DTH Students at Assemblée Internationale 2023

The Dance Theatre of Harlem School was invited to attend Assemblée Internationale 2023, hosted by Canada’s National Ballet School (NBS). The theme of this year’s conference was anti-black racism.

To be honest, I had my reservations. I’d often witnessed and unwittingly been a pawn in performative ally-ship in which predominantly white institutions made a big show of appearing to be in support of civil rights and equality while doing nothing to address real change. 

As I educated myself on the organization and personnel involved, I slowly began to gain trust. I also considered the benefit to our students of traveling abroad and experiencing dance in a larger context. Our expenses were paid by the National Ballet School. Mostly though, I had to take a risk and open my heart to hope. 

I was new to the position of Director Designate of the DTH school and had the task of selecting three students to represent us in Toronto. I was looking for students who were responsible and consistent. They also needed to have a strong technical base in order to cope with the rigor of the classes they would encounter during AI23, which included teachers and students from the world’s greatest dance institutions. I chose Armand Rufen-Blanchette, Akelah Spellman, and Dannilynn King and they all willingly accepted.

In preparation for the week-long conference, the NBS held a series of virtual learning sessions in which black dance luminaries, writers and educators spoke about their experiences and thoughts around racial healing, including Milagros Phillips, Theresa Ruth Howard (DTH company alum), Benoit Swan Pouffer, Misty Copeland, Joan Myers Brown, Camille A. Brown, Silas Farley, Alonzo King, Jawole Willa Jo Zollar, and Dr. Howard C. Stevenson. These sessions were an education in themselves and a reminder that we all had work to do.

In addition to these sessions, students had to learn a great deal of choreography from videos which would be pieced together when we all arrived in Toronto. There were hundreds of students. It seemed an organizational nightmare.

The opening ceremony was led by Grandmother Kim, a native elder, who eloquently invoked the spirit of our ancestors. She was dressed in her ceremonial attire. Again, this could have all been performative, but it wasn’t. She warmed up our hearts with her singing and drumming. I thought of all the impossible things over generations of time that had been put into place for us to be there in that moment and realized, to my surprise, that it felt safe to cry.

The students had the opportunity to study with some of the world’s best instructors in a variety of classes that included ballet, Afro-fusion, Jazz, Dunham and Contemporary. In the afternoons, they rehearsed for the four performances that would culminate the event. There were moments between classes and rehearsals in which they could socialize. Students, directors, teachers, and staff were gathered to discuss the theme of addressing anti-black racism in smaller groups. I marveled at the bravery displayed. My dance journey seemed to snap into focus: in my day, blacks in ballet were largely tokenized. We didn’t talk openly about it. We merely tried to survive.

In addition, our students were able to sample what it would feel like to be a professional dancer and to focus exclusively on their art, which was a gift. My fears about the choreography all coming together were unfounded. On opening night, a cast that had been assembled in person only days before performed beautifully, miraculously, upholding the spirit and intention of the gathering. Grandmother Kim closed the ceremony. I think we all left Toronto inspired to continue the work of healing, feeling supported by our expanded community of friends. 

Thank you to Armand, Akelah, and Dannilynn. I would do it all again. Thank you to the parents for all your support and patience. Thank you to Mavis Staines, Melanie Person, John Alleyne, Su Keen, Keith Marino, and all the exceptional staff and organizers of AI23. We hope to see you again in four years!