This article was originally written by Director of Communications Alicia Cook and published in the Winter 2021 issue of AGMAzine, on March 2, 2021. It is now featured as part of the “AGMAzineSpotlight” series. Dancer Antuan Byers has since been elected to the AGMA Board of Governors and is a member of the AGMA Black Caucus. A 2022 update on Black Dance Change Makers can be found at the bottom of this article.
We all know the phrase “you wear your heart on your sleeve.” Well, the minute Antuan Byers begins speaking, you not only can see his heart, but you can also see his passion and purpose. You can practically feel his desire to make the world a more equal and just place, as though his energy is so powerful that it is made tangible. If anyone is going to make a difference in the dance world and beyond, it is Antuan Byers.
“Right now is obviously a completely different moment for Artists around the globe. So much of our work is built around connectivity with fellow Artists and with our audience,” he began. “In addition to the pandemic, we've also been experiencing an incredible uprising, specifically in the United States, but also around the world. I think that has also been an additional factor that's played a big role in how I'm doing right now: being responsive to what's happening in our country to Black and Brown bodies and trying to figure out ways that I can contribute to making that better.”
In June of 2020, on the same day as #BlackoutTuesday—a social media response to the tragic killings of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor—Antuan Byers, a dancer at the Metropolitan Opera, founded Black Dance Change Makers, an online community that unites and uplifts Black dancers.
“While everyone was blacking out their social media profiles on #BlackoutTuesday, I felt like our community was running away from having conversations about these issues. I needed to talk, not post a black square on Instagram,” Byers recalled.
From there, the dancer reached out personally to every Black dancer in his phone that he could think of and scheduled a Zoom call that very same day. These support-like calls continued into September and October 2020.
“We were having such amazing conversations,” he said. “I started to brainstorm how I could expand this concept outside of just the people I knew personally and think about how I could continue this past the current moment that we were in.”
Already the host of The LLAB on the Pod de Deux podcast, a series on racial justice in the dance world, and a founding member of the AGMA Black Caucus, Byers knew of the major gaps in the Black dance community and wanted to help fill the void. An activist at heart, Byers jumped further into action and officially launched the Black Dance Change Makers app, social media presence, and website. In a time of social unrest and isolation, Byers aimed to bring people together to celebrate their Blackness and their art.
“You might be the only Black dancer at a company, or depending on what city you're in, you might be the only Black professional dancer in that city, or in that county,” he said. “I saw a unique need within the Black community, to find ways to connect us and bring us together.”
Byers is the Founder and CEO of Black Dance Change Makers and works collaboratively on programming and development with a team that includes dancers Tamisha A. Guy, Alysia Johnson, Alisha Peek, and Fana Tesfagiorgis. Members of the platform, also known as “Change Makers,” have a community right at their fingertips, no matter where they are in the world. While, on the surface, members are all Black dancers, Black Dance Change Makers creates deeper bonds through a number of resources based on other interests, too.
BDCM offers specialized clubs, exclusive conversations and presentations from industry leaders, watch parties and improv jams, and monthly group challenges to help members meet their fitness and wellness goals.
“Although I felt like there were places to celebrate all of these things separately, there didn't seem to be a single platform where we could celebrate those things together,” he stated.
Black Dance Change Makers also gives back to the community at large, recently holding a food drive in partnership with Feeding America as well as hosting a clothing drive.
At its heart, Black Dance Change Makers is a safe space for Black dancers to come together. To join, applicants must fill out a simple form, which takes 10 minutes. From there, the team properly vets the application and invites the applicant to attend a mandatory hour-long orientation session before officially becoming a Change Maker. Priority consideration is given to Black femme and disabled dancers applying to be a Change Maker.
“I believe that femme and disabled dancers are two of the most harmed groups in our society, especially when you add the intersection of being Black as well,” Byers explained. “So, in my effort to continue to create space for those who are the most marginalized, it felt very important to me to make sure that we were giving priority application review to Black femmes and disabled folks.”
Nearly one year into the pandemic that shut down Byer’s production of La Traviata, he has found a new focus and purpose within the Black Dance Change Makers family.
“My community helps me cope with everything that has been going on,” Byers shared. “My community has been keeping me grounded, inspired, and levelheaded as this world continues to unveil its horrific truth right in front of our eyes.”
2022 UPDATE from BLACK DANCE CHANGE MAKERS: In its first year, Black Dance Change Makers hosted more than 100 events, connecting more than 100 Black dancers, including students, performers, educators, choreographers, directors, photographers, filmmakers, and writers.
To learn more about Black Dance Change Makers keep up with the movement on social media and visit here.