We write as the Dance Students Association, and students in this department, to call upon you and the department to build a learning community that nurtures differences and upholds the humanity of all of its members, especially those whose voices have historically been silenced and marginalized. We are invested in an education that values diverse ways of knowing and learning. We yearn to dismantle systems of oppression that hinder Black liberation, Indigenous sovereignty, and the flourishing of oppressed peoples. We are eager to encourage a holistic plan to address long-standing issues of Social Justice, Equity and Inclusion in our department. To that end, we urge you to move beyond superficial measures meant to temporarily appease Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour (BIPOC) communities, and instead to invest in significant and lasting systemic changes. We especially encourage substantive evaluations of curriculum to determine the ongoing pervasive impact of white supremacy and colonialism in pedagogy, which permeate the theory, practice and forms, in the ways dance is taught in the department. We also want to support the development of programs to support BIPOC students and faculty, specifically, in order to address and rectify the historic and present-day inequities that plague our discipline.

The recent events that have unfolded in the aftermath of the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and many others, have deeply impacted the Black community, including many students in our department. It is unacceptable for our department not to have addressed this issue with solidarity or in any official capacity. We would like to reignite a serious conversation within the current structure of the dance program at York in light of these issues. The department at York is well positioned to be a leader for other institutions and dance programs on these issues and can lead by example in addressing these issues in a substantive manner. We are moved by the global uproar and mass movement which seeks justice and accountability on all levels for all Black lives and marginalized communities around the world. Specifically, we are imploring you to hold the dance department accountable for its minimal recognition of BIPOC dance forms. The dance world is entrenched in white supremacy, though we have often ignored it in order to maintain the status quo and protect white fragility and “tradition.” By avoiding these serious conversations, white supremacy structures have allowed programs to eliminate art by those practitioners and students of QTBIPOC. In retrospect, courses like Hip-Hop and African are often shunned, otherized, and not treated with proper respect and dignity. We must review our history and the way it is taught. We can no longer spend only a week on Afro-diasporic and BIPOC dance history. The continuous positioning of Western concert dance above all other forms is a form of white supremacy. 

How then can York University’s dance program reform itself to allow a more diverse and comprehensive fulfillment of its dance requirements? One way to move toward change is to make these courses mandatory in some capacity. Why are other “ethnic” forms not as qualified or respected at an institutional level? We must make it so that they occupy academic space no differently than Ballet and Modern dance forms. To promote diversity without equitable academic representation is hypocrisy. If versatility is truly valued in the field, we must train our students to be resilient and diverse by giving the so-called “world dance forms” the respect and priority that they deserve. The heart of the change in this department must have its students' needs, experiences and perspective at its core. The impulse to create a team of BIPOC Faculty to address systemic racism within the department is a good start, but it is inadequate. It once again puts the onus on BIPOC communities to “fix” racism and implies that it is not the responsibility of White people to address racism and unsettle white supremacy in our institutions. This move must include the department as a whole, and those in supervisory positions over the department. 

We, the students, are open to communication, and to continually be involved in the concrete steps we will take to eliminate white supremacy in order to prioritize voices, pedagogy and experiences of BIPOC people. We also recognize that the dance world faces unique challenges in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. We know that decolonizing academia and unsettling our pedagogies will take work, and we do not expect this to happen overnight. However, it must be a priority moving forward, and with this letter we have communicated our position. In closing, we look forward to being in on-going communication. This will take all and everyone of us.