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ARTICLE

The impact of racial discrimination on the well-being of dance students

Imogen Jane Aujla1* ,  Stacey Green2 ,  Laura Grant2
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1 Dance in Mind, Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, United Kingdom
2 Tired Movement, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, United Kingdom
AC, 3165 https://doi.org/10.36922/ac.3165
Submitted: 14 March 2024 | Accepted: 16 May 2024 | Published: 10 September 2024
© 2024 by the Author(s). This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution -Noncommercial 4.0 International License (CC-by the license) ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ )
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Abstract

Little is known about the impact of racial inequity in dance contexts. This study aimed to investigate the effects of racial discrimination on the well-being of dance students from Global Majority backgrounds. A total of 150 students (109 from White backgrounds and 40 from Global Majority backgrounds) in professional training completed an online survey tapping into several domains of psychological well-being and experiences of discrimination. The analyses revealed that, although there were no significant differences in well-being scores between the two groups, Global Majority students scored significantly higher on all measures of discrimination except for threat/aggression. Furthermore, there were significant negative correlations between discrimination and well-being among Global Majority students. Discrimination at work/college and experiences of exclusion/rejection appeared particularly influential in relation to measures of life satisfaction, competence, expectations of future competence, autonomy, relationships, and body appreciation. Responses to open-ended survey questions indicated that Global Majority students were as ambitious as their White peers but often cited discrimination as a potential barrier to career establishment post-training. The impact of discrimination in dance is an important research area, and further research is encouraged with larger samples of dancers at a range of levels (e.g., recreational, student, professional). On a practical level, organizations and individuals must work to reduce inequity in dance training and beyond.

Keywords
Racial discrimination
Dancing
Psychological well-being
Dance training
Equity
Funding
This research was funded independently by the TIRED Movement and received no external funding.
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
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