Jade Charon's Biography
Jade Charon is an interdisciplinary artist, choreographer, filmmaker, and international dance educator, hailing from Milwaukee, Wisconsin living in Brooklyn. Charon received an MFA in Dance from the University of California, Los Angeles, and a BA in Dance and Theater from Columbia College Chicago. Charon was awarded the 2020 Hicks Choreographer Fellowship from the School of Jacob's Pillow where she received mentorship from Dianne McIntyre and Risa Steinberg. In 2018, Charon was selected as the Chuck Davis Emerging Choreographer Fellow from BAM(Brooklyn Academy of Music) . She is an Assistant Professor of Dance and Technology at Medgar Evers College. As a filmmaker, her films have been accepted in festivals and conferences such as Montreal Independent Film Festival, Mke Film Festival, Toronto International Women’s Film Festival, American Dance Festival Movie By Movers, and The Outland Dance Project Dance Film Festival. She was awarded the jury select Cream City Award from Mke film festival and the semi-finalist for Best Experimental Film for Montreal Independent Film Festival.
Charon aims to use her art as a ministry to uplift her community and was selected to give a Ted Talk on using dance as a ministry for TedxUCLA. In 2013, Charon was selected to pioneer and design a dance program for the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Milwaukee through a national research study with The Wallace Foundation. This experience sprouted Charon into starting her own non-profit company, By Jade Charon Company. By Jade Charon has birthed films, arts curriculums, community outreach initiatives, and arts festivals, fusing art, education, mentorship, and social justice globally. Charon is also the founder 30:11 by Jade Charon LLC, a leotard and activewear line, designed to support all body types with the hopes of eliminating body shaming.
Tedx UCLA
Fellowships,Grants, & Awards
2021 Nominated Best In Film In The Art Film Category At The Charlotte Black Film Festival
2021 Selected As An Artist in Resident Through Gallim Moving Women Residency Initiative
2021 Cream City Jury Award MKE Film Festival
2020 Montreal Independent Film Festival Semi-Finalist for Best Experimental Film
2020 Anne Weston & Hicks Choreographer Fellow at The School of Jacob’s Pillow
2020 UNCSA Semi-Finalist Choreographic Residency Choreographer
2019 Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs: Western Arts Alliance Scholarship Recipient
2018 BAM : Chuck Davis Emerging Choreographer Fellowship
2018 Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs: International Association of Blacks in Dance Scholarship
2017-2018 Dean’s General Scholarship Award, UCLA
2016-2018 University Fellowship , UCLA
2016-2017 Jean Irwin Scholarship, UCLA
2017-2017 Registration Fee Grant, UCLA
2015-2016 Graduate Opportunity Fellowship, UCLA
2007-2011 Opportunity Academic Scholarship, Columbia College Chicago
2007 NAACP AWARD/Scholarship
2007 Milwaukee Talented Teens Awards
Choreography
2020
“Hope”
Premiered (2020) Dr. Iola Thompson’s Arts Alive Virtual Concert
“Gold”
Premiered(2020) Montreal Independent Film Festival
“Champion Style”
Premiered (2020) MKE Film Festival
“Wild Woman Comes Back”
The School at Jacob’s Pillow Fellowship Showing
“Fredrick’s Dream”
Installation Performance
“Legacy “
*Selected* Baja American College Dance Festival Gala Performance at Carpenter Performing Arts Center
“Legacy”
Premiered(2020) at Burnight Center Theater
“Hairspray”
Musical opened at Pacifica Christian High School
2019
“Process”
Blaktinx Festival at Bootleg Theater
“Process”
Premiered (2019) Brooklyn Academy of Music Fisherman Theater
“What have you done?”
Premiered (2019) at Pitman Theater
“ Trapped Consciousness”
Premiered (2019) at Cypress College Theater
“ Forget What You’ve Done”
Premiered( 2019) at Pitman Theater
2018
“Restore Dance Festival”
Premiered (2018) at Highways Performance Space
“Testimony”
TedxUCLA Royce Hall, Los Angeles, CA 2018
“Recharge”
Premiered ( 2018) Kaufman Theater
2017
“Changed “
Premiered (2017) Destiny House Theater
“Testimony”
Premiered (2017) at Highways Theater Performance Space
“Reverse”
Premiered(2017) at UCLA Kaufman Theater. Two-part performance that included “#iLovemyself Film”.
