Dancers fear for careers after choreographer goes public following trans row
A GROUP of dancers have claimed their careers have been put at risk by a leading choreographer who resigned following a transphobia row.
Rosie Kay claimed last week that she was forced to quit the Rosie Kay Dance Company, which she founded, as a result of her stance on gender identity.
The acclaimed choreographer said she had been the subject of two investigations by trustees over the past four months, following complaints about her views by some of the dancers who attended a party at her home in August.
Earlier this week, Kay – who does not believe people can change their biological sex – spoke openly about her decision to quit, saying she could not “endure this humiliation any longer”.
But in an open letter, the dancers have now claimed that by going public, Kay has caused “potential detriment to our careers”. In the letter, they say they want to “set the record straight and to ensure that any dancers under the supervision of Rosie Kay do not undergo the same marginalisation that we have suffered”.
The dancers behind the letter, shown to the BBC, say that they “respect Rosie’s right to hold the belief that biological sex is immutable”, but that “no one, no matter how big their platform, has the right to create a hostile work environment”.
They added: “She abused her power as our boss. Furthermore, she is now using her power as someone that has a louder voice than we can hope for.”
The letter, signed by six members of the company, goes on to state: “Rosie spoke about ‘the cake of rights’ and stated that women have fought for their slice of rights and now men pretending to be women want a portion of that slice. This is a deeply offensive analogy and due to the fact that two non-binary trans people had a seat at the table, it felt very pointed.”
Kay, who choreographed the Commonwealth Games Handover Ceremony in 2018, says that what happened at the dinner party was a vivid example of women who stand up for women’s rights being deliberately smeared with accusations of transphobia.
She denies that she deliberately sought to offend the two non-binary trans dancers present at the party – held during rehearsals for the company’s production of Romeo & Juliet – and rejects claims that she demanded they justify their existence .
“I said, and it is correct to say, that women are losing rights to males who identify as women. These include rights to single sex spaces. This is not an analogy, it is a statement of fact, and I do not apologise for it,” she told the BBC.
The Rosie Kay Dance Company has disputed her claims that she was shut out of her own company. It stated: “We are surprised by this account and strongly resist this interpretation of events. However, we will continue to respect the confidentiality of the investigation process and are therefore unable to comment further.”
‘I said … that women are losing rights to males who identify as women … This is not an analogy, it is a statement of fact, and I do not apologise for it’