Photo: Kimara Dixon

Hometown: Kinston, North Carolina

Current city: Middlebury,
Vermont

Age: 33

When you started to dance: Age 9

When you first took a modern dance class: Summer of 1991 at the
age of 13 at North Carolina School of the Arts Summer Intensive

College and degree: The University of
North Carolina at Greensboro; BFA in Dance with a Minor in Business

Graduate school and degree: Long Island University;
MFA in New Media Art and Performance (at age 29)

Websites: www.inspiritdance.com and www.projectbecoming.com

How you pay the bills: I meet my financial
responsibilities by serving as an Assistant Professor of Dance at Middlebury
College, teaching at various summer festivals, and choreographing for repertory
companies and collegiate dance programs. However, I do not favor my artistic work over my teaching. I see them as a reciprocal investment
in the growth of one another. I
find balance in pursuing both equally.

All of the dance hats you wear: I am the Founding Artistic/Executive
Director of INSPIRIT a Dance Company, Inc and Project : BECOMING. At present I perform mostly solo work
as well as an endeavor as a national and international teacher, choreographer,
and facilitator, in addition to teaching in the Dance Program at Middlebury
College.

I
was encouraged to apply for Chuck Davis’ African-American Dance Ensemble soon
after graduating from college. While working on a project with Andrea E. Woods in New York, I submitted a
pre-audition video tape to the company and was invited to the formal
audition. Having no previous
African dance training, aside from a semester of study in college, I informed
Baba (Chuck Davis) that if I were granted entry into the company, he would have
to teach me everything I needed to know. Thankfully, he was willing. 

In
the case of the Liz Lerman Dance Exchange…I was invited to a summer workshop
by Peter Dimuro, who at the time was the company’s associate artistic
director. After attending the
workshop, I was invited to apprentice with the company. As an apprentice, I was able to use my
previous business experience in the role of Liz’s personal assistant. Working closely with Liz afforded
me a wealth of knowledge regarding choreography, leadership, and vision, that I
would not have been able to build my company without.

I
was invited to work with Bill T. Jones through the recommendation of a
friend. While in the presence of Jones
and the members of the company, I observed what it meant to devote oneself to
being an artist. Something I
admired, but that I also knew was not my artistic path. Yet, it took emersion
in what I was not to understand what I was.

I
spent the longest portion of my performance career with Urban Bush Women, as a
lead performer, apprentice program coordinator, and community specialist. UBW served as the catalyst for all of my
interest to be utilized and sharpened. I was challenged daily by my fellow performers in the studio and on
stage, which spurred my perpetual growth as a technician and performer. As a company member I was also called
upon to participate and collaborate in the creative process, which expanded my
ideas of choreography and dance making. As the apprentice program coordinator and a community
specialist, I deepened my knowledge of dance company structure, teaching, and
artistic responsibility.

Beyond technical training and performance
experience, what skills do you think got you into your performance roles (ex. persistence, perseverance, confidence, curiosity, etc)? What are your personal
strengths as an artist?

I believe the success of my career is based on the sheer action of
saying Yes to God's continual instructions along a winding path of discovery. Because my first goal was to be a dance teacher, the
performance world was totally foreign to me. Therefore, I never turned down any opportunity to dance
regardless of the pay, the genre, or the venue. As long as my integrity was not compromised I committed
myself to fully investing the talent God gave me to further my understanding of
the field of dance. Saying "yes" positioned me into a lot of great roles and more often into the company of
mentors, friends, colleagues, and teachers, who led me full circle to my current
professorship. 

When you worked with Gesel Mason, how did you
balance dancing as well as managing the company?

Working with Gesel Mason and Cheles Rhynes, who founded Mason Rhynes
Productions, was a wonderful learning experience. Dancing as a member of Gesel Mason Performance Projects and
working on the staff of Mason Rhynes Productions gave me an in-depth view into
the day to day functions of a not-for-profit organization and the skills needed
to be successful on and off stage.

Talk a little about your projects, INSPIRIT and
Project: BECOMING.

INSPIRIT and Project: BECOMING were both created to provide safe spaces
for learning and growth.  

In the case of INSPIRIT, I wanted to create a company of female artists
who were not being given the opportunity to share their talents in large dance
companies for numerous reasons. Because there are only a few companies and numerous dancers, securing a
position in a large company is challenging. Therefore, I created INSPIRIT as an incubation tank for
female artists of varying backgrounds and skillsets. The company members collaborate, perform, and execute the
administrative tasks related to keeping the company growing. I began the company to give other women
the opportunities I had been afforded.

Project: BECOMING was created to assist in supporting the developmental
metamorphosis of adolescent females into young women. The mission of Project: BECOMING is to
create self-actualized females. Through the use of expressive modalities, such
as dance, writing and discussion, we promote creative exploration. These
experiences encourage an outgrowth of limitless possibilities.  My desire for beginning this project
stemmed from a personal need I had for female mentorship as a young woman.

It sounds like working at Middlebury is a new
chapter in your life. What are your current career goals? What most excites you
about working with college students?

I have been a Visiting Lecturer in Dance at Middlebury College for the
past four years. Having recently
made the transition into a full time Assistant Professor, I look forward to
deepening my ties to my students. Having begun my career with the goal of becoming a teacher, I am
grateful for the path that God has created for me in terms of performing, directing
my own company and working for wonderful icons in the field. At this point I feel as though my life
has come full circle. I now have
the experiential knowledge to offer my students and the amazing opportunity of
doing what I love everyday while providing a wonderful life for my son Gabriel.

Are you still performing and choreographing?

Yes,
I am currently working on an all male project based on the life and legacy of
Muhammad Ali entitled “The Opulence of Integrity,” which will premiere at
Middlebury College in March of 2013. 
In addition I have been performing a series of solos called “The Life
Cycle Series.”  The newest
installment, “Somewhere in a Memory” (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ooDD2MkfQtg) premiered in September of 2012 in NY as a part of the Dance Now
Festival. I am also collaborating
with INSPIRIT’s new Artistic Director Alexandra J. Warren on a new piece for
INSPIRIT’s 10^th anniversary season, entitled “My Country Tis of Thee.”

Talk about your current ways to train, maintain
your body, and care for your body.

Currently, I train from a module I created called “Christal Brown’s
Liquid Strength,” which combines the best parts of my training as a student and
professional dancer. The training
module has been an integral tool in training my company and sharing with students
in class and via dvd.

In addition to dancing, I have also been studying Gyrotonics for the
past 2 years.

Advice to young dancers:

My advice to young dancers would be to always be on time, work hard,
pursue your dreams and to create your own standards for success. Your path may not be what you plan,
what you expect, smooth or even clear but as long as you are true to yourself
it will be right. Being you is the
most important part of being a dancer; the true beauty of a performer is
created from within. Strive for authenticity, humility, and grace.