Dear Philadelphia…. Next Round On Me!
Photo by M. Edlow for Visit Philadelphia EDITORS NOTE – I first spoke with Mr. King almost two years ago to date about his writing
Gregory King is a culturally responsive educator, performance artist, activist, and movement maker who received his MFA in Choreographic Practice and Theory from Southern Methodist University and is certified in Elementary Labanotation from the Dance Notation Bureau. His dance training began at the Washington Ballet and continued at American University and Dance Theatre of Harlem. He has participated in the Horton Project in conjunction with the Library of Congress and has performed with Rebecca Kelly Ballet, The Washington Ballet, Erick Hawkins Dance Company, New York Theatre Ballet, Donald Byrd /The Group, The Metropolitan Opera Ballet, New York City Opera, and Disney’s The Lion King on Broadway.
As a choreographer, his works have been commissioned by Transformer Station (Cleveland, OH), Georgian Court University (Lakewood, NY), Texas Ballet Theatre School (Dallas, TX), Indiana University (Bloomington, IN), The Ammerman Center for Arts and Technology 16th Biennial Symposium (New London, CT), Current Sessions (New York, NY), and SPACES Gallery (Cleveland, OH), and presented at Dixon Place (New York, NY), The Kennedy Center (Washington D.C.), and Playhouse Square (Cleveland, OH).
He has taught master classes, lectures, and workshops nationally and internationally. He has served as dance faculty for Texas Ballet Theatre and Boston Ballet, as well as visiting assistant professor of dance at Temple University, and Swarthmore College.
King is a dance writer for The Dance Enthusiast, ThINKingDANCE, The Philadelphia Dance Journal, CHOICE Review, and Broad Street Review. Mr. King’s response to the Dancing for Justice Philadelphia event, was published in Conversations Across the Field of Dance Studies and cited in the U. S. Department of Arts and Culture’s 2016 resource guide, Art Became the Oxygen. In 2020 King was awarded a See Chicago Dance Critical Writing Fellowship and was invited to present his research at The University of Auckland, New Zealand.
In addition to having served on the dance review board for the National Endowment for the Arts, King was nominated for a Governor’s Award for the Arts in Ohio and was recently appointed to the Board of OhioDance. He was the 2018 recipient of the Outstanding Creative Contribution award from the Division of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Kent State University, and served as Provost Faculty Associate for the academic year 2019- 2020. Mr. King is a tenure track professor of dance at Kent State where he serves as the artistic director of the Kent Dance Ensemble.
Photo by M. Edlow for Visit Philadelphia EDITORS NOTE – I first spoke with Mr. King almost two years ago to date about his writing
photo credit Irina Varina by Gregory King for The Dance Journal The smell of onions dawdled in the air as I walked through the corridors
by Gregory King for The Dance Journal I recently attended a performance of Beyond Dance Company’s “Evolution of Women” at The Painted Bride on Saturday
photo credit Kchow Studios by Gregory King for The Dance Journal Willingly welcoming new dance companies and new choreographic voices with passion and zeal, Philadelphians
Photos by Alexander Iziliaev by Gregory King for The Dance Journal A year ago, the second companies of Philadanco (D/2) and Pennsylvania Ballet (PB2) came
photo credit Plate 3 Photography by Gregory King for The Dance Journal Self-described as an entirely volunteer run company committed to artists’ engagement, Bird on
Photo of Caroline O’Brien by Thomas Weir by Gregory King for The Dance Journal Realizing the need for an outlet where artists could give back
by Gregory King for The Dance Journal A deeply complex practice, Bharatanatyam conjures, history, politics, and culture. Known for its grace, subtlety, and sculptured poses,
photo credit: Johanna Austin by Gregory King for The Dance Journal With bent knees, backs parallel to the floor, hands akimbo, and elbows as wings,