2020 GRANTEES

MoBBallet

Launched in 2015, MoBBallet (MoBB) preserves, presents, and promotes the contributions and stories of Black artists in the field of Ballet, illustrating that they are an integral part of dance history at large. MoBB’s mission is to illuminate the lesser-known history and legacies of international professional Black ballet artists that have been muted, or oftentimes eradicated from the larger canon of dance history, by being the digital platform that compiles it in one online location.

In addition MoBBallet curates and facilitates forums for stimulating and dynamic conversations about race, diversity, equity, inclusion and art. MoBBallet promotes larger discussions within the dance community, as well as provides a platform and network for emerging dancers, educators, teachers, and choreographers. We are only as strong as our stories, therefore they must be told and preserved.

On February 1, 2021 MoBBallet launched The Constellation Project: Mapping the Dark Stars of Ballet. The project maps the points at which the lives and careers of dancers Arthur Mitchell, Mel Tomlinson, Lavinia Williams, Mabel Jones Freeman, Doris Jones, and Claire Haywood intersected with each other, and other artists, institutions, and white allies contemporary to them. The immersive interactive exhibit was designed by MoBBallet’s Digital Art Director Natasha Hulme, and researched in partnership with Williams College.

Since August 2020, with the support of AE&E Fund, MoBBallet has added 101 new artist pages to its Roll Call bringing the total published pages to 403 of the 556 artists listed.

The MoBBallet Virtual Symposium: Education, Communication, Restoration was a space that centers Blackness, and all were welcome. In the wake of the current Covid-19 crisis, the great loss of life within our community, as well as the uprisings for racial and social justice, as artists a space was needed to commune, share sentiments, concerns, hopes and dreams. The For Us By Us (FUBU) Town Hall was a space for artists to SEE each other, fellowship as a Village, and empty their heads and hearts with the incentive of invoking healing.

The 16 sessions offered during three August weekends featured artists and/or artistic leaders, from prestigious ballet companies such as Pacific Northwest Ballet, Boston Ballet, New York City Ballet, School of American Ballet, Ballet Austin, Texas Ballet Theatre, Ballet Memphis, National Ballet of Canada, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, Pennsylvania Ballet, and more. Speakers featured throughout the conference included Charmian Wells, Ph.D in dance studies and cultural historian; Adesola Akinleye, Senior Dance Lecturer at Middlesex University, UK; Chrystyn Fentroy, Soloist, Boston Ballet; Jermel Johnson, Principal, Pennsylvania Ballet; Donald Byrd, Spectrum Dance Theater: William Forsythe and others. The symposium also featured numerous dance historians, dance educators, dance college program representatives, and more. Symposium attendees were able to learn more about the history of colorism in ballet, combating implicit bias in dance curriculum, and activating one’s social justice activism.