Dallas Black Dance Theatre is a historic institution that’s been a space for Black dancers in Dallas since 1976. Recently, the company has been the subject of controversy amid labor disputes.
In 2024, dancers spoke out against the company’s management and sought union representation with the American Guild of Musical Artists. After labor disputes between AGMA and DBDT, the dance company reached a $560,000 settlement with the National Labor Relations Board. Then, the company lost funding from the Dallas City Council and donors. In 2026, the company is transitioning to new leadership.
Here is what you need to know:
1. The dance company lost $248,000 in city funding in 2024 due to labor violations.
In December 2024, Dallas Black Dance Theatre reached a settlement with the National Labor Relations Board, which found merit to dozens of unfair labor practice charges against the company.
Those include the firing of 10 dancers due to union efforts, cutting off teaching opportunities through DBDT’s student academy, and dance company communication that threatened, restrained or coerced the dancers as they tried to unionize, according to the complaint.
Following the settlement, Dallas City Council voted to cut $248,000 in funding for cultural programming from the dance company.
2. Dallas City Council restored $225,000 in funding to the dance company
In November 2025, Dallas City Council voted to grant $225,000 in funding for cultural programming to Dallas Black Dance Theatre.
In the meeting, council member Zarin D. Gracey said he’s appreciative of the changes the dance company has made following the settlement.
“I just want to publicly thank them for doing that tough work and making the tough decisions to continue moving forward, and congratulate them on being able to secure this funding through all of the tumultuous times,” he said.
The company’s settlement with the NLRB required the company to pay fired dancers over $560,000, issue letters of apology to the dancers and work with a NLRB agent to train supervisors and employees.
3. An advisory stakeholder taskforce was created to review the company and provide recommendations to improve “community trust.”
The task force hosted its first meeting on March 25 and convened for six months to review the company’s policies and governance.
In its 16-page report released in September, the task force recommended a succession plan for executive director Zenetta Drew’s impending retirement.
They also recommended the board of directors take “a more proactive, visible” role with the company. The task force proposed staggering term limits for board members, requiring board members to more actively oversee executive leadership and setting expectations for board members for giving or receiving donations.
4. Executive Director Zenetta Drew is retiring.
Drew, the executive director of Dallas Black Dance Theatre, will retire after nearly four decades at the helm of the company.
Drew joined DBDT in 1987 and became executive director shortly after. She worked closely with founder and artistic director Ann Williams, who retired in 2014.
Drew helped the company raise millions of dollars, grow its school and move into its current home, the historic Moorland YMCA building in the Dallas Arts District.
In an October City Council committee meeting, Lee McKinney, treasurer of DBDT’s board of directors, told council members the search for a new executive director will begin in January 2026 and is expected to take two to three months.
5. The dance company has not yet reached a collective bargaining agreement with the union representing its dancers.
DBDT is currently in talks with the American Guild of Musical Artists to reach a collective bargaining agreement. It’s a way for dancers to negotiate the terms of their employment with the dance company through a union.
In June, Texas Ballet Theater reached its first collective bargaining agreement with the American Guild of Musical Artists, marking the first time a North Texas dance company has reached a union contract in over 40 years.
In Texas, AGMA also represents the Houston Grand Opera, Houston Ballet and Ballet Austin. Locally, AGMA represents Dallas Black Dance Theatre and the Dallas Opera, which ratified a new five-year contract for its union in May.
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