In 2022, the LGBTQ+ community and its allies face harsh backlash across America. Trans youth are being barred from participation in their schools and communities; educators are denied mere mentions of sexual identity in their classrooms; in the wake of recent Supreme Court activities, women’s bodily autonomy has just been severely curtailed, and even the landmark 2015 decision legalizing marriage equality now appears threatened. And despite spectacular medical advances in both prevention and treatment for HIV and AIDS, queer individuals living with these conditions remain targets of discrimination—even within their own communities.
Late last fall, during a guest performance season in New York City with Parsons Dance, Company alumnus Eric Bourne acknowledged his HIV-positive status live from the Joyce stage while promoting a fundraising appeal for our longtime collaborators at Dancers Responding to AIDS (DRA).
This June, Eric and DRA co-founder (and fellow Parsons alum!) Denise Roberts Hurlin hosted Parsons Company Dancers, Staff, and Summer Intensive participants on Zoom, sharing a special Pride month spotlight on Eric’s travels with Parsons and his experience as an HIV-positive artist in the dance world.
They discussed Eric’s journey from commercial musicals to a touring concert dance career, hilarious costume mishaps on the road, and the challenges of navigating life in the arts with HIV. Eric and Denise shared tips and career resources for ALL dancers across the country, as well as a few of their favorite organizations raising funds to support the HIV/AIDS community.
We hope that improving awareness through the actionable engagement opportunities below our video helps Parsons Dance better embody the Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Access (I.D.E.A.) values we promote and share with the world. To learn more about our commitments to these values and how we are actively pursuing them, please email diversity@parsonsdance.org.
Happy Pride from Parsons Dance!
Links and Resources from our Conversation
Support Detroit’s Geared For Life, whose mission is to enhance the lives of LGBTQ+ citizens in the State of Michigan through education, awareness and special event activities.
Visit Dancers Responding to AIDS and donate OR volunteer.
Are you a dancer in need of financial or emotional support? Contact The Dancers’ Resource, a program of the Entertainment Community Fund (formerly the Actors’ Fund).
Get professional guidance from The Career Center at Career Transition for Dancers.
Broadway Bares, a program of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, uses friendly competition to raise funds for the HIV/AIDS community: audiences sponsor their favorite performers to stage an unforgettable evening of dazzling burlesque.
DRA’s annual Fire Island Dance Festival, now back in the Pines after a two-year pandemic hiatus, helps sponsor medication, meals, counseling, and financial assistance while bringing world-class dance companies to the shores of the Great South Bay.
More about Eric Bourne
Eric Bourne grew up in Midland, Michigan, where he began dancing at the age of 16. He started his formal training while attending Ryerson University, and moved to New York City in January 2007. He performed the role of James in the North American Tour of Twyla Tharp's Movin' Out, and danced with Parsons Dance from 2008 to 2013. Since then he has continued teaching and dancing, including a recent guest season with the Parsons company onstage at the Joyce Theater in December 2021.
Follow or message Eric on Instagram: @bourne.eric
More about Denise Roberts Hurlin
Denise Roberts Hurlin completed her BFA in Dance in 1984 from the Conservatory of Dance at Purchase College. She was a founding member of Parsons Dance in 1987 and later performed for six years with the Paul Taylor Dance Company. In 1991, Denise and fellow Paul Taylor dancer Hernando Cortez co-founded Dancers Responding to AIDS to help friends and fellow dancers who had become ill. Denise remains in her role as founding director, leading the program’s efforts to continue providing a safety net for the dance community. She also serves on the advisory council for The Dancers’ Resource, a program of the newly renamed Entertainment Community Fund, formerly known as the Actors Fund.
Follow or message Dancers Responding to AIDS on Instagram: @dradance
Land Acknowledgement
Parsons Dance travels all over the contemporary United States and the world. Our New York City homes and workplaces occupy unceded land that was forcibly and violently taken from many different Native tribes, nations, and peoples. In New York City, these include the Munsee Lenape, the Wappinger, and the Canarsie; in Michigan, these include the Anishinabewaki , the Missisauga, and the Sauk. We are actively developing practices that seek authentic engagement with contemporary Native descendants, their ancestral homes, and other communities harmed by ongoing colonial injustice. To learn more about Parsons Dance’s commitments to antiracist, intersectional inclusion efforts within our artistic community, you can visit parsonsdance.org/diversity.