How We Dance Together – Culture

Through annual educational workshops, townhalls devoted to discussions of social justice, reading groups, and communications, our community is committed to actively undoing racist practices and building a welcoming environment for everyone.

We take pride in the following actions of our community:

2022	New curriculum launches with two new underrepresented faculty hires
2021	The Black Advocacy Team created a resource guide and programming for health, wellness and advocacy.
2020–2021	The Black Advocacy Team (BAT) was founded by Faith Brown (BFA ’21) and Bevara Anderson (MFA ’22). The mission of BAT is " to act as the liaison between the DAI black student body, and DAI leadership and faculty, elevating racial sensitivity, and supporting anti-racist practices within the DAI community, with special emphasis on the African-American experience.”
2020	A new mission statement was established with a commitment to “…to root out historically unbalanced, hierarchically oppressive perspectives…and promote ethical, anti-racist, and progressive practices, operating from a deeply held belief that diversity and inclusion are critical for the advancement of the artform and for humankind.”
	A reading group was established to provide education for students and faculty on race that included How to Be an Anti-Racist by Ibram X. Kendi and White Fragility by Robin Di Angelo.
2018–2019	Dance at Illinois faculty, staff, and students participated in two Undoing Racism workshops (2 1/2 days of intensive training) with the People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond.
2016	A Diversity and Inclusion section was created on our website to communicate our goals and actions.
2014	The department secured three new faculty lines and a post-doc position for faculty with expertise in ballet, hip-hop, and Umfundalai, an African-based contemporary dance.
2010	Annual workshops were initiated for faculty, graduate students, and undergraduate students to provide education and discuss issues of diversity, equity and inclusion.

act as the liaison between the DAI black student body, and DAI leadership and faculty, elevating racial sensitivity, and supporting anti-racist practices within the DAI community, with special emphasis on the African-American experience.

The Black Advocacy Team (BAT) Mission