Red Clay Dance Company lives to awaken “glocal” change through creating, performing and teaching Afro-Contemporary dance–change that transforms social, cultural, and economic imbalances in our local and global community. Founded in July 2008, Red Clay Dance is a professional touring company that creates and performs a diverse repertoire of Afro-contemporary dance which fuses traditional West African movement with contemporary dance forms. Since its inception, Red Clay Dance has created and produced original works that have appeared in arts festivals around the world. The company has also self-produced three concerts, “Transcending” (2013), “Celebrating Our Legacy” (2012) and “New Beginnings” (2011) and will premiere its first evening length work, “ri’flekshens in 6” at the Beverly Arts Center on May 1-2, 2015.
Red Clay Dance creates new models for movement-based youth development work through their Community Engagement, Education and Partnerships (CEEP) Program. CEEP takes our creative work from the stage into the classroom and community through our partnership opportunities. These linkages allow us to share our unique, yet underrepresented esthetic of Afro-Contemporary Dance with all Chicago residents. The company offers world-class yet affordable dance training to our community through the Red Clay Dance Academy and our pre-professional training company, the Red Clay Dance Youth Ensemble. Learn More. Map.