Over the past several years, the Theatre and Dance Department has continued to work to cultivate a more equitable and inclusive culture so that all members of our community can feel seen and supported. While learning and unlearning is an ongoing process and many individuals’ work as inclusion mentors and advocates for equity is not represented below, as a Department, we have taken concrete actions that resulted in curricular and co-curricular changes.
The Dance Program has made adjustments that reflect our belief that all styles of dance are valuable and worthy of study and practice. We integrated the genres of tap and jazz alongside ballet and modern into our foundational course, Dance Practices I, broadened the genres covered in Dance Histories, and formalized two levels for Hip Hop Cultures. Likewise, the genres, aesthetics, and worldviews represented by recent Guest Artists and in our mainstage productions celebrate multicultural diversity as a strength.
The Theatre Program has initiated the practice of holding community Open Dialogues between faculty, staff and students. This is an on-going departmental endeavor. Past topics have included “Identity-Conscious Casting” (2023) and “Toward an Inclusive Community” (2024). Theatre faculty and staff have participated in multiple Anti-racism and Equity trainings and intensives including “Identifying and Unrooting White Supremacy Culture” training with Dr. Natashia Lindsey (2022), Restorative Practices, and a Year-Long Consultancy with Prof. Kaja Dunn, Equity Advocate (2023-24)
The Theatre and Dance Department’s multi-part consultation with Prof. Dunn brought faculty, staff, and students together in a series of listening and dialogue sessions. Our actions below reflect what we collectively learned.
- Changes to our season selection process — creating several selection committees comprising students, faculty and staff to nominate and evaluate options for the production season
- Standing Committee created
- Subcommittees formed
- Reconsidering Department Mission Statement & Program Learning Goals
- Redrafted Anti-Racism Statement of Principles
In 2024-2025, the temporary Anti-Racism Action Plan Working Group was reconfigured as the Standing Committee on Anti-Racism, Equity, and Inclusion. Several Working Groups were created to positively address 1) Communication and Accountability, 2) Environment, and 3) Guest Artists. We will move multiple actionable tasks (currently in development) forward during the 2025-2026 academic year. Volunteers from the faculty and full-time staff will rotate in and out of working groups, allowing multiple voices to be in the conversation and for the members of our community to more equitably share the labor.
