Originally conceived in 1988,[1] the organization got its start when Joan Myers Brown hosted an "International Conference on Black Dance Companies" in Philadelphia.
[1][2][3][4] The conference was the direct result of a five thousand dollar grant from The Pew Charitable Trusts[5] and additional support from the City of Philadelphia, Coalition of African American Cultural Organizations, Entertainment Business Services, Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, and University of the Arts.
[6] At its 1996 annual conference, IABD became the first organization in the United States to hold an open combine audition for dancers where they could perform for a variety of artistic directors and choreographers from different dance companies.
[1][4] The organizations operates on $1.75 million annual budget, and is managed by co-executive directors Omar Ingram and Natasha R.
In 2024, the Mellon Foundation awarded IABD a three-year, six million dollar grant to create a regranting program for Black dance artists and arts organizations.
[4] In 2021, IABD received three million dollars from MacKenzie Scott and Dan Jewett as part of their commitment to arts and cultural institutions that have been historically underfunded and under-recognized.
[4] IABD's annual conference is the organization's signature event, and through the years, dance legends Carmen de Lavallade, Katherine Dunham, Donald McKayle, Eleo Pomare,[5] Alvin Ailey (posthmously) and Arthur Mitchell,[26] Debbie Allen, Janet Collins, George Faison, Gregory Hines, Maurice Hines, Judith Jamison, Paula Kelly, The Nicholas Brothers, Jaime Rogers, and Lester Wilson have been honored at the event.