Black Voices

This is a mixed-rep ballet. Mixed-rep ballets are several unrelated short ballets with intermissions, similar to a collection of short stories.

Ulysses Dove’s works can be seen in the repertories of several major dance companies throughout the world. He is acclaimed by The New York Times as a “choreographer with a bold new voice.” A native of Columbia, South Carolina, Ulysses began studying dance at Boggs Academy in Georgia. During college he continued studying modern dance and ballet with such teachers as Carolyn Tate, Xenia Chilstowa, Jack Moore, Judith Dunn, Bertram Ross, Helen McGehee, Mary Hinkson, and repertory with José Limon. After receiving his B.A. in dance from Bennington College, Ulysses moved to New York City where he studied with Maggie Black and Alfredo Carvino, and performed with the companies of Mary Anthony and Pearl Lang.

In 1970, he received a scholarship at the Merce Cunningham School. Two weeks later he joined the Cunningham Company, performing in every piece by the time he left in 1973. Shortly thereafter, Anna Sololow asked him to perform her classic work “Rooms.” Alvin Ailey saw Ulysses’ performance that evening and invited him to join the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre. He quickly rose to principal dancer and in 1979 made his professional choreographic debut in I See The Moon and The Moon See Me. From 1980 to 1983, Ulysses was the assistant director of the Groupe de Recherché Choregraphique de lõopéra de Paris.

In 1983, Ulysses Dove became a freelance choreographer after leaving the Paris de lõopéra. He has created over 26 works for large and small ballet and modern dance companies nationally and internationally. Before his death in 1995, he received two choreographic grants from the National Endowment for the Arts to set works on New York City Ballet, a Bessie award, and a 1995 prime time Emmy Award for best choreography for the “Dance in America” special Two by Dove.

The legacy of Ulysses Dove’s philosophy on dance and work ethics is a driving force for The Dove Art Programs (DAP), directed by Ulysses’ brother Alfred L. Dove, the Administrator of Ulysses Dove’s ballet estate. The Dove Art Programs mission is to carry Ulysses’ spirit and his passion for dance to each dance company that performs Ulysses’ ballets. This mission also protects the artistic integrity of Ulysses’ works in hopes that the spirit of U. Dove will live forever in his ballets.

Dwight Rhoden has established a remarkably wide-ranging career, earning distinction from The New York Times as “one of the most sought out choreographers of the day.” A native of Dayton, Ohio who began dancing at age 17, Rhoden has performed with Dayton Contemporary Dance Company, Les Ballet Jazz De Montreal and as a principal dancer with Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. As a performer, he has appeared in numerous television specials, documentaries and commercials throughout the United States, Canada and Europe and has been a featured performer on many PBS “Great Performances” specials. In 1994, Rhoden and legendary dancer Desmond Richardson founded Complexions Contemporary Ballet.  Together they have brought their unique brand of contemporary dance to the world for nearly 2 decades. CCB is widely considered as “America’s Original Multicultural Dance Company”, and is celebrated for its pioneering spirit, and the building of a universal brand that continues to challenge traditional ideas and redefine possibilities in the dance arena. Under Rhoden’s direction, Complexions has become a dance institution that is much in demand. Leading the way, as a destination for innovation through courageous and cutting-edge programming, Complexions has become a force to be reckoned with.  Over the years, Complexions has remained consistent in delivering a profound passion for diversity, that has framed its vision and become its hallmark.

For nearly 2 decades, Rhoden’s choreography has been the lynchpin in the development of the Complexions repertory.  For over 18 years, Rhoden’s’ work has filled some of the most prestigious theaters across the globe including, The Joyce Theater (NYC), The Bolshoi Theater (Moscow), The Marinsky Theater (St Petersburg), Maison De La Danse (Lyon), The Dorothy Chandler Pavilion (Los Angeles),  BAM (Brooklyn), Cairo Opera House (Egypt), The Arts Center (Melbourne Australia), The Auditorium Theater (Chicago), Telaviv Opera House (Israel), The ASB Theater (New Zealand), Holland Dance Festival, Grand Theatre De Geneva (Switzerland), and the Isle De Dance Festival (Paris) to name a few. CCB and Rhoden’s’ work has been presented on 5 continents and in over 20 countries – including the USA, Canada, South America, Mexico, Europe, Asia, Poland, Australia, New Zealand, Russia, The Baltic Region, Egypt, Israel, and the Middle East. “Musicality, innovation, purpose, consistency, a brilliant use of stage space and the ability to tell a story — all these qualities make him one of today’s elect choreographers (The LA Times).

