Following labor-organizing efforts, Dallas Black Dance Theatre fired its entire main company in one fell swoop. The company points to an inappropriate video.
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The swarm of protesters gathered to combat what they say is injustice. Dallas Black Dance Theatre recently fired the entire troupe of main company performers, and dancers allege it was retaliation for their establishment of a worker’s union under the American Guild of Musical Artists . “These are terminable offenses. There's no second chance. And there were several things in that video they did that were against the code of conduct,” Fuller says. “So the things that happened in the video … you may not see it as a big deal.
Fuller could not confirm whether DBDT has lost any donors, community partners or touring performance bookings as a direct result of the video. Lancaster says he earned more in a second-tier company at The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in New York City before signing to the main troupe at Dallas Black Dance Theatre.
The dancers say they were subjected to degrading cultural standards at DBDT that policed their gender presentation and hairstyles. After a particularly exhausting run of back-to-back performances in Houston at the end of February, the main company dancers experienced what Rogers calls “the actual defining moment where we all kind of looked at each other and decided that we needed a way to protect ourselves and to secure a conversation which we weren't getting.
“They even sent us a letter from the founder, Ann Williams, basically a long letter telling us about her legacy and at the end of it, told us don't vote yes for the election and said, ‘Vote no, vote no, vote no,'” Rogers says. During this months-long reign of uncertainty, the dancers' union filed three National Labor Relations Board cases against Dallas Black Dance Theatre that included charges of repudiation and modification of contract, changes in terms and conditions of employment, discharge and concerted activities .
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