The stage belongs to everyone.
Ballet has always celebrated beauty, discipline, and excellence. But for too long, it has excluded the very people who embody those qualities. The Dance Equity Project by The Sonja McCord Experience (SMX) is reclaiming the stage for dancers of every age, class, and identity. This is not charity. It’s justice. And it’s how we build the future of dance.
The Problem
Ballet’s history has been shaped by gatekeeping, an inherited hierarchy that determines who is seen, who is supported, and who is remembered.
Even now, access to training, performance, and visibility often depends on privilege rather than potential.
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Black Americans represent 13.6% of the U.S. population but only 6.7% of major ballet company dancers.
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Less than 2% of principal ballerinas are Black women.
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Adult and working-class dancers are routinely overlooked due to a lack of “pedigree” rather than talent.
The result? Generations of dancers who love the art but never get to live it.
Our Purpose
The Dance Equity Project exists to dismantle systemic barriers in dance through visibility, education, and opportunity.
We are rewriting the narrative of what excellence looks like and who gets to embody it.
Our purpose is to:
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Expand access to professional-level training for adult, BIPOC, and underrepresented dancers.
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Provide mentorship and visibility pathways that lead to real-world opportunities.
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Shift industry culture through data, storytelling, and advocacy that demand change at every level.
This is not about inclusion for the sake of optics. It’s about power, presence, and permanence.
Our Approach
Visibility
We amplify stories of dancers who challenge tradition and redefine excellence. Through digital campaigns, performance collaborations, and media features, we change what audiences see and what the industry values.
Access
We create pathways to elite training, mentorship, and performance for dancers who have been systematically excluded; not through charity, but through infrastructure and opportunity.
Advocacy
We work with studios, schools, and arts organizations to examine inequities in recruitment, casting, and leadership and to build new systems that prioritize representation and accountability.
Redesigning the System. Restoring the Stage.
A dance world where talent, not privilege, determines opportunity.
Where artistry is measured by dedication and heart, not age, identity, or body type.
Where every dancer has the right to be seen, respected, and remembered.
The Dance Equity Project is not a campaign. It’s a revolution. Built one dancer, one performance, one transformation at a time.
Join the movement
01
Partner
Collaborate with SMX to develop equitable programming and outreach.
02
Invest
Sponsor training, mentorship, or performance opportunities for underrepresented dancers.
03
Advocate
Bring the message to your organization, studio, or stage.
“Equity in dance isn’t about being invited to the stage. It’s about owning the stage — and rebuilding it so everyone has room to rise.”
Sonja McCord
