San Francisco, CA.  The urgency of the moment in the wake of George Floyd was never lost on Dance Mission Theater.  Founded on social change and resistance through dance performance, DMT took swift action in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement.  Staff and board members established a Reparations Program to support dancers and artists of African descent.  Krissy Keefer, Executive Director, released a statement outlining the theater’s response to the “gross inequities” laid bare by the COVID-19 pandemic.  Their Reparations Program includes access to free theater space, free tuition for youth dance classes, reduced rates on rehearsal space, and half-off adult classes.

Krissy Keefer, co-founder of Dance Brigade and Executive Director of DMT. Photo from the San Francisco Examiner.

Dance Mission Theater originated in 1984 as a single feminist dance company, the Dance Brigade.  The Dance Brigade spent 14 years establishing its artistic voice and community presence.  In 1998 they created Dance Mission Theater, a 140-seat black box theater, and 3 dance studios located at 24th and Mission.  To this day, Dance Mission Theater is a cultural hub for BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, and women artists.  A flourishing inter-generational community, Dance Mission “connects and empowers [students of diverse backgrounds] through dance”.  Classes and productions feature culturally rooted dance forms while exploring complex social justice issues.  Dance Mission is dedicated to centering those marginalized by race, poverty, and gender in the arts.  Providing accessible classes and spaces to Black students through their Reparations Program is a new step toward forwarding that goal.

Grrrl Bridgade performs to Robbie Robertson’s song “Coyote Dance” at the Brigade’s 15th Anniversary Performance.

From Dance Mission Theater:

Dance Mission Theater operates from the understanding that the United States was founded on the genocide of Native peoples and the enslavement of African people and has neither apologized nor rectified this original wound. We are committed to programming that reflects the best efforts of who we are – BIPOC, LBGTQ+, and Children – to transform the culture of white supremacy, police brutality, and patriarchy to build a more equitable and peaceful world.

Author’s note: Ericka Hart, M.Ed. and anti-racist educator, calls attention to the fact that while Dance Mission Theater decided to term this program “Reparations” it is not actually reparations.  Reparations are owed to Black people by the State because of the generations of wealth denied to the enslaved Black persons who produced them.  Individual and community action separate from the State does not diminish nor replace that responsibility.

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