DANCE CANVAS
"The Premiere Ground for New Choreography"
MISSION
Dance Canvas’ mission is to provide opportunities and venues to increase the appreciation of dance related arts throughout the Southeast.
Photo Credits: Richard Calmes/photographer
Jelani Jones, Angela Harris/dancers
VISION
By promoting Artistic Innovation, Dance Canvas’ vision is to become the premiere ground for the next generation of dance classics, while making dance relatable to new audiences.
COMPANY
Dance Canvas is a choreography presenting and development company who:
- Provides emerging professional choreographers with a space to create and present new works in a professional theater.
- Provides audiences the chance to see innovative, diverse World Premieres.
- Becomes the liaison between professional dancers and new choreographers & provides professional dancers with additional performance opportunities, otherwise unavailable in Atlanta.
- Offers creative youth outreach programs to stimulate creativity and enhance leadership in the community, both inside and out of the arts.
HISTORY
As a young choreographer, Artistic Director, Angela Harris, had a hard time finding opportunities to choreograph on professional dancers. Professional dance companies tend to only hire choreographers with professional choreography experience. For young choreographers, it is a very difficult path to having your work seen by audiences and performed at an acceptable artistic standard. As in every other field, work experience is a MUST to be hired by a company. There is no vehicle for young choreographers to have their work seen by the public, and therefore many choreographers with bright futures are never discovered. Ms. Harris envisioned an organization to remedy the experience problem. By giving choreographers studio space, linking them with professional dancers, staging a professional performance series, and providing video copy of the performance, participating choreographers will leave Dance Canvas with resume credentials and a work sample to send for potential future work.
Also, “There is a sense that the era of great American dance has passed.” It is disheartening to see the dwindling audiences and the struggle for support that arts organizations face, due to public disinterest. Dance Canvas is a company which will hopefully open doors/minds and promote opportunities for the community and artists alike. From the surface, Dance Canvas may seam like just another dance company. Dance Canvas is not a dance company! We are an organization that provides a much needed service to bridge the gap between arts and the community. We are providing high school students with Arts-in-Education options, noting that most metro Atlanta Arts-In-Education programs are restricted to Elementary and Middle Schools. Dance Canvas’ Arts-In-Education also spans into higher education with our extensive internship program. With over 30 colleges and universities in Atlanta, we plan to make our program a hands-on learning experience for all who participate. Artistically, Dance Canvas only presents “world premieres”, creating history and honor for Atlanta and the audiences who see it.