About Us
Who are we?
The BIPOC Acro Collective Care Ecosystem (aka BACCES) advances accountability and radical inclusion practices in acrobatic training spaces and develops BIPOC-led events and performances. Additionally, BACCES provides education on dismantling white supremacy within the circus community and how acrobatics can be used as a powerful tool for social change. BACCES is BIPOC-led and centers BIPOC acrobats in all development and outreach efforts.
Why are we doing this?
What we call “acro” (partner acrobatics, acroyoga) has long been an activity that is primarily White, heteronormative, class-privileged, and reinforces traditional binary gendered roles. We have tried to create inroads for diversity and discussion on racial and social justice over the years, and there have been small amounts of progress. Unfortunately BIPOC are still grossly underrepresented. Some of that is due to access (cost of entry, time needed off work, lack of childcare, etc), and some due to culture (spaces that don’t feel ‘safe’ or inclusive for BIPOC, leadership not aligned with inclusive values, lack of representation in teaching/organizing/performance spaces).
Gratitude & Acknowledgment
BACCES was created by and for people of color. This was an idea that sparked for Ariel after a chat with Amanda many moons ago. Many thanks to those who were part of the BACCES creation story (Ilana Blankman, Paula Bui, Amanda Dillon-Breary, Adi Firefly, Devon French, Ariel Mihic, Serena Tang), our POC Acro group, and those who have consulted along the way.
Additional gratitude to the many hours of work by the Racial Accountability for White Folks in Acro (RAWFA) group and our white allies (Sirus Bouchat, Jill Campbell, Danya Davis, Becky Miller, Christine Moonbeam, Lynne Moore, Travis Sigley, Liz Williams) to bring us to where we are today!