Dear Ohio State Dance Community,

George Floyd was laid to rest on Tuesday, June 9, 2020.

It has been 16 days since his killing by police inspired worldwide protests calling for an end to systemic racism and the use of excessive force by police.

In our small part of the world, we gathered last Thursday to hold space.

Thank you, again, to all who showed up for our recent Town Hall discussion. We promised that we would summarize the conversation for those who could not attend. I’ve been working on this response for four days trying to meditate on what was said, take in the love and pain, think about how to strengthen our community and mission, synthesize my notes, bring in the entire other conversation happening through the chat, envision grand ideas for the future and write a succinct, complete, accurate and inspiring follow-up message.

I will necessarily fail in those goals but I hope you take this follow-up letter as part of our continued conversation sparked by these terrible events.

We held space as a community on June 4^th for the sadness, pain, frustration and love we are all feeling in these unstable times. Our country is/has been broken in many ways and it is hitting us all now in new ways that we might not be able to fully process yet. I want the department to be one of your spaces where we can gather to support each other through this. I had thought we might have 10 or 15 people attend. Instead, I was overwhelmed and proud that we had over 75 people on the Zoom call. We went twice as long as I thought because people needed time to move through many different types of sharing—of feelings, of ideas, through active listening and towards calls for action.

For those who weren’t able to attend, here are some of the things I heard in no particular order…

• Above all, I heard people who are committed to the department and their relationship to the department (past, present and future).
• We all want the department to be a home for everyone to be supported and respected in their authentic selves and safe to be honest with work and opinions.
• We are a family and families are complicated. We are a diverse community of individuals with different backgrounds, experiences and perspectives connected through dance.
• We worked on coping with and processing our feelings towards healing and action. Some people are feeling sad, defeated, unheard, frustrated and afraid. Some people feel supported, optimistic and equipped with tools to be in the world right now. Some people have feelings that change every day. Some people feel simultaneously hurt and grateful.
• Some people didn’t even want to come on the call because they were angry that it took this crisis for this kind of convening to happen and wished more had happened in the past.
• Some students want to use their platform—dance as activism in their own way
• There were a number of testimonies getting at how black lives matter to us as a community.
• There is desire to address the harm of the past in legitimate ways so people can feel healed.
• We were called out for the amount of labor expected of Black people in different ways and tasked to make sure we are all actively invested in the work.
• There was also frustration, confusion and anger by non-black people about how to help and how best to be better educated. I heard people from different backgrounds committing to learning more.
• I noticed different perspectives on silence as a way of either redressing or perpetuating pain. What does silence mean?
  • Holding space?
  • Active listening?
  • Bearing witness?
  • Decentering whiteness?
  • Passive violence?
  • Fragility?

• I heard people processing how to make a commitment to intersectional and experience, anti-racist work as these issues connect with Latin(x), Asian and other experiences through Anti-Oppressive Pedagogy, Trans-Allied Pedagogy and others.
• Even though Dance came later to the academy it is still a part of deep institutional structures that were not meant for many of us. To that end, it is incumbent upon us to constantly examine those structures in terms of curriculum, labor, casting, recruitment, performance opportunities, funding, guest artists, reading lists, priorities, etc. Specific classes were suggested for reexamining. Some work is already being done in these areas—e.g. some of the GE and HTL classes are already undergoing revision plans and aesthetic strengths are being expanded. We will continue to reexamine the curriculum to provide a diverse, rich educational experience through different pedagogical approaches. Please keep the suggestions coming.
• I heard a desire to be a greater part of decision making in various areas and have more  mechanisms for constructive suggestions outside of SEIs for honest, good-faith improvement. This should come with training on how to give criticism in the most constructive ways.
• Continuous department-wide training is needed and resources were suggested.
• There was a challenge to undergrads to hold peers accountable when they notice unfair treatment at the same time as there is a need to learn how to do that. A number of people like Dr. Nya, Kathryn Logan and Iman Clark (among others) offered to be resources for this part of the work.
• There was support for continuing to build connections with local communities of color.
• We were invited to remember notice and stay connected to our bodies as we listen.
• Finally, people expressed gratitude and love for having the forum, valuing voices and action. There was solidarity in the frustration and rage. There was also a challenge to make this the first of many conversations and steps towards shifting and strengthening our culture. Alums, current students, faculty and staff are all onboard for the work.

Thank you, again for everyone who came to share, make space and pledge to strengthen the department. I heard good-hearted people with love for the department. I’ve had choices for my administrative work. I chose the Ohio State Dance Department because I knew the work is already happening here in ways that are better than in many other units. I also knew this was the place where the pedagogical mission of excellence is expected and modeled in myriad ways preparing our students to be not only excellent dancers and thinkers but also better citizens.

What’s Next…

I asked if folks wanted to mobilize outward-facing dance activism in the current crisis. Well, you clearly do! Over the weekend, around 8 great ideas came to me from different parts of our community. I’ve been working with a few groups and individuals to develop these ideas. I encourage all who can to attend the Racism 101 workshop this Thursday, June 11th from 11am-1pm via Zoom.

Other plans are in the works and we will keep you updated. Some of you have also reached out offering to help in any way you can. Thank you! I may owe you an email but I’m catching up—I received a lot of emails this weekend. I’ve asked Dr. Nyama McCarthy-Brown to be faculty liaison in these efforts, so she is also a point person from the faculty (mccarthy-brown.1@osu.edu).

We’ll send out information about other department-based and public initiatives soon.

I’m proud of the way many people have stepped up in this moment as well as the ongoing work from people already in these spaces. We are working with different groups (faculty, staff, undergrads, grad students, alums, colleagues in the larger field, campus support systems, etc.) around more nuanced conversations that need to happen in smaller groups.

Susan Hadley and Amy Schmidt are working hard to schedule times for us to meet regularly next year (outside of the booked Common Time) to allow us to come together as a community, which will be especially needed in the Covid year. I hope to use this time for some of the continued conversations being suggested as well as ways to connect casually.

I’ve been thinking about the everyday. How do we sustain this daily work that preserves our health? We can only do it knowing that we are supported by others. I’m stepping up for this work and so are you. What does this have to do with dance? Everything. I’ve been thinking of: Everyday protests to counter everyday killings. Everyday acts of kindness to counter everyday microaggression. Everyday empowerment to counter everyday disenfranchisement.

Someone asked, “What does doing something about all of this look like.” I hope this message summarizes how we are not only holding space to share feelings but also to commit to that doing. This is a marathon. It is long and difficult work.

Because no one wants what’s happening in our country right now…

Because we believe we have to say out loud for non-believers that Black Lives Matter…

Because we need great and small reckonings…

Because we need everyday protests to counter everyday murders…

Because it has everything to do with dance…

Looking back, moving forward…

Dr. Nadine George-Graves
Professor
Department of Dance