How Dallas Black Dance Theatre fired dancers in the clash of old and new school

When Dallas Black Dance Theatre was founded in 1976, there were no smartphones. There was no Internet. There was no Instagram.

Now, dancers build personal brands and grow followers for their art on social media. It’s also a way to connect with fellow dancers.

Every season, Dallas Black Dance Theatre has two groups of dancers: the main company and DBDT:Encore!, which is a professional training group. DBDT employed 10 main company dancers before the start of the 2024-2025 season in August.

In July, rehearsal director and main company dancer Sean J. Smith was fired by the company. A month later, management fired the entire main company of nine dancers over an Instagram reel. The video is a behind-the-scenes style skit that introduces the dancers. A company spokesperson said the video violates a number of policies. Dancers say it’s a harmless video and the firings are retaliation for their union efforts. They voted to unionize in May.

The chasm reflects a longstanding cultural divide that’s been brewing in the company for years. Both the company and dancers say they are trying to uphold the dance company’s rich heritage and legacy, but what that means for either appears to be different.

As the company publicly presented itself as united, the fired dancers say internally they faced chaotic management and a lack of communication. They describe a restrictive environment where policies from an outdated handbook were strictly enforced. In addition, they say management upheld rigid expectations of how dancers were to present themselves in order to appeal to white donors and community members.

In response to an interview request, DBDT Executive Director Zenetta S. Drew sent a statement saying the company recently learned of dancers’ concerns from social media.

“DBDT has been – and remains – surprised to hear that the dancers had concerns with the working environment at DBDT,” Drew said in the statement. “The dancers did not raise concerns with DBDT’s leadership before organizing and did not specify any concerns in their letter asking DBDT to voluntarily recognize the union.”

Dancers say they worked in an environment where everything was controlled, from the thermostat in the studio to the way dancers dressed and wore their hair. Terrell Rogers, one of the fired dancers, said he feels the dance company has tried to “look more aligned with the white supremacist culture of America.”

“I feel like for Dallas Black, there’s this idea that somehow we have to rid ourselves of anything that would even remotely remind white people specifically of a bad example of what Black people look like,” he said.

Arts Access spoke to five of the dancers who were fired from the dance company earlier this year to understand their view of the work environment. We also sent interview requests to company management multiple times, which were declined.

A complicated legacy

Dallas Black Dance Theatre founder Ann Williams launched the company in 1976 nearly a decade after the Civil Rights Movement ended. It marked a time when dance was an exclusionary space for Black performers given the ongoing scrutiny of and discrimination against Black communities. Almost a decade later in 1987, Drew started her 37-year tenure and championed the organization under the motto “relentless excellence.” Under Drew’s leadership, the dance company grew to tour internationally and earn $4.4 million in revenue in 2023.

Dancers say the methods that helped the company grow in the last few decades are outdated. They believe the company has lost sight of its founding principle to be a welcoming space for Black dancers.

“I think there’s a clear distinction between what people consider to be old-school dance and new school dance, and just a different type of thinking,” said Gillian Clifford, one of the fired dancers. She says there is a different type of trauma that informs how older generations act today.

“I feel like our executive director is somebody who feels a lot of pride about what she has created Dallas Black Dance Theatre to be. That has manifested into ‘If you’re going to jeopardize any part of this big or small, you’re out,’ ” Clifford said.

In an op-ed published in The Dallas Morning News on Aug. 22, Drew wrote, “Our dancers are not just performers; they are stewards of a rich tradition of Black art and culture, carrying forward the visionary legacy of our founder, Ann Williams.”

Rogers, one of the fired dancers, acknowledges there was a time when Black people felt the need to lift their communities by challenging certain stereotypes and perceptions. However, he said times have changed.

“Today, we are no longer in a place where Black people or any people are ashamed of who they are to a point where they’re trying to align to someone else’s standards just to be accepted,” he said. “We’re not there anymore, especially our generation.”

It reminds dancer Elijah Lancaster, who was also fired, of the time he received an infraction notice for wearing a bandana on his head to a company meeting. Company policy states dancers are not allowed to wear “head rags” to class. However, it doesn’t list other spaces but Lancaster received an infraction notice.

“It was so contradictory to know the name [is] Dallas Black Dance Theatre and then go into the building and you can’t even be that, when it was made for young adults who are Black and brown,” Lancaster said.

A follow-up request for comment was made to the dance company regarding comments from the fired dancers. The company declined to comment and instead referred to Drew’s op-ed and previous statements.

Sean J. Smith was a rehearsal director and dancer at the company for 14 seasons who was fired earlier this year. He said the company’s handbook reflects policies that are outdated and controlling.

