Red Clay Dance Presents Dance4Peace Concert June 1

To conclude Red Clay Dance  Company’s 10th anniversary  season, Red Clay Dance  Academy presents the 7th  Annual  Dance4Peace Youth  Concert and Community Hug  Award Saturday, June 1 at  Benito Juarez Community  Academy, 1450 W. Cermak  Rd., Chicago.   This year’s theme is  “Building Bridges” and  features performances by  the Red Clay Dance Academy  students, the Red Clay Dance  Youth Ensemble, and guest  companies Dyett High School  Dance Department (Chicago,  Ill.), DancExcel (Gary,  Indiana), and DLD Dance  Center (Downers Grove, Ill.).   As a highlight of this event,  Red Clay Dance presents the  2019 Community Hug Award  to Jahmal Cole, founder and  CEO of My Block, My Hood,  My City, which provides  underprivileged youth with  an awareness of the world  and opportunities beyond  their neighborhoods.  Explorations  focus on STEM, arts and  culture, citizenry and  volunteerism, health,  community development,  culinary arts and  entrepreneurism. Previous  recipients include Soul  Children of Chicago Founder  Walt Whitman, former  dancer and “hiplet” creator  Homer Hans Bryant, hip-hop  artist Che “Rhymefest” Smith,  Muntu Dance Theatre Artistic  Director Amaniyea Payne,  and Little Black Pearl Founder  and Executive Director  Monica Halsip.   The Red Clay Dance  Academy, the official school  of Red Clay Dance Company,  is committed to offering  world-class dance training  for youth, teens, and adults.  Classes are open to age one  and older from beginners to  advanced dancers.   Red Clay Dance Academy  presents Dance4Peace Youth Concert and  Community Hug Award Saturday, June 1 at 5  p.m. at Benito Juarez  Community Academy, 1450 W. Cermak Rd.,  Chicago. Tickets are $7–15 and  are available at  redclaydance.com. All programming is  subject to change. For more information about RCDC and the 10th anniversary season, visit redclaydance.com. Red Clay Dance Company Red Clay Dance Company  lives to awaken “glocal”  change through creating,  performing, and teaching  dances of the African  Diaspora—change that  transforms cultural and  socioeconomic inequities  in our local and global  community. Founder  Vershawn Sanders-Ward  conceived the idea of  RCDC while on her first  trip to Senegal, West  Africa, when she became  fascinated by the  interconnectedness of  dance and everyday life.  The name Red Clay  comes from her childhood  memories of playing in  red earth during her  summers in Mobile,  Alabama.   RCDC’s 10th anniversary  season is supported by  the Chicago Community  Trust, the Field  Foundation, the  MacArthur Fund for Arts  and Culture at the Richard  H Driehaus Foundation,  the Gaylord and Dorothy  Donnelley Foundation, the  Springboard Foundation,  the Polk Bros. Foundation,  the Illinois Arts Council  Agency, and the Chicago  Department of Cultural  Affairs and Special Events.  Corporate Sponsors  include PNC Bank, The  Silver Room, EAmbrose  Photography, and A Social  Life. The 10th Anniversary  Season Host Committee  includes Ebony Ambrose,  Jessica Bell, Amy Clark*,  Leslie Guy, Catrina  Franklin*, Tam Herbert*,  Jada Russell, Brea Sanders,  Marilyn A. Sanders, and  Ira Staples (* denotes   RCDC board member).

Photo of Dance4Peace 2016 by Raymond Jerome.