“BitterLand”
Premiered(2017) at Pitman Theater
2016
“Tired of Running”
Premiered (2016) at Destiny House Theater. Pitman Theater ( 2017)
“Child’s Play”
Premiered(2016) at UCLA Kaufman Theater
“My World Needs You”
Premiered (2016) at Pitman Theater
2015
“Better ”
Premiered (2015) at Destiny House Theater
“Our Lives Matter “
Premiered(2015) at Bayview Auditorium. This work collaborated with band Boswell & Friends
2014
“He Turned It”
Premiered (2014) at Washington Auditorium. Destiny House Theater (2015).
Bayview Auditorium (2015) Bronzeville Festival (2015)
“Happy”
Premiered (2014) at The Pfister Hotel Banquet Hall
“Fire”
Premiered (2014) at Nicolet High School Theater
2013
“Bitter Earth”
Premiered (2013) at Destiny House Theater.
“Give Us a Heart”
Premiered (2013) at UWM Peck Pavilion
“Motherless Child”
Premiered(2013) at Pitman Theater
2012
"Son of Man"
Premiered (2012) at Pitman Theater
"Forever"
Premiered (2012) at Pitman Theater
2011
"Called, Set A Part"
Premiered (2011) at Columbia College Chicago Theater
"Lost in a World"
Permiered (2011) at Destiny House Theater
2010
"FreeDOOM"
Premiered (2010) at Colombia College Chicago Dance Center
2009
"Box"
Premiered (2009) at Columbia College Dance Center
2007
"Imagine Me"
Premiered (2007) at Pitman Theater
Film, Film Festivals, & Television
2021
“Gold”- Jade Charon, Director &Choreographer
Official selection for the Manhattan Film Festival Manhattan, NY
“Gold”- Jade Charon, Director &Choreographer
Official selection for the Mke Film Festival Milwaukee, WI
“Gold”- Jade Charon, Director &Choreographer
Official selection for the Charlotte Black Film Festival Charlotte, NC
“Gold”- Jade Charon, Director & Choreographer
Official Selection for Create Art Performance Dance Film Night
“Gold”- Jade Charon, Director &Choreographer
Official Selection for the Toronto International Women’s Festival Monthly Edition
2020
“Gold”- Jade Charon, Director &Choreographer
Premiered in 2020, Milwaukee, WI
“Champion Style” - Jade Charon Director & Choreographer
Premiered 2020, British Virgin Islands
“Be Outside”- Jade Charon, Director
Premiered 2020, Carson, California
“Duel” - Jade Charon Director & Choreographer
Screened at Fellows of Contemporary Arts Museum
2019
“Trilogy”- Jade Charon, Director & Choreographer
Women in Dance Conference Film Screening, Drexel University
2018
“A Silent Story”- Darrell Robinson, Director
Milwaukee PBS Television, 2018
“Recharge ” Jade Charon, Director & Choreographer
The Outlet Project Dance Film Festival, 2018
“Recharge” Jade Charon, Director & Choreographer
American Dance Festival: Movies by Movers, 2018
2017
“Reverse” Jade Charon, Director Choreographer
The Outlet Project Dance Film Festival, 2017
“ Street Dance Activism” Shamell Bell, Director
Dancer, The Los Angeles Times Documentary, 2017
2016
“ Reverse” Jade Charon, Director & Choreographer
The New Times Live Feed, December 2016
Conferences,Lectures, & Public Presentations
2020 Film Presenter: Take Me Home Event: Post-screening discussion about the identification with blackness, the body, and spirituality led by curator Jasmine McNeal. Fellows of Contemporary Art Los Angeles, March
2019 Film Presenter: Restore Film, Women in Dance Leadership Conference, University of Drexel, October
2020 Film Presenter: Take Me Home Event: Post-screening discussion about the identification with blackness, the body, and spirituality led by curator Jasmine McNeal., Fellows of Contemporary Art Los Angeles, March
2019 Panelist: Art & Entrepreneurship Panel, University of California, Los Angeles, April
2019 Panelist: Schoolin’ Life: Black graduate students navigating public white institutions, International Association of Blacks in Dance, January
2018 Guest Lecturer: Histories, Healing, and Movements, University of California, San Marcos , October
2018 Speaker and Performer: Dance As Ministry : From Compton to UCLA, Ted Talks ex UCLA , April
2017 Keynote Speaker: Take A Stand , Milwaukee College Preparatory School, November
