Dallas Black Dance Theatre

DBDT: Encore! isn’t just a dance company - it's a launchpad for artistic careers.

For 25 years, DBDT: Encore! has been shaping the future of dance.  Through dynamic performances, touring, and school outreach, Encore! provides crucial training and stage experience, bridging the gap between student and professional.

Your support fuels this vital workforce development program.

Give today, and witness how your generosity empowers emerging talent, bridges art with community, and creates a vibrant cultural landscape for generations to come.

Will You Invest in the Future of Dance? 

Dallas Black Dance Theatre is a nationally recognized professional dance company that has performed worldwide for 4.6 million arts patrons and 2.8 million students. The company's key initiatives include stunning professional dance concert performances in person and virtually. In 2020, Dallas Black Dance Theatre became the first dance company to implement paid virtual performances to remain operational and to grow audiences beyond traditional geographic barriers. Since then, DBDT performances have also been viewed by virtual audiences in 45 states and 35 countries. DBDT is committed to offering inspiring arts-in-education programs, inclusive community outreach activities, and dance training classes at a nationally competitive standard. In 2022 DBDT was selected as the Best Dance Company in Dallas by D Magazine.  

As the largest and oldest professional dance company in Dallas, DBDT is the fourth-largest Black dance company in the nation, the ninth-largest contemporary modern dance company, and is considered 36th among the nation’s leading ballet companies. The professional company consists of 14 full-time salaried, multi-ethnic dancers performing a mixed repertory of contemporary, modern, jazz, ballet, ethnic, and spiritual works by local, national, and international choreographers worldwide. 

DBDT's professional training company (DBDT: Encore!) was created in 2000 to fulfill the growing demand for performances, touring, and outreach and is comprised of 8 college-educated artistic interns.  DBDT has been recognized by the National Endowment for the Arts as an American Masterpiece Touring Artist (2008) and received the Texas Medal of the Arts Award for Arts Education (2017). 

Dallas Black Dance Academy offers year-round classes taught by dancers from DBDT's two professional companies in ballet, tap, modern, jazz, and ethnic dances to more than 550 students weekly. In 2017, DBDT received the Texas Medal of Arts for arts education, the highest honor for an arts organization in the state. 

DBDT has partnered with arts organizations throughout Dallas, including Dallas Symphony Orchestra, The Dallas Opera, Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas Theater Center, Nasher Sculpture Center, TITAS, Bruce Wood Dance, and Dark Circles Contemporary Dance.

OUR NEEDS

Contributions are needed to support general operating needs for DBDT's 47th Season, including dancers' salaries, support for live and on-demand streaming, low-cost Academy tuition for aspiring dancers, and outreach classes at North Texas Title I Schools. Help DBDT reach its goal of $50,000 in honor of our 47th Season!