DALLAS — A Dallas city council committee Tuesday seemed to coalesce around allowing nearly $250,000 previously recommended for Dallas Black Dance Theatre (DBDT) to be re-allocated to other arts organizations for next year amid concerns about the dance program’s recent firing of dancers.
The same committee in October voted against recommending allocating about $248,000 to Dallas Black Dance Theatre for 2024-2025, and the city council the next week deferred a decision on the funding.
The full city council is expected to weigh in on the issue of the next round of funding for the dance company next week on Dec. 11.
Dallas Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Adam Bazaldua said he was concerned about allocating the funding for the dance company amid their dispute with the union representing the fired dancers and, if no decision is made on it, the $248,000-plus would go to other arts organizations, such as Community Arts, Community Artist Program, Culture of Value or ArtsActivate for the 2025 fiscal year.
“I strongly encourage you all to come back next year to apply to continue to show that y’all can be that asset to our community,” Bazaldua said. “The reality is is that we are not a party in this battle. But the last thing that we should be doing is inserting ourself in the battle and that’s what I believe we’d be doing without any decisions being made…there’s a lot of unknown, there’s a lot of process that needs to be played out.”
A group of DBDT dancers said on social media in August that they’d been fired and subsequently replaced after forming a union in late May and joining the American Guild of Musical Artists (AGMA). The company, though, cited a video posted to social media as the reason for the firing.
The National Labor Relations Board had been investigating unfair labor practice charges filed against the dance company in June and August. Dallas Black Dance Theatre also filed an unfair labor practice charge against the union in September.
In November, the National Labor Relations Board filed a complaint against Dallas Black Dance Theatre, alleging the dance company’s management threatened employees over unionizing, among other issues. The two sides have met to discuss a possible settlement of the unfair labor practice charge, but a hearing on the case is set for Dec. 9 in Fort Worth.
“The reality is we have some concerns,” Bazaldua added Tuesday. “I have a bad taste in my mouth [about] how this has been handled.”
“I would be in favor of just pausing on this,” Dallas City Council member Gay Donnell Willis said. “I think there’s more to come through on this, so I would say, let’s wait until we know a little bit more about that.”
Dallas Black Dance Theatre board president Georgia Scaife said Tuesday the dance company has been in talks with the NLRB since they received the complaint and has been negotiating in “good faith.”
“I can’t tell you when this will be resolved, but I can tell you that we’re actively working on it in earnest. We are working on it in good faith,” Scaife said. “We would like to see this come to a closure. We gain nothing by drawing this out.”
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