10/06/2020
Hello followers we are back! And we wanted to address our agencyโs stance on Black Lives Matter. We did not post a black square last week - not out of not supporting this cause, actually quite the opposite. We have multiple business platforms where we have been extremely vocal about the issue, also our director has set up the charity where 100% of all profits from t-shirts sold are being donated to BLM so please check that out.
We have noticed that a lot of agencies & events companies have either completely ignored the issue, or have posted a black square then gone back to business as usual. Or offered some generic statement of support. We did none of the above and here is why: we have always, and will always support black performers. You just need to scroll down the feed of any agencyโs Instagram to see if they really are committed to diversity. Do you see a sea of white faces or do you see a mix of people from all backgrounds?
That being said, some agents are having great conversations with us and performers to see how they can be committed to being more diverse and supporting black talent in future. They recognise the issue and are trying to correct it. We suggest the following to agencies:
โขDonโt only cast black performers for a specific theme e.g โurbanโ, โstreetโ or โtribalโ. Cast them regularly for any dance, multi skilled or other job. Have a diverse range of looks on all the regular jobs you give out.
โขIf you donโt have a lot of black performers on your books, this means your clients arenโt seeing black talent on your website and social media and therefore canโt request these performers. So take this downtime we are having now to actively seek out a more diverse range of black talent for your books.
โขWe understand that sometimes clients ask for a specific look and thatโs ok! But when they donโt, try to cast a diverse mix of performers and donโt feel you need to โwarnโ clients that for example they will be getting a black dancer or model, it shouldnโt need to be addressed. We need to normalise having black artists across all types of bookings.
Thanks for reading, please add more suggestions below! ๐คโ๐พ @ London, United Kingdom
