Baba Chuck's Hat and Social Justice
by Amanda Leslie, Senior, iPreparatory Academy

​         The summer of 2017 was a shock for the national African-American Dance community, Charles Rudolph Davis, known as Baba Chuck Davis, died. Legendary dance artist, Baba Chuck was a pioneer in African Dance in the United States. He spent his life fusing traditional African dance and modern dance to address social justice issues. The American Dance Festival in Durham, NC hosted a celebration of his life at Duke University. I was honored to participate in the processional carrying his hat as part of the memorial ceremony. The most common topic in Baba Chuck’s work is the internalized racism present in many institutions in the United States, such as the criminal justice system.

         The memories of Baba Chuck live on in 2020, as this past year brought about a lot of change in the Black community, especially with the emerging spotlight on the Black Lives Matter movement. Not only has this movement sparked social change in criminal justice, but as a dancer, I see the world of dance changing along with this movement. 

           
​           This year, the arts community took a hit; the spread of the COVID-19 virus forced studios and theaters to close their doors and move to virtual programs, an difficult task for a community that thrives on live audiences. It is documented that the systematic racism in the United States has caused a disproportionate impact on people of color specifically African-Americans. This effect is translated into the dance community where dancers are unable to work because of restrictions of the pandemic. Jamar Roberts, Resident Choreographer of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, created a piece for the Guggenheim’s Works & Progress about COVID-19 and its disproportionate effect on the Black community. However, he was unable to enter a studio space, so he recorded and performed the piece in his basement.

Credit: WPA Virtual Commissions

         
​         Many artists are promoting the Black Lives Matter movement through their art, such as the Jamar Roberts piece referenced above. And while this performance was created before the death of George Floyd, Roberts translated his work to the movement. In addition, as explained in DanceSpirit Magazine Royal Ballet principal Marcelino Sambé also felt compelled to speak about BLM through movement. The Portuguese dancer’s work “I can’t breathe” is a dance attributed to George Floyd’s murder, one of the catalyst for the world-wide popularity of the movement. Moreover, dance has been integrated in the protests, as it has become a trend to play a line dance, such as the cupid shuffle, at protests, and it can be seen that all sorts of people, protesters and police officers will join the dance.

         
​          Many art forms that we experience today (ballet, theater, dance), historically thrived in Western Europe, causing the genre to inadvertently promote racism. For example, for ballerinas of color to acquire skin colored pointe shoes, they generally must buy a normal pair of pink pointe shoes and spend hours pancaking them with foundation and letting them dry. This process can sometimes take up to 6 hours because of the necessity of recoating many times to get the right color. This is something that Caucasian ballerinas do not have to do. Additionally, many deep rooted traditions in the European style are offensive and racist. For example, an article by the New York Times reports that the Bolshoi Ballet, founded in Russia in 1776, still uses blackface in their dances to depict ethnic characters. This practice is extremely offensive, but when asked to discontinue the practice, Bolshoi retorted that it has never been an issue before and ignored the requests. 

Credit: Freed of London

           
​         However, there is some hope for the future of dance and the arts to be more racially inclusive. Common on social media, Ballet Black, a United Kingdom based ballet company, has started a partnership with Freed, a pointe shoe brand, to get pointe shoes made in dark colors to match the skin tones of their Black British dancers. Additionally, African-Americans have been increasingly hired in ballet companies, such as Misty Copland, the first African-American principal dancer of the American Ballet Theater. I will never forget the solemnity of the moment, as I carried Baba Chuck’s hat at his memorial in North Carolina. It is a reminder of those who have fought for justice and an inspiration to continue the work moving forward. The dance community is becoming more inclusive of African-Americans and the issues of social justice and racism surrounding them, and while there is still a long way to go, it is refreshing that there has been a start.

​Works Cited

“Freed of London Pointe Shoe Collaboration” Ballet Black https://balletblack.co.uk/freed-pointe-shoe-collaboration/
 
Zisa, Natalie. “Eight Powerful Dance Works to Come Out of the Black Lives Matter Movement.” DanceSpirit, 16, June 2020.                                            https://www.dancespirit.com/dance-works-black-lives-matter-2646184424.html?rebelltitem=1#rebelltitem1
 
Mashall, Alex. “Blackface at the Ballet Highlights a Global Divide on Race.” The New York Times, 3 Dec 2019.                                                                    https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/23/arts/dance/blackface-ballet-bolshoi-misty-copeland.html