Bringing Baltimore Dance to Ohio

In June 2024, Full Circle Artistic Director Donna L. Jacobs and four teaching artists from the company brought a taste of Baltimore to the Midwest, leading the Ohio University Summer Dance Institute. This week-long program brought together high school, college, and graduate students for intensive technical training, choreographic exploration, and a side-by-side performance with members of Full Circle Dance Company. 

In addition to taking classes and learning company repertoire, students contributed choreography to a new work created in partnership with Full Circle artists Shaela Davis and Morgan James. The piece, entitled Masse, highlighted both the individuality of the dancers and their experience of building a supportive community. 

Dance portfolio development was an important part of the curriculum, and each student created a personal artistic statement. Rylanne Jervis, who will attend Ohio University as a dance major in the fall, said in a local news article: "One of the most significant lessons this summer at SDI was to embrace myself as not just a student, but as an artist.” Full Circle associate artistic director Liz Pelton, who led the statement-writing session, was impressed with the students' approach to work. "I was moved by the sophistication and diversity of these young artists' visions, and by their courage in sharing them with each other," she said.  

Full Circle's residency at Ohio University continued a decades-long artistic partnership with OU professor of dance Travis D. Gatling. Gatling's choreography has been a staple of Full Circle's repertoire, and his annual summer intensive teaching at Morton Street Dance Center has benefited countless young Baltimore dancers. 

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For Full Circle Artistic Director Donna L. Jacobs, the visit to Ohio held the kind of rewards she relishes as a teacher of young people. "What was so marvelous about these students," she said, "was their maturity, their collaborative spirit. They were transformed as dancers from Monday to Friday. And throughout, they were entirely supportive of one another.”  

Read More About Full Circle's Time at Ohio University HERE.

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