By Jimmy Schlemmer

Cleveland, OH – GroundWorks DanceTheater announces the appointment of Antonio Brown as our first Artist in Residence for the coming season. This newly created position will give the artist opportunities for longer and deeper creation time with the company.

Executive Artistic Director David Shimotakahara welcomes Antonio, “I look forward to continuing the wonderful creative connection we created with Antonio during GroundWorks’ 20-21 season and developing a relationship of deeper exploration and long-term collaboration.”

Brown recently created a new dance film, INSIDE, with company in the fall of 2020 and returned in June 2021 to restage the work for live performance. Both versions received very positive reviews from critics and audiences alike.

Brown studied at the Cleveland School of the Arts and The Juilliard School. He was a member of the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company for over a decade and has also worked with Camille A. Brown & Dancers, Sidra Bell Dance New York, and The Dash Ensemble to name a few.

“I am so grateful and excited for the opportunity to work more extensively with Groundworks, and continue to explore the many possibilities of my choreographic voice with the dancers and the community,” says Antonio about the new position.

A native of Cleveland, Antonio has achieved national attention as a performer, teacher, and choreographer, and as the director/producer of his own company,AntonioBrownDance. Shimotakahara affirms, “Antonio brings a huge range of artistic experience and skills to GroundWorks. His artistry reflects his deep integrity and a truly warm personality. We are honored to have him join the GroundWorks team for our 2021-2022 Season.”

About Antonio Brown

Antonio Brown is the artistic force behind AntonioBrownDance. Born and raised in Cleveland Ohio, Mr. Brown studied at the Cleveland School of the Arts &The Juilliard School. He was a member of the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company for over a decade and has also worked with Camille A. Brown & Dancers, Sidra Bell Dance New York and The Dash Ensemble to name a few.

Antonio’s choreography continues to spread across the country choreographing
works for Verb Ballets, August Wilson Center Dance Ensemble, Cleveland State University, Jacksonville University, Perry Mansfield Performing Arts School and Camp, Lehigh Valley Dance Exchange “LVDE”, Theatre Askew, Arden Theater Company, Drama League DirectorFest, MOVE(NYC), Earl Mosley’s Diversity of Dance & Hearts or Men and is currently the movement director for The Public Theater’s Shakespeare Initiative and Associate Choreographer for
upcoming musical “Black No More”. Mr. Brown also teaches regularly in New York City and at various schools and intensives across the country.

Antonio Brown Dance was founded in 2013, and is composed of an incredibly talented group of performing artists from various cultural and training backgrounds. Connected together with a provocative movement vocabulary and emphasis on sound, the works of the company blend common human behavior with elements of social and political topics. Producing works that allow for the growing socio- political international climate to become conversation within our versatile communities. Antonio Brown Dance aims to bring its versatile audiences closer to dance and
movement with unique performance works and is always so grateful to be sharing their gifts and talents around the world.

Antonio Brown Dance is a NYC-based Dance Company founded in 2013. Composed of performing artists from various cultural and training backgrounds, blending movement aesthetics of Contemporary, Modern, Ballet, Jazz, African, and Hip Hop to share stories of human behaviors and push boundaries of social and political topics in today’s climate. ABD aims to bring its versatile audiences closer to dance and movement with unique performance works.

The company has created and performed various works around the US including IABD (International Association of Blacks in Dance), Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre’s Open Air Series; 10th Annual Pepatian Bronx Artists Now: APAP Showcase, NYU Tisch, CPR (Center for Performance Research) presented by 651 Arts, Cleveland State University, Gallim Dance, The Grier School Gala Concert, Earl Mosley’s Diversity of Dance & Hearts of Men, Manhattan Movement Arts Center, Kelly Strayhorn Theatre, White Wave Rising Series & Dumbo Dance Festival, and the Martin
Luther King Day of Dance Celebration in Hartford, Connecticut and many more. In addition to ABD’s performances, the company has also embarked on residencies across the US such as; Perry-Mansfield Performing Arts School & Camp, NYU Tisch, Arts on Site, Tri-C Performing Arts Dance Academy, Attack Theatre in Pittsburgh, PA and at Cleveland State University. The company is always so grateful to be sharing their gifts and talents to the world.

About GroundWorks DanceTheater

GroundWorks DanceTheater, founded by David Shimotakahrara in 1998, is a contemporary dance company located in Northeast Ohio. Now in our 23rd season , GroundWorks DanceTheater is continually pushing the boundaries of what is possible through dance by engaging, educating, and enlivening our community. We are committed to presenting unique opportunities for engaging the community through work-in-progress showings, masterclasses, artist talks, and educational outreach to school age children, college students, and senior adults, along with the development and presentation of new choreography and collaborations.

The Northeast Ohio-based company performs new works by Executive Artistic Director, David Shimotakahara, as well as commissioned work by nationally & internationally acclaimed choreographers including Eric Michael Handman, Rosie Herrera, Kate Weare, Robert Moses, Ronen Koresh, Dianne McIntyre, Lynne Taylor-Corbett, Adam Barruch, Gina Gibney,
David Parker, Brian Brooks, James Gregg, and many others.

GroundWorks DanceTheater’s annual programming is made possible with funding from The National Endowment for the Arts, The Ohio Arts Council, Cuyahoga County residents through Cuyahoga Arts & Culture, The Cleveland Foundation, The George Gund Foundation, The Toby Devan Lewis Philanthropic Fund, GAR Foundation, Peg’s Foundation, The John P. Murphy Foundation, The Kulas Foundation, Akron Community Foundation, The Demetros Charitable Trust, The Mary S. and David C. Corbin Foundation, The Judith Gerson Fund, Sisler McFawn, Individual Contributors and Members of the GroundWorks Board of Directors.

For more information, please visit www.groundworksdance.org or call 216-751-0088.