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Southern Danceworks is proud of its history as Alabama’s only professional modern dance company. A vital part of the community since 1963, the mission of Southern Danceworks is to advance dance as a major art form, contributing to and enriching the life, culture, and community of Alabama. Founded as a school by Laura Toffel Knox, the company was first known as the Birmingham Creative Dance Group. It was the first school of its kind in Alabama to offer classes in creative/modern dance and to open its doors to both black and white members of the community.
In 1988, the name was changed to Southern Danceworks by Articles of Amendment to the Articles of Incorporation. At the time of its 25th anniversary, Southern Danceworks was the parent organization of four groups: the Southern Danceworks Professional Dance Company under the artistic direction of Mary Foshee, the Hispanic Dance Olé under the artistic direction of Laura Knox, the Southern Danceworks Children's Company, and the Southern Danceworks School.
Throughout its history, Southern Danceworks has demonstrated its commitment to community service and to the standards of quality dance education and performance. The board of directors strengthened their commitment to quality by hiring artistic director Teri Weksler in 1996, a Juilliard graduate and nationally renowned dancer and choreographer. The organization's structure and purpose was redefined through the Restated Articles of Incