I know will have a safe space in dance. But for now they have to balance being inherently political and not being allowed to be.
This is another powerful example of artists using their craft to be a powerful voice for change for people of color. What bravery these dancers at the University of Florida displayed braving the tense environment in their state during the George Zimmerman trial. I am glad that this article highlights the difficulty that performers of color fact trying to perform in all white dance troupes that are not focusing on performances that speak to the trials and tribulations of people color. Even in black dance troupes, it seems like these performers are not able to have a voice, because many of the critics are white. This limits their ability to tell powerful stories about race and culture, because of fear of the white critics not liking their work.
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