September 18th 2022
You never realize how big of an impact someone has had on you until you truly take the time to reflect on how they have invested into your life.
I was trained in a pre-professional ballet school and company from the time I was 5-years of age until I graduated in 2017. Young People's Ballet Theatre and Paavola School of Dance served as a gem in the city of Flint, Michigan for over 30 years. I owe all of my classical ballet foundation, training, experience, and technique to the teachers that invested time and resources into my training. I joined the school when I was 5, the company when I was 8, I was put on pointe when I was 10, performed my first ballet on pointe when I was 12, and was performing multiple lead roles in full-length ballets by the time I was 13. I was 14 years old when I was given the opportunity to perform Blue Bird in our full-length production of Sleeping Beauty, and to this day, it is one of my fondest memories.
It was also highly sentimental that my mother had hand sewn my tutu from scratch along with many of my other costumes throughout the years. She truly was a rock star.
One of my teacher's daughter had attended Charlotte Ballet for their annual Summer Intensive a few years prior to me. I remember her talking about her experience and she immediately won me over. She was ultimately the reason that I ended up going when I was 16. My mother and I made the trip to Chicago to audition in the winter of 2015. I ended up being placed in Level 3 of the intensive. It was during those 5 weeks when I was introduced to Dwight Rhoden.
I remember it vividly.
The Level 3's and 4's were in the big studio on the first floor of Charlotte Ballet and we had just finished advanced ballet with Traci Gilchrest. A man walked into the room with more authority than I had ever witnessed in my entire life, and I was immediately drawn to him. We all watched silently as he made his way to the front of the studio where he stood and looked at us. I didn't know who he was and what exactly he was doing there. I was in the second highest level, so I was standing near the back with the rest of the Level 3's. There were only eight girls in our level and one boy, so we were wildly outnumbered by the Level 4's. He continued to stand in silence for another minute or so before he asked (what we thought to be a rhetorical question)
"Can someone please tell me the different styles of dance?"
I remember thinking to myself that there were only a handful (Ballet, Modern, Jazz, and Contemporary) because that is all that I had been exposed to at the time. He was scanning the room looking for someone to call on when he picked a Level 4 to answer his question. She responded exactly how I would have responded. Her answer was four. I couldn't tell if he was mocking us or not, but all he said was
"Wrong. However, I am so happy that you are wrong because I am about to blow your mind in more ways than one"
He then introduced himself.
"My name is Dwight Rhoden for those of you who do not know me, and I am one of the Founders, Artistic Director's, and Resident Choreographer for Complexions Contemporary Ballet based in New York City."
Dwight continued with his introduction by explaining that he and Desmond Richardson (former principal dancer with American Ballet Theatre) founded Complexions in 1994. He was basically a child prodigy who began dancing at age 18 with Dayton Contemporary Dance Company, and almost five years later found himself a principal dancer with Alvin Ailey Dance Company in New York.
Side Note: First of all, anyone who is somewhat educated in the dance world will tell you that it is almost unheard of to start training at age 18 and make a professional career in that timeframe.
Dwight and Desmond ended up founding Complexions Contemporary Ballet because of a project that they produced. They realized that they had created something special, and now they are entering their 28th season as a contemporary ballet company. Dwight talked about the stigma of the ballet world and how art is constantly changing. He helped open my eyes to an entire new world that I had never experienced before. After he had finished his speech, he asked us one more thought provoking question
"What sets you apart as an individual apart from anyone else in this art form?"
He started scanning the sea of dancers for the second time that day. As he searched for another victim to answer his question, his eyes slowly drifted until they landed on me.
"You in the back with the blonde hair" he said as he pointed directly at me.
I am pretty sure that I look around my general area to make sure he was indeed speaking to me. I remember thinking long and hard before I answered, not only because everyone in the room was staring at me, but because I genuinely had to think about what he had asked me.
"As a dancer, everyone has something unique to offer the world....the only difference for me is that I know exactly what I want to say and where I want my life to go especially in this art form"
You could almost hear the crickets chirping in the room after I finished. I was beyond prepared for him to laugh and dismiss me without a second thought, but I never in my life could imagine the response that left his mouth instead.
"You're going places kid"
That was the first interaction that I had with Dwight Rhoden.
I knew then that I was completely fascinated with him. I wanted to know everything I could about him, his story, and his work. We spent the remainder of the week having him set his choreography on us that he had originally set on Charlotte Ballet. Not only was he an amazing choreographer, but an effective teacher as well. The way he explained the relationship between the dancers and the music was unlike anything I had ever experienced. The things that I learned from him that summer, I carried with me and still reflect on today.
He told us "How you do anything is how you do everything"
I entered a choreography competition put on through our pre-professional ballet company in the spring of 2016. I had something to say with my work. I wanted to ultimately push boundaries and see what I was truly capable of in the realm of choreography. At the time, the Artistic Director's of our company were Nicholas and Laura Schultz (former principal dancers with Grand Rapids Ballet and current Ballet Master and Mistress for The Royal New Zealand Ballet). They had us present our works to our family and friends and were ultimately the judge of the competition. I remember them pulling me aside after the showing. They told me that even if I don't go on to have a professional performance career with a company, my choreography will take me far into my career.
I found out that I had won the competition a week later and that my first ever piece was to be premiered at our June showcase. So, on June 4th 2016, my original contemporary piece, Shattered Reflections, was premiered at the Bower Theatre in Flint, Michigan. I had the honor of being able to speak a bit about my experience at Charlotte Ballet and meeting Dwight Rhoden just moments before my piece was premiered. It was by far one of my proudest moments in my career so far.
The next time that I saw Dwight was on October 2, 2017. I was Freshman at Wright State
University in Dayton, Ohio working toward my B.F.A. in Dance. Gina Walther who served as my Modern Professor, mentor, and dear friend was a long time friend and collogue of Dwight's. Because of her, we had the ability to host him and one of his beautiful company members, Jillian Davis, as guest teachers for the week. After class, he stopped me in the hallway of our performing arts building. He remembered who I was from Charlotte Ballet and actively made an effort to reconnect the dots. It was something that I will never forget.
We had the distinct honor of seeing Complexions perform Dwight Rhoden's original contemporary ballet Stardust set to the iconic music of the late David Bowie. Since then, I have had the honor of seeing many of their other pieces including: Gutter Glitter, Testaments, Spun To The Sky, Groove, WOKE, Bach 25, and Strum (set to the iconic music of Metallica). I also had the distinct honor of training with Dwight, Desmond, and the rest of their wonderful faculty at their Detroit Intensive in 2018.
Dwight Rhoden has changed the world of classical ballet as we know it. He has made an impact though his company, and has brought to light many of the harsh truths of the ballet world. Truths like eating disorders, body dysmorphia, and the harsh truth of a classically trained dancers mental health. He paved a way for the African American, Hispanic, and Asian communities. Complexions is a diversity statement in of itself. It makes you appreciate the body that you have and learn to be proud of your thick thighs and big leg muscles. It makes your proud of your unique heritage and the color of your skin. He was the one who broke the rules. He was the one that reinvented what ballet could truly accomplish in the world today. He rewrote history. He will forever be my biggest inspiration, and the one who I credit with helping me realize my fullest potential.
"Dance is the art of recovery. You will never be a perfect dancer, but the way you recover will put the perfect in you. There is only one you, so don't be anyone else, because it is you I want to see" - Dwight Rhoden
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