Trillium Arts is thrilled to announce the launch of our ACE (Asheville/Chicago Exchange) Fellowship program this fall! For the pilot year of ACE, artists were selected by invitation. We look forward to welcoming our first two fellows this October, Joshua Blake Carter and Vershawn Sanders-Ward.

Originally from Atlanta, Georgia, Joshua Blake Carter joined Giordano Dance Chicago (GDC) in 2009 as a member of Giordano II. He then danced for seven seasons with GDC’s main company where he had the opportunity to perform works by Frank Chaves, Peter Chu, Ron De Jesús, Autumn Eckman, Gus Giordano, Ray Leeper, Ray Mercer, Mia Michaels and more. Joshua is in his eighth season as Director of Giordano II, and he also serves as GDC’s Operations Manager. (more)

Joshua will be in residence October 10–17 and will be joined by three Chicago-area dancers: Jack Halbert, Ari Israel and Lizzie Mackenzie.

Giordano II in Joshua Blake Carter's "Periphery". Photo by Kristie Kahns.

Joshua shares the following on how he plans to use his time during the ACE Fellowship:

Most often as a choreographer my works have been generated around a commission stipulation: type of company, a need for an “opener” or “closer,” or centered around a theme for whatever program would house its premiere. It’s rare to be given the time and space to explore what innately moves you. During my time at Trillium Arts I plan to examine my choreographic identity, accept the things that are uniquely me, and shed some of the attributes that are no longer serving my creative process.

Vershawn Sanders-Ward, ACE Fellow, 2020

Vershawn Sanders-Ward holds an MFA in dance from New York University and is the first recipient of a BFA in dance from Columbia College Chicago (Gates Millennium Scholar). She is the Founding Artistic Director and CEO of Red Clay Dance Company and is currently a candidate for Dunham Technique Certification. Vershawn is a 2019 Chicago Dancemakers Forum Awardee, a 2019 Harvard Business School Club of Chicago Scholar, a 2017 Dance/USA Leadership Fellow, a 2013 3Arts awardee and a 2009 Choreography Award from Harlem Stage NYC. (More)

Vershawn will be in residence at Trillium Arts October 15–24 and will be joined by three RCDC dancers: Chaniece Holmes, Kenesha Reed and Marceia Scruggs.

Photo of Kenesha Reed and Marceia Scruggs, courtesy of Red Clay Dance Chicago. Photo by Kristie Kahns

Vershawn shares the following regarding how she plans to use her time during the ACE Fellowship:

I plan to use my time during the ACE Fellowship to explore how movement is generated and what choreographic devices are employed when making site-specific work versus making work for the proscenium stage. I am very excited to not only have access to the studio space but also the expansive outdoor area around the Trillium Arts home. What are additional considerations that need to be a part of my process when making a work tied to a specific location with a specific history and a little bit of anthropology in considering the practices of the humans tied to that location? How does location effect movement and choreographic choice and how far can I push back against the ways I normally work when creating a work for the theater?

These two groups of artists from Chicago, who will use temporary space due to ongoing renovation of Trillium’s primary location, will engage in limited ways according to safety protocols due to the pandemic.

Trillium is delighted to welcome these two artists, whose work aligns with Trillium’s Core Values. They are artistically innovative, have dedicated their careers to community engagement, and their practices and company philosophies support and advance diversity, equity and inclusion.