2020 DANCER FELLOW
photo by V. Paul Virtucio
Melissa Clark is originally from Gary, Indiana. She began studying dance at the age of two, and teaching at fourteen. She is the founder of COHORTS, a collective for artists that creates opportunities for artists to stage, perform, contribute, and expand artistically through cross-genre collaboration.
As a Diasporic artist, Clark travels both domestically and internationally to research the anthropologic roots of traditional dance and rhythms, and the influence of historical events on the evolution of dance and culture in the Diaspora. Her specific interests focus on identifying and promoting cross-cultural intersections in dance and arts aesthetics, musicality, historical content, and curative elements. Melissa’s background includes: Afro–Brazilian Contemporary, Afro–Cuban, Ballet, Capoeira, Chicago House and Footwork, Contemporary, Hip Hop, Modern, Samba, Tap, Traditional Haitian Dance, as well as Traditional West African Dance from Ghana, Guinea, and Mali.
2022 SOLO Commissioned Choreographers: Alhassan Bangoura, John “Boodilla” King & René Thompson