Dance professor creates work for Baltimore Black Choreographers Festival

Ashley Tate, assistant professor of dance, recently presented, “When A Black Man Walks,” at the third annual Baltimore Black Choreographers Festival, a weekend of performances, panels and workshops designed to highlight Black choreographers.

​​”When A Black Man Walks” is a solo performed by St. Louis-based dancer Jordan McDaniel to a spoken word piece by Neiel Israel. This solo “takes on the challenges of living as a Black man in the United States of America,” wrote Tate in an artist statement.

The piece was originally created for a concert entitled “Unseen.” Tate noted, “The pieces presented in ‘Unseen’ were designed to foster conversations around our country’s often marginalized and underserved populations. This concert used the vehicle of dance to shed light on the ongoing struggle of groups of people whose lives have been negatively affected by discrimination, conflict, neglect or corruption.”

Earlier this fall, Tate was invited to participate in a “No Tears Project” concert honoring the Little Rock Nine in Arkansas and to present at the National Dance Educators Organization conference in Denver, Colorado.

Read more on the College of Arts + Architecture website.

Photo: Ashely Tate during a performance of the “No Tears Project.”