By Sarah Hricko, DANCECleveland

Earlier in the year, DANCECleveland and The University of Akron’s dance program presented a Blue Ribbon Panel to explore the idea of a National Center for Choreography to be established in Akron, Ohio.  The panel was comprised of Douglas Sonntag, Director of Dance at The National Endowment for the Arts, Neil Sapienza, Associate Dean for Buchtel College of Arts & Sciences at The University of Akron, Jodee Nimerichter, Director of The American College Dance Festival,  and Jennifer Calienes, Former Director of The Maggie Allesee National Center for Choreography at Florida State University. In addition, choreographers, Alex Ketley, Julia Rhoads and Camille A. Brown joined the panel to discuss the benefits a choreography center has had for them in other locations. The next steps in the process will be to conduct a financial feasibility study and pilot choreography projects.

Aligning with this plan, one of the projects will incorporate the creative process toward the creation of a new work. In anticipation of the pilot project, DANCECleveland and Camille A. Brown applied for the coveted Joyce Award. Both were thrilled when the Joyce Foundation announced that New York-based choreographer Camille A. Brown was one of four recipients of the award for her collaboration with DANCECleveland.  The award, given annually by the Joyce Foundation in Chicago, recognizes artists of color who collaborate with non-profit institutions. The grant’s aim is to strengthen cross-cultural understanding by bringing diverse audiences together through the creation of thought-provoking work.

“We’re looking forward to supporting Camille as she creates a new work that we will present as part of our 60th anniversary season in 2015,” said Pam Young, DANCECleveland executive director.  Brown’s creation will be both influenced by and influential on the Northeast Ohio community through her collaborative approach to the project’s choreographic process.

Brown will create a powerful dance and music composition with the working title, Black Girl. The piece will depict the complexities of carving out a positive identity for African American females in urban American culture. Brown and her dancers will interview communities of African American women, both young and old, in Northeast Ohio and other parts of the country. Their struggles and triumphs will be incorporated as spoken text during the performance. The multimedia creation will use literary works, including Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye, as inspiration. Brown will visit Northeast Ohio several times to work on choreography and present showing of the work as they progress.  The artistic process will begin this summer, continue through the year and much of the next in the choreographic stages before the finished presentation of “Black Girl” that will take place during  DANCECleveland’s 60th anniversary in 2015.

For more information about DANCECleveland, visit www.dancecleveland.org

For information about Camille A. Brown, visit http://www.camilleabrown.org/ Camille A. Brown