Nia Love
Nia Love | |
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Nia Love is a dancer and choreographer based in New York City. She is a radical thinker, artist, performer and professor that focuses on Modern dance, Post-Modern dance, and West African dance. She is known for her spiritual relationships to movement and performance,[1] as well as her personal work that is critical of structural racism and examines the role of women in dance through her poetry, movement and art.[2]
Early life and inspiration
[edit]Love was raised in Florida, where her father Ed was a professor at Florida State University (FSU). Love apprenticed with the Cuban National Ballet in Havana, Cuba in 1978 and 1986.[3] She received her MFA in Dance at FSU in 1992.[4] Love's dance style draws inspiration from Butoh, Modern dance forms, and traditional African dance.[5] While at FSU, she integrated live drumming into her classes and performances.[4] Regarding her work's individuality, she has cited inspiration from her father and her emphasis on family, as well as traditional Japanese dance influences, having studied Butoh under Min Tanaka.
Teaching
[edit]In the early 1990s, Love taught an Alternative Learning Program in the Arts with a focus on African culture in Los Angeles.[4] Since then, Love has taught through many programs and institutions, such as: American Dance Festival, Smith College, Williams College, Sarah Lawrence College, Hunter College, University of Colorado, Movement Research, and Bates Dance Festival.[6] She currently teaches at Queens College, Hunter College, and The New School.
List of choreographed works
[edit]- Ye Who Seeks Balance in the Midst of Chaos Shall Rise to a Warrior's Stance - 1990[5]
- Pow - 1993[7]
- Listen, Little Man - 1994[2]
- Wind at My Back - 1995[8]
- Bringing' It Together - 2001[9]
- No Dancing Please! - 2001[10]
- Residue - 2001[11]
- g1(host): lostatsea - 2019[12]
Fellowships and awards
[edit]- Fulbright Fellow - 2001 to 2003
- Brooklyn Arts Exchange Artist in Residence - 2011 to 2012, 2013 to 2014
- Suitcase Fund Award/African - 2013 to 2014
- Middle East Cultural Partnership - 2013 to 2014
- New Directions Choreographic Laboratory - 2013 to 2014[6]
- CUNY Dance Initiative - 2014 to 2015
- Movement Research Artist in Residence - 2016[3]
- The Bessie Award - 2017 [13]
References
[edit]- ^ Lewis, Julinda (August 1991). "Black Choreographers Moving Toward the 21st Century: Nia Love-Pointer; Bebe Miller". DANCE Magazine.
- ^ a b Sloat, Susanna (Spring 1994). "Bust a Move!". Vol. 10, no. 2. Attitude.
- ^ a b "Nia Love". Movement Research. Retrieved 30 March 2017.
- ^ a b c Arnold, Denise (May 14, 1992). "Class blends dance and drums to explore African roots". Vol. 77, no. 154. Florida Flambeau.
- ^ a b Segal, Lewis (July 23, 1990). "'Kaleidoscope' Proves Artistry More Telling Than Ethnicity". The Los Angeles Times.
- ^ a b "Nia Love – CUNY Dance Initiative". Retrieved 2018-03-20.
- ^ Gere, David (May 29, 1993). "Originality, variety shown in Black Choreographers Moving". The Oakland Tribune.
- ^ "Dance". The Village Voice. August 8, 1995.
- ^ Curtis, Lisa J. (June 4, 2001). "Dance flowers in Brooklyn". The Brooklyn Papers.
- ^ Dunning, Jennifer (June 7, 2001). "Through Sidewalk Cracks, Hardy Cultural Flowers Leap Toward the Sun". The New York Times.
- ^ "Blacksmith's Daughter forges emotion connection in Residue". The Republican Journal. July 12, 2001.
- ^ "Gibney Presents nia love's 'g1(host): lostatsea' Nov. 7-9, 2019". gibneydance.org. Retrieved 2020-04-21.
- ^ "Awards". The Bessies. Retrieved 2018-05-26.