Since 1994, Rhoden has created over 80 ballets for Complexions, as well as numerous other companies, including Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, The Arizona Ballet, The Aspen Santa Fe Ballet Company, BalletMet, The Dance Theater of Harlem, Colorado Ballet, Dayton Contemporary Dance Company, The Joffrey Ballet, Miami City Ballet, New York City Ballet/Diamond Project, North Carolina Dance Theater, The Pennsylvania Ballet, Philadanco, Marinsky Ballet (Kirov), Minneapolis Dance Theater, Phoenix Dance Company, Sacramento Ballet, Oakland Ballet, Pittsburgh Ballet Theater, The Washington Ballet, and Zenon Dance Company, amongst others. Mr. Rhoden has also directed and choreographed for TV, film, theater, and live performances including So You Think You Can Dance, E! Entertainment’s Tribute to Style, Amici, and Cirque Du Soleil’s Zumanity, and choreographed and appeared in the feature film One Last Dance. He has also worked with, and/or created works for such high-profile artists as Prince, Lenny Kravitz, Kelly Clarkson, ELEW, David Rozenblatt, Nicholas Payton, The Drifters, Paul Simon, Billy Strayhorn, Nina Simone, Marvin Gaye, U2, The Turtle Creek Chorus, and Patrick Swayze. Rhoden was also recently commissioned to create a work for the centennial celebration of renowned collage artist Romare Bearden. “Rhoden’s work is post-Balanchinean choreography, a new aesthetic in movement, stage, picture, and performance concepts reflecting a post-modern, techno-savvy worldview” (Dance Magazine). Widely known as “a dancer’s choreographer,” Rhoden has worked with, coached and created for some of the most diverse artists spanning the worlds of ballet and contemporary dance including legendary dance artists Carmen De Lavallade, Wendy Whelan, Maria Kowroski, Diana Vishneva, Desmond Richardson, Sandra Brown, Jodie Gates, and Gus Solomons.

Mr. Rhoden is the Resident Choreographer of North Carolina Dance Theatre and has lectured, taught, created works for and served as Artist in Residence at universities around the United States including New York University, Juilliard, UC Irvine, Skidmore College, and The University of Mississippi, where his 2004 Racial Reconciliation Project was credited as a catalyst for dialogue in a community that has been historically divided. Rhoden is a beneficiary recipient of various honors and awards including the New York Foundation for the Arts Award, The Choo San Goh Award for Choreography, and The Ailey School’s Apex Award in recognition of his extensive contributions to the field of dance.

Jennifer Archibald is the founder and Artistic Director of the Arch Dance Company and Program Director of ArchCore40 Dance Intensives. Archibald has choreographed for the Ailey II, Atlanta Ballet, Ballet West, Grand Rapids Ballet, Kansas City Ballet, Oregon Ballet Theatre, Pittsburgh Ballet, Sacramento Ballet, Tulsa Ballet, and BalletX among others. She has worked commercially for NIKE, MAC Cosmetics, Tommy Hilfiger, as well as chart-listed artists. She will return to the Crypto Arena to choreograph the opening for KCON’s annual conference.

She was appointed as the first female Resident Choreographer in Cincinnati Ballet’s 40-year history. Jennifer has been commissioned by BalletMet, The National Ballet of Canada, BalletX, the Washington Ballet, Smuin Contemporary Ballet and the Kennedy Centre’s Pathways to Performance program to deliver new works in 2025. Ms. Archibald was the acting Movement Director for Michael Kahn’s The Oresteia at the Shakespeare Theatre Company. Her directorial debut WeAight was named the Official Selection of Lincoln Center’s 2022 Dance on Camera Festival.  She creates a “Documentary Ballet” format, in which she creates works rooted in historical history bringing communities together. Her documentary ballets are theatrical engagements that evolve beyond the stage and rely on historical education as an integral part of the creative process.  Her projects in this space include – Breakin’Bricks which honors the community of Black Wall Street produced by Tulsa Ballet; Sounds of the Sun which honors the life of dancer Florence Waren exploring her experience during the holocaust produced by the Pittsburgh Ballet and Seven, a biographical work about Olympian Jackie Joyner-Kersee commissioned by MADCO Dance Company.

Archibald’s works have been performed at venues including Aaron Davis Hall, Central Park’s Summerstage Mainstage, Jacob’s Pillow Inside|Out Stage, Lincoln Center, New York’s City Center, and The Kennedy Center. She was awarded a Choreographic Fellow for Ailey’s New Directions Choreography Lab under the direction of Robert Battle and is a Joffrey Ballet Winning Works Choreographic Competition recipient. Her commissioned work “DIRT” was presented at TED TALK by St. Louis-based MADCO Dance Company. Arch Dance Company’s Chasing Shadows, was remounted for Dallas Black Dance Theater’s 2018/19 season. Archibald was also the 2018-19 recipient of the City of New York Dance Initiative.

She is currently an Acting Lecturer at the Yale School of Drama and was appointed as a Guest Faculty Lecturer to develop the Hip Hop dance curriculum at Columbia/Barnard College. Jennifer is also a guest artist at several universities including Boston Conservatory, Columbia College Chicago, Fordham/Ailey, Goucher College, Miami New World School of the Arts, NYU, Point Park, Princeton, South Carolina’s Governor’s School of the Arts, University of South Florida, Oklahoma University and Virginia Commonwealth University. She is a returning guest choreographer for the School at Jacob’s Pillow.