The Board of Trustees and Staff of Yorkshire Dance stand in solidarity with Black Lives Matter. With this gesture, the organisation acknowledges that:

The art form and industry the organisation operates in must urgently address the issue of racism:

• That while some change has been undertaken, it is not enough
• That black artists and artists of colour have no responsibility to educate others about racism

Yorkshire Dance pledges to:

• Work in honest, critical dialogue with black artists, producers and cultural leaders, and people of colour, towards effective, practical change
• Be accountable for its actions in the fight against racism
• Continue to educate ourselves within Yorkshire Dance on racism and unconscious bias

Yorkshire Dance aims to:

• Contribute through dance activism to support black artists and artists of colour to be visible
• Support the broadening of aesthetics of the dancing body, what it represents and the stories it tells, recognising that this will not be a comfortable process, and will require daily attention

We welcome further conversation about this statement. If you would like to get in touch, please email Wieke Eringa, Artistic Director of Yorkshire Dance at: wiekeeringa@yorkshiredance.com