fight supremacy

Blue13 has been having these conversations since our very inception, and we are of course, not alone. Our Black and Indigenous sisters and brothers in the field and worldwide have been bearing this burden for hundreds of years. Our Indian ancestors, in fact our South Asian ancestors at large, have been oppressed and held down by colonialism for hundreds of years. I have been complicit in many ways without realizing, and apologize for that. Specifically: body type casting based on Eurocentric ideals; upholding ballet as superior, and thus whiteness as superior to me, to my dancers, to all forms and styles of dance; using ballet terminology in Bollywood classes (plie, 2nd position, coupe, etc.); so much more. We have been having the conversations for years, but we have so much uncovering and dismantling to do, here at home, and as advocates and activists living out loud. I am committed to making changes with out board and with our dancers and partners to attack and name, and dismantle systemic anti-Blackness, sexism, racism, ableism, anti-LGBTQIA oppression, and white supremacy in dance. We make art to fight, and we must elevate our voices in joint and echoing crescendo.

Please follow us on Instagram and Facebook @blue13dance to see our public conversations, interviews, and roundtable discussions on inequity and white supremacy in our industry. Do more than read a book. Join us and volunteer, join our board, and do the work with us.