When Sophia Chambliss, Kennedy George, Shania Gordon, and Ava Holloway learned the Robert E. Lee statue located in Richmond, VA, would be removed, they put on their black leotards and tutus and headed to the statue for a photo shoot. What resulted was a symbolic message of resistance, change, and hope.
They had bonded over their love for dance and ballet at the Central Virginia Dance Academy, and their commitment to the Black Lives Matter movement inspired them to found Brown Ballerinas For Change. “We all are very passionate about this movement, and we all love to dance,” Chambliss told POPSUGAR. The mission of Brown Ballerinas For Change is to promote activism and social justice and to increase diversity and representation in the arts with ballet as their medium.
The mission of Brown Ballerinas for Change (BBFC) is to help create advocacy, social justice, and to increase participation of underrepresented populations in ballet.
Brown ballerinas are change makers. We are dancer-led and our purpose is to use ballet to promote activism, social justice, and to increase diversity in the arts by providing annual scholarships, a mentor network, and community programs to empower young dancers.
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