Dallas Black Dance Theatre and its dancers signed a union contract more than two years after a high-profile labor dispute that led to an approximately $600,000 settlement, the ouster of its longtime leader and the temporary loss of city funding.
The new contract sets a floor for the minimum number of dancers in each season, a guaranteed minimum work week for dancers and a seniority-based pay structure that raises dancers’ minimum weekly salaries and builds in pay increases throughout the contract period.
“We're proud to have negotiated a first contract that provides meaningful protections for today's dancers while strengthening the company for those who will come after us," dancers on the collective bargaining committee said in a statement with DBDT.
The agreement comes approximately two months after DBDT announced Kristie Patton Foster as its new executive director.
“Our dancers are at the heart of Dallas Black Dance Theatre, and their talent, dedication and artistry are essential to everything we do,” Patton Foster said in a statement. “As we prepare to celebrate our 50th anniversary season, I look forward to working alongside our dancers, staff, board and supporters as we build an exciting future.”
Shortly after she was hired, Patton Foster told KERA News that “We're in a place where we are going to renew relationships, restore positive culture, and rebuild in the community, that includes inside the organization as well as externally.”
She joined the company more than two years after dancers unanimously voted to unionize and join the American Guild of Musical Artists in May 2024. In July that same year, DBDT fired Sean Smith, a company dancer and the rehearsal director. In August, the entire main company was also fired.
DBDT said the firings were based on an Instagram video that violated company policy, not union activity.
In December 2024, DBDT settled the dispute with the National Labor Relations Board and agreed to pay its dancers a nearly $600,000 settlement.
Days later, Dallas City Council cut nearly $250,000 in funding from DBDT.
In the spring of 2025, an advisory taskforce reviewed the company’s policies. They shared their findings in September and recommended the departure of then-executive director Zenetta Drew. She retired after nearly 40 years at DBDT.
In November, the city restored the company’s funding.
The newly ratified contract establishes a committee between labor and management to guard against harassment, discrimination and retaliation. It also strengthens dancers’ sick, personal and parental leave policies.
DBDT was founded by Ann M. Williams in 1976 and tickets for its 50th season go on sale next week.
Got a tip? Email Marcheta Fornoff at mfornoff@kera.org.
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