2017 Guest Lecturer: Multicultural Psychology , Dr. Thema Bryant (Instructor ), Pepperdine University, November
2017 Guest Artist Presenter: Why I Choreograph , University Neighborhood High School , October
2017 Lead Panelist : Eliminating Body-Shaming in Western Dance , 30:11 Launch & Networking event, Signature Dance Company, April
2017 Keynote Speaker: Surveying Our Bodies and Finding Our Truths, Royals Inc , April
2016 Presenter: Creating High Quality Dance Programs in Non- Specific Youth Organizations, Signature Dance Company, December
2015 Presenter : Wake Up, Boys & Girls Clubs of America National Conference, May
2015 Presenter: Securing Community Partnerships, Engaging Parents & Community Stakeholders, and Youth Retention, Wallace Foundation , March
2014 Presenter: Dance Culminations in Free Public Spaces, Wallace Foundation and Boys &Girls Clubs of America Headquarter, August
Artist Statement
Artist Statment.
After graduating from UCLA, I received the Baba Chuck Davis Emerging Choreographer fellowship. Through this fellowship, I traveled to Africa for the first time to study. I went to Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, and Tibob Dilaw, Senegal, to study at Ecole des Sables with Germaine Acagony. I spent two months in villages dancing in the Sand and with the elements. I hand-washed clothes, shared food, slept in nets, and completely let go of my American dance experience. One day, one of my teachers told the class that we needed to go in the middle of the circle and say, "I am the daughter of ___," and go up our entire ancestral lineage to the best of our knowledge. I was instantly struck with an attitude and annoyance but could not explain why. I asked myself, "What does this have to do with dance?" My African counterparts were able to trace back to their earliest ancestors. When it was my turn, I could not go past my grandmother, and I started to cry. I never knew how much not knowing my lineage impacted how I created art. At that point, I had three options: Make peace with what I didn't know, search to find the missing pieces, or do both, but I could not stay stuck in pity. My choreography began to ask, “Who am I?” and “How do I want to be defined?”
The second discovery in Africa occurred after my dance teacher, Aïda Colmenero Diaz, watched my second dance film, Recharge. She told me my work was beautiful but asked, "Do you know the difference between a News Reporter and an Artist?” I thought I knew the answer but said, "No." She said, "A news reporter reports the news, but an artist creates the stories." Until this point, I had found success in sharing the stories of my community and creating art in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement. Now I ask myself what I have to say. What stories do I want to tell? What stories do I want to create?
The third discovery and paradigm shift in my art-making happened during my TEDx talk and performance. I had ten minutes to talk, dance, and show a film. The trinity of speech, dance, and film working together to educate audiences transported me to the next level of making. The Digital Dance Storytelling positioned the narratives of my community on the stage to bring awareness. The intersection of my community work, the praise dance, the Western dance training, Black Social Justice issues, and my search for identity were all on display.
I started my speech by saying, “If we took hold of the potential of dance to heal ourselves and our communities, dance would become more than a performance. Because of my background, I call this ministry.” Yet, Aïda's question referring to news reporters prompted my curiosity. Do I want to be a news reporter or an artist? Little did I know before I could tell the audience the healing powers of dance, I had to heal myself first. I now believe that dance is not only my gift but also my intercessory supernatural power. My work is to bring awareness to the community and connect them to a higher power: their higher self, consciousness, and spirit.