“There’s even policy regarding using the company landline. My point is, it’s emblematic of the fact that things have not changed for several decades.”

The handbook says that every season, new and returning dancers must go through a 30-day probationary period during which they can be fired without notice. That means Smith, who was with the company for 14 years before being fired, cumulatively went through over a year on probation throughout his tenure.

“I’m sure it’s another way to intimidate people,” he said. “You better make sure that you’re on your stuff because [they’re] going to be like, we can let you go like this. I think it’s all about control.”

Smith added that the company’s enforcement of policies meant to protect dancers was inconsistent. For example, he pointed to a handbook policy stating, “Dancers shall not be required to perform where the stage floor is concrete or wood, resting directly on concrete, or where the temperature is less than 75 degrees.”

However, Smith said that policy has not been enforced in the past 14 seasons he’s worked at the dance company.

“If it’s cold, we have to dance. If it’s a hard stage, we have to dance,” he said. “We have never been vouched for in that sense.”

The handbook also includes a per diem or daily allowance rate of $30 for touring outside of Dallas, $35 for overnight stays in-state and $40 for overnight stays out-of-state. The Dancers Alliance, a nonprofit that advocates for equitable rates in the dance industry, suggests a $90 domestic per diem.

Nile Ruff, one of the fired dancers, said what’s happened at Dallas Black has been “disheartening.” She grew up knowing about the company and its important history.

“It was started by a Black woman, and started by a Black woman in the American South during a time when Black people were not respected and it created a space for Black dancers,” she said. “I want to be a part of making sure that space is in place for generations, and that it maintains being a safe space for Black dancers and for all dancers.”

“It’s just kind of weird knowing that these are Black people treating other Black people this way.”

Why dancers unionized

Dancers say they unionized to fight for better wages, working conditions and health and safety protections.

They say dancing for Dallas Black Dance Theatre does not pay enough to live in an expensive city like Dallas. Most dancers have other jobs like teaching or working in restaurants. Three of the dancers we spoke to for the story said they earned $25,300, $30,800 and $33,000 before taxes for contracts covering 11 months of the year. Drew, executive director of Dallas Black Dance Theatre, makes about $157,680 a year, according to 2023 tax documents.

The recent news has shocked many in the dance world given the organization’s reputation. It’s one of the few dance companies in the nation that offers dancers a salary plus medical and dental coverage. Dallas Black Dance Theatre received a “best of leadership” award for the Dance Data Project’s Gender Equity Index that was published in 2023.

Dallas Black Dance Theatre is the second Dallas company to unionize with the American Guild of Musical Artists in recent years, joining Texas Ballet Theater, according to Griff Braun, national organizing director with AGMA. Only three other contemporary dance companies in the U.S. have unionized with the organization: Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Martha Graham Dance Company and Ballet Hispánico, all based in New York.

LaRue Allen has been executive director at Martha Graham Dance Company for 20 years.

“The recent events are disturbing to everybody in the dance field and we hope that there will be a way to resolve this issue and get dancers back on stage, get the company whole again,” she said.

Allen said there’s been a cultural shift in the dance community.

“I’m not sure it’s been absorbed by the entire field. I think there may still be some companies who think of the dancers as sort of youthful,” she said.

“Dancers were expected to work very hard, to work when they were required to work, to not expect a living wage and all of these things have changed as our understanding of these people as evolving artists has evolved.”

American Guild of Musical Artists is in bargaining for first contracts with Ballet Austin and Texas Ballet Theater. American Guild of Musical Artists also has contracts with the Houston Ballet, Houston Grand Opera and the Dallas Opera, whose contract includes protections for dancers.

American Guild of Musical Artists filed unfair labor practice charges against the dance company in June and August, which Arts Access gathered through a public records request. In a document, American Guild of Musical Artists lists several policies it says are attempts to interfere with union efforts.

One policy says dancers can be fired for “negative comments external to the organization about staff, dancers, Board or company” or “producing or publishing false, vicious, or malicious statements concerning any employee, supervisor, or Dallas Black Dance Theatre or its operation.” Another says, “All personal problems and grievances are to be discussed privately with an appropriate staff member.”

Grant Hayden, a Southern Methodist University law professor who teaches labor law and corporate governance, said those policies – outside of the firings – are illegal.

“Those kinds of prohibitions on the ability of workers to talk to each other or talk to the public about working conditions are unfair labor practices on their own,” he said.

He said the National Labor Relations Act protects employees’ ability to organize and join a union. Therefore, Hayden said, “it’s a necessary precondition that the employees have to be able to talk to each other about things like wages and salaries.”

After the union filed unfair labor practice charges, Dallas Black Dance Theatre fired its main company dancers.

