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.