100 dance students from Ohio Five colleges gathered with dance faculty members and guest artist Clarence Brook in a day-long sharing of dance works and master classes on February 26 at Kenyon College. The annual event, sponsored by Ohio Five, provides a forum for showcasing student works and an opportunity to pool resources to support instruction and performances by guest artists.
The day included six master classes in Jurj Konjar contact improvisation, modern and post-modern dance practices, global hip-hop, yoga and dance fusion, and Afro-contemporary dance led by Ohio Five dance faculty and Mr. Brooks. The day concluded with Mr. Brooks’ performance of the historic piece The Mourner’s Bench and a post-event discussion for students and faculty members
Clarence Brooks, associate professor and director of dance at Florida Atlantic University, has danced with more than 70 companies in the United States and abroad and is a frequent guest artist with the Sokolow Theatre Dance Ensemble, The Dance Exchange, and David Parker & The Bank Group. Brooks can be seen in the video series “The World of Alwin Nikolais.” His essay, “Dancing with the Issues,” chronicling his experiences as a queer Black K-12 educator in the public school system, was published in One Teacher in 10: LGBTQ Educators Share Their Stories (Alyson Brooks, 2nd Edition.) He is on the boards of the Sokolow Theatre Dance Ensemble and danceTactics and is a founding member of the Florida Black Dance Artist Organization. Brooks holds an MFA from the University of Washington, a BFA from Oklahoma City University, a certification in Laban Movement Analysis from the Laban/Bartenieff Institute of Movement Studies and is certified to teach the Bill Evans Method of Teaching Dance Technique.