Black Dance Change Makers
Black Dance Change Makers (BDCM) is a national political home for Black dancers organizing across the studio, the stage, and the streets. We pair political education, skill-building, and collective care with a practice that moves beyond applause and into action. Member-led and movement-minded, we equip Black dancers through our HOMIES Program (cohort-based membership), movement campaigns and projects like #Shrinkage (research and organizing on Black hair in dance), our Summer Untensive (summer freedom school), and resources and convenings we share with the larger community. We develop dancers not just to spark change with their art, but to serve as conduits and co-architects of transformation, onstage, backstage, and in our communities.
Photo by Nick Suarez
Antuan Byers
Antuan Byers (he/him) is a dancer and organizer using movement to build power and possibility for Black communities. He is the Founder and Director of Black Dance Change Makers. Antuan also serves as Vice President of Dancers at the American Guild of Musical Artists (AGMA), co-founded the AGMA Black Caucus, is a Thought Partner with the National Center for Choreography at the University of Akron, sits on the Artistic Advisory Committee for The Metropolitan Opera and Advisory Board for Art Bath, and is Operations Director at Darkness RISING Project. In recognition of his leadership, Antuan was invited to Washington, D.C., under the Biden administration to speak on equity in the arts alongside U.S. Secretary of Labor Julie Su. He was also recognized on Urban Arts Magazine’s “40 Under 40” list and as an Artist Advocate with New Yorkers for Culture & Arts (NY4CA). A graduate of the Ailey/Fordham BFA Program, he is a freelance dancer who performs primarily with the Metropolitan Opera Ballet and konverjdans; he has also danced with Ailey II, Washington National Opera, and Mark Morris Dance Group.
Photo by Kevin Michael Briggs
Alysia Johnson
Alysia Johnson (she/her) is a Dallas, Texas native whose training began at Dallas Black Dance Theatre and Booker T. Washington HSPVA under Lily Weiss. She broadened her practice through summer programs at Joffrey Ballet, Alvin Ailey, LINES Ballet, and Jacob’s Pillow. Alysia launched her professional career with Bruce Wood Dance Company, and earned her BFA from The Juilliard School. A sought-after educator and choreographer, she has created and taught for Princeton University, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, and Jacob’s Pillow. In 2021, she received the Princess Grace Honoraria Award for Dance through Hubbard Street, where she was a company member. Known for her range and presence, Alysia has appeared in campaigns with Tory Burch and Adidas, and continues to produce genre-bending, community-centered events. She credits her community, especially her mother, Galen Johnson, for her path. Alysia is a dancer and collaborator with AIM by Kyle Abraham and serves on the BDCM Team.
