The Brooks Center for the Performing Arts proudly announces an upcoming residency with Collage Dance Collective, one of the nation’s premier, Black-led ballet companies that is at the national forefront of inspiring the growth and diversity of ballet. This residency is funded in part by a grant from South Arts in partnership with the National Endowment of the Arts. Additional support comes from the City of Clemson, Clemson Area African American Museum, Clemson University Global Black Studies, the Clemson University Harvey and Lucinda Gantt Multicultural Center, Clemson University Libraries, College of Arts and Humanities, Clemson University Humanities Hub, and the Office of the Provost. As a result of the grant and sponsors, all residency activities are free, including a public performance on February 13.
“I invited Collage Dance Collective to Clemson because I believe in the mission and interdisciplinary approach of the company,” said Janice Crews, Executive Director of the Brooks Center. “Their use of literary and historical connections makes their work extremely powerful.”
About Collage Dance Collective
Collage Dance Collective was founded in Memphis, Tennessee, in 2006 in response to the ballet industry’s lack of racial diversity. In 2009, Collage opened its dance conservatory to expand access to classical training to underserved communities. Collage has spent nearly two decades producing emotionally evocative performances for local and international audiences, as well as cultivating a love of dance in thousands of students. Through the growth of their arts education programming, the enthusiastic reception of their company performances, and their advocacy, Memphis is now home to a vibrant and growing Black dance community. In recognition of this work, Collage was recently named a “Southern Cultural Treasure” by South Arts and the Ford Foundation.
Brooks Center Residency
Collage Dance Collective will conduct a three-day residency at the Brooks Center with a community welcome event, a ballet masterclass for Clemson students, an educational performance for K-12 children, and visits with students in Global Black Studies, Performing Arts, and One Big Book classes. The residency will culminate in a public performance of Their Eyes Were Watching God, a neoclassical ballet based on the book by Zora Neale Hurston, and Rise, set to the iconic “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” speech given by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1968. Rise will include a brief guest appearance by a Clemson dance minor, Caroline Lee Barrett.
For more information and to reserve free tickets to Collage Dance Collective’s public events, please visit the links below.
Public Events
Welcome Event: Collage Dance Collective
Tuesday, February 11 at 6 p.m.
Clemson Area African American Museum
Free, ticket required
Collage Dance Collective Public Performance
Thursday, February 13 at 7:30 p.m.
Brooks Center for the Performing Arts
Free, ticket required
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