The Worthiest Work Centers on People

As we enter the holiday season and look ahead to the new year, we wish you moments of peace and comfort amid life’s challenges; meaningful connections with family and friends, the warmth of cherished holiday memories, and glimpses of the joy that continues to shine beneath the surface.

Challenging times remind us of the importance of community and gratitude for those who help carry us through the year. We are deeply thankful for your continued support of our mission. Your partnership makes our work possible.

Please note that IABD will be closed for the holidays beginning Monday, December 22, 2025, through Friday, January 2, 2026. We will respond to emails and phone messages upon our return on Monday, January 5, 2026.

We wish you and your loved ones continued safety, good health, and peace this holiday season. Season’s Greetings!

Photo credit: Justin Knight (Toran X. Moore, IABD Programs Director not pictured)

I have to say thank you, for choosing to be in community with all of us here at IABD. On behalf of our Board of Directors, staff, the entire membership, and myself, our work would not be possible without your support and contributions to the legacy of Black dance.

As I reflect on 2025 and what we’ve been able to achieve this year, I start with acknowledging those who have transitioned and those who have become ancestors – Charles Augins, Marquis T. Floyd, Tyveze Littlejohn, Toni Pierce Sands, Therrell Smith, and all those memory fails me in naming. May their spirits dance forever and may their legacies guide our work.

The biggest lesson in life that continues to ring true is that the worthiest work we will do centers and is for people.

At the top of this year, while we witnessed the rollback of federal funding, removal of diversity, equity, inclusion or justice programming and work, a general uneasiness in how we could do our work, and the looming fear of what’s next, IABD focused on building community.

At the office that meant saying thank you to team members that left in pursuit of new opportunities and welcoming new people to the team: Chiamaka Ede-Ifeobu (she/her), Development Director; Joe Murchison (he/him), Membership Director; and Malik Gomes Cruz (he/they), Programs Manager. It also meant being willing to listen and learn and not letting mistakes overtake our goals. Building community meant making sure that our team is solid, stepping away from reactionary responses and into intentional messaging. And for me it meant not getting lost in achieving a particular result but ensuring that the people are always viewed as human beings.

We also built community in communities. I convened a roundtable in Johannesburg over the summer with fifteen dance artists and company representatives from around South Africa. We produced a panel, Art for the Soul of Black Folx, for the start of Cleo Parker Robinson Dance’s 55th Anniversary season in Denver. I sat with the students at Alabama State University to talk about their futures and be inspired by their choices in Montgomery. We attended TU Dance’s season opener in Minneapolis. I popped in on the dancers at Dallas Black Dance Theatre just to say hi and watch class in Dallas. We visited Sole Defined for the premiere of their new work in Columbus. And I even stage managed for Hill Dance Academy and Ronald K Brown/EVIDENCE in Pittsburgh and cooked a meal for the dancers.

While building community, we also accomplished some tactical objectives this year: completing our strategic plan, updating financial audits, reducing organizational shortfalls, and increasing the number of individual donors. We launched a new program, The Black Art Fund for Dance and provided general operating support to twenty-five individuals and organizations with budget sizes of less than $500,000 that are doing work in their community. And we launched our largest campaign to date, doubling down on the significance of the contributions of Black people and our art in American culture - BLK IS AMERICAN ART.

What a difference a year makes… As we close out 2025 and prepare to gather in Atlanta, we know that we still have our work cut out for us. And I hope that you consider IABD for your end of year giving. Your support makes it possible for us to visit dance companies, train the next generation of arts administrators, implement our strategic plan, and even provide scholarships to the conference and festival. But most importantly, your support of any amount makes it possible for us to proudly proclaim that Black dance by people of African ancestry and/or origin will remain in the consciousness of all people.

I say thank you to Jeraldyne and Joan, and to Ann, Cleo and Lula. Because their collective vision continues to flourish and shape the association into a place of shelter, refuge and community for Black dance artists. But I also say thank you to a war chest of Black women - Ayisha, Candace, Charmaine, Darby, Debbie, Kellee, Lauren, Lisa, Wendy, Yvonne, and many more where memory fails me again – who answer calls, texts, emails and exchange glances that remind me that the work continues, and communities thrive.

With gratitude and looking forward to our next year,

Omar Ingram

P.S. There are two ways to stand in community with us as we close out the year: Join us in Atlanta this February, and/or make a year-end gift to support the sustainability of Black dance. Whatever you choose, thank you for being part of this “war chest” that keeps IABD moving forward.

< Older Post

Newer Post >