Join us for a live virtual interactive workshop that explores the Wolf Humanities Center's annual topic of "Choice" through the embodied practice of dance and art making. Led by Dawn Marie Bazemore and lead dancers from Philadanco, this workshop welcomes participation from all backgrounds and skill levels.
Support for this workshop and Dancers' Choices, Choreographers' Choices provided by The Sachs Program for Arts Innovation.
Dawn Marie Bazemore is a Philadelphia-based dance artist and educator. She is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Theatre and Dance at Rowan University and the Artistic Director of her own dance collective DMB|#dbdanceproject. Dawn Marie is a former member of Philadanco and has also performed featured roles in Broadway and regional musical theatre productions. Her performance of Strange Fruit, choreographed by the late Dr. Pearl Primus, is currently on display at the National Museum of African American History and Culture.
Dawn Marie has served as an Artist in Residence at Virginia Commonwealth University and the University of North Carolina School for the Arts and has been commissioned to choreograph for Philadanco and Nimbus Dance Works. In 2018, she was selected to be a Jacob’s Pillow Ann & Weston Hicks Choreography Fellow and was the 2019 Dance Visions Artist in Residence at the Performance Garage. Dawn Marie’s creative work tackles the socio-political concerns of the communities to which she identifies, which she has also addressed in her essay Dance and Activism: The Practice and Impact of Sociopolitical Concert Dance published in the online journal The Dancer-Citizen.
A native of Brooklyn, NY, Dawn Marie trained at the Alvin Ailey American Dance Center, Dance Theatre of Harlem, Ballet Academy East, Covenant Ballet Theatre of Brooklyn, and the Fournier-Grego Performance Center. She is a graduate of the NYC High School for Performing Arts and has earned a BFA from SUNY Purchase and an MFA from Hollins University. She's been awarded the Helen Tamiris Award for Excellence in Dance and the 2018 ACHI Magazine Inc. Trailblazer of the Year award. In addition to her work at Rowan University and with DMB|#dbdanceproject, Dawn Marie is currently a Doctoral student in the Dance Education program at the Teachers College at Columbia University.
Philadelphia's premier modern dance company, PHILADANCO! was created in 1970 by Joan Myers Brown to address the lack of opportunities for dancers who were graduating from her dance schools. Ms. Brown is a pioneer and innovator in dance arts with a passion for and devotion to teaching and mentoring. In the 50 years since its creation, PHILADANCO! has advanced from a small regional company to an internationally renowned institution that promotes new and emerging dance artists from all walks of life. It is recognized internationally for its artistic integrity, superbly trained dancers, and captivating performances. PHILADANCO! is one of Philadelphia’s most important cultural institutions and an ambassador for the city, state, and country around the world. With its home-base on Philadanco Way on the border of West Philadelphia, PHILADANCO! provides one of the nation's most innovative and successful dance training programs, drawing students from the local region as well as from across the country and around the world. PHILADANCO! represents Philadelphia excellence in the region through its community engagement programs and with its professional company which tours extensively in the US and abroad, impacting upwards of 100,000 audience members per year including families and children.