James Fuller, a spokesperson for Dallas Black Dance Theatre, said one reason dancers were fired was because of an Instagram video introducing themselves to the sitcom theme Family Matters. In the video, dancers take turns doing short skits as their names appear.

“There was some little bit of lewd behavior in the view of our community, a little bit too far for what we represent here,” he said.

Fuller said viewers who watch the video can see dance moves and interactions among dancers that the company “felt crossed the line of appropriate professional conduct for our professional dancers.”

Dancers say that explanation seems like a double standard.

“It’s a little contradictory to have these policies and rules in place for those said donors when those also said donors and sponsors are helping us put on shows like Swipe Left,” Lancaster, one of the fired dancers, said.

Swipe Left is an original piece the company performed last year that tells the story of a woman in her 30s trying to find love. The show includes sexual innuendos, twerking, body rolling and butt slapping as the main character performs in a black bra and underwear for much of the performance. Video of the performance is being offered on demand on the dance company’s website.

Allen said she saw the dancers’ Instagram video. She had a personal reaction to it, but doubts about how it was handled.

“It’s not my aesthetic to be sure and I would not be happy to see that coming out from the Martha Graham Dance Company,” she said. “Whether or not it rose to such an egregious offense that such an extreme action needed to be taken, I’m not sure that’s the case.”

Dallas City Council member Gay Donnell Willis said the city’s Office of Inspector General Division is investigating the facts and timeline of the firing of dancers at the dance company; she expects a report in a few weeks.

She said the city has an interest in the events at the dance company because Dallas Black Dance Theatre is headquartered at a city-owned and -managed facility and only pays $10 a year for base rent.

Additionally, Willis said the dance company was allocated $3.1 million as a cultural facility through the 2024 bond program, and Dallas’ Office of Arts and Culture has annual contracts with Dallas Black, which totaled over $240,000 in the last year.

“There have been some concerning allegations, so it’s important to have an objective examination of the situation. This will help the City make informed decisions where the DBDT and city funds and/or property intersect,” reads a statement from Willis’ office.

The National Labor Relations Board will conduct its own investigation based on the unfair labor practice charges filed and decide whether to issue a complaint. In September, the dance company filed an unfair labor practice charge against the union. 

The fight continues

In August, nearly 200 people protested auditions to replace the fired dancers. Protesters included local and state elected officials, community members and members of unions like the Dallas AFL-CIO, Actors’ Equity and SAG-AFTRA.

Community support included the Rev. Frederick D. Haynes III, senior pastor of Friendship-West Baptist Church and one of Dallas’ most prominent Black leaders. A statement by Haynes was read at the rally.

Haynes said he “stands in solidarity with the fired dancers of Dallas Black Dance.”

“I am profoundly disturbed by recent events that reflect a horrible injustice. The fine arts have always been an inspiration in the struggle for Black freedom and for the liberation and justice for all. It is upsetting to think that an institution that has benefited and participated in the struggle for freedom is now using tools of oppression.”

The company is moving forward with its next season. Tickets are now on sale. The first show, “DanceAfrica,” will take place at the Moody Performance Hall on Oct. 11 at 7:30 p.m. AGMA has announced it will picket at the dance company’s upcoming performances.

The fired dancers are continuing to lobby for their jobs; however, their feelings about returning are complicated.

“There would need to be a significant change, in either the people that are there or the mindsets of the people that are there, that would make me feel comfortable to come back and continue to make a change. So it just depends,” Clifford said.

Like management, the fired dancers are concerned about the legacy of the dance company. Rogers said that legacy is living and breathing, and must evolve with the times.

“I believe that anybody that chooses to pigeonhole or hold on to something in the name of preserving a legacy is actually killing the legacy,” Rogers said. “It’s actually hindering the legacy from growing, from touching more people and reaching more corners of the world. I think that’s actually what’s happening there.”

Lancaster said the company has to prepare for future generations of dancers who won’t hesitate to speak up.

“Imagine when the generation gets younger, they’re going to have to figure it out because they’re going to be more vocal,” he said.

Without skipping a beat, Rogers cuts in.

“Frankly, it’s already here.”

Arts Access is an arts journalism collaboration powered by The Dallas Morning News and KERA.

This community-funded journalism initiative is funded by the Better Together Fund, Carol & Don Glendenning, City of Dallas OAC, The University of Texas at Dallas, Communities Foundation of Texas, The Dallas Foundation, Eugene McDermott Foundation, James & Gayle Halperin Foundation, Jennifer & Peter Altabef and The Meadows Foundation. The News and KERA retain full editorial control of Arts Access’ journalism.