We want to address, head on, some the concerns voiced on our Instagram account regarding our recent post promoting the Dancer Training Program. The post shared on February 18th on both Instagram and Facebook featured confirmed faculty for our program. We posted this information too quickly. We had not yet completed our hiring process and this post did not reflect the diversity we had been working to display in this program. This post, made in haste, was a mistake. We are grateful to the individuals who saw this post and spoke out, and those who have engaged in conversations with us around this matter. It also showed us that we need to display more transparency around our instructor hiring practices.
When our volunteers started the initial search for instructors, we worked to compile a diverse group of people to whom we would reach out. Our list included people of different races, sexualities, gender identities, areas of expertise, and more. As people were saying “Yes” or “No” based on their availability, we failed to bring to our conscious that the group of people saying “Yes” did not represent the racial diversity of our city. We then created the post in a rush to promote this program. At the time of this post we were still actively seeking additional faculty to participate, and we were making efforts to connect with artists of color, especially individuals who have had connections with the company. Chicago Repertory Ballet would like to affirm that releasing this post, with an incomplete roster featuring only white artists, was a mistake. Since this post, we saw the comments, and appreciate the time commenters took to have meaningful, important conversations. With gratitude, we took actionable steps to implement your feedback; we have been able to secure numerous artists from across the sector who are racially diverse.
Chicago Repertory Ballet would like to apologize for the tone-deafness of this post. We recognize this is a challenging point in history where these issues are concerned, and did not intend to cause any further insult by our actions in making this hasty post. We also want to thank those who reached out to us for engaging in meaningful dialogues that has given us a space to examine our policies, hiring practices, and has heightened our awareness of our place in the Chicago Dance Community.
Chicago Repertory Ballet is proud of the work we do to confront and re-examine the role of gender in ballet, as both a dance form and as a storytelling avenue. This post has reminded us that this work must be intersectional: we must also include confronting issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion in this art form. We commit to participate in this work.