critical writing fellowship

In response to the need for new and emerging dance critics and emergent forms of dance writing, See Chicago Dance is pleased to announce the inaugural cohort of dance writing fellows.

It is our pleasure to introduce you to our 2020 Fellows:

 

  • D'onminique Boyd
  • Tristan Bruns
  • Ash Davis
  • Emma Elsmo
  • Sydney Erlikh
  • Hattie Jean Hauser
  • Felicia Holman
  • Gregory King
  • Jordan Kunkel
  • Laura Paige Kyber
  • Jean Osberger
  • Mariah Schultz

See Chicago Dance reviewed more than 30 applications for the fellowship, which was intended to be an in-person opportunity in partnership with presenting organizations in Chicago. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, most live events are cancelled and the benefits of meeting as a group were outweighed by the risks.

Fortunately, the virtual nature of our reimagined workshop allows us to reach far beyond Chicago. See Chicago Dance is collaborating with dance scholars and writers in South Africa and the United Kingdom. to center our fellowship around the JOMBA! Contemporary Dance Experience, an annual festival held in a sister city: Durban, South Africa. Due to COVID-19, this year's festival will be a digital presentation.

In addition to writing workshops and performance review assignments, SCD fellows will participate in discussions about the contemporary dance landscape and history of the form in South Africa and the nature of criticism in various cultural contexts.

In addition to their writing appearing in See Chicago Dance, fellows are eligible for publication in Khuluma, a festival magazine produced by JOMBA! and the University of KwaZulu-Natal, and Hotfoot, a publication of One Dance UK.
 

For 2020 this will be a four-way partnership between the University of KwaZulu-Natal (Durban, South Africa), University of the Witwatersrand–The ARTchive (Johannesburg, South Africa), See Chicago Dance (Chicago, USA) and the University of East London (London, UK).

Group sessions with writers from three continents will gather over the two weeks of the festival (Aug. 25 - Sept. 6), with contributions from the following distinguished guests:

  • Bimbola Akinbola, Northwestern University (USA)
  • Dr. Sarahleigh Castelyn, School of Arts and Creative Industries, University of East London (UK)
  • Clare Craighead, JOMBA! Contemporary Dance Experience & Drama and Performance Studies Programme, University of KwaZulu-Natal (SA)
  • Sharon Hoyer, Newcity Magazine (USA)
  • Dr. Mario LaMothe, University of Illinois at Chicago (USA)
  • Dr. Lizzie Leopold,  Dance Studies Association (USA)
  • Dr. Raquel Monroe, Columbia College Chicago (USA)
  • Kerry Reid, Chicago Reader (USA)
  • Tal Rosenberg, Chicago Magazine (USA)
  • Rachel Russell, Northwestern University (USA)
  • Tammy Ballantyne Webber, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (SA)
  • Tara Aisha Willis, Museum of Contemporary Art (USA)

This program is made possible by support from the National Endowment for the Arts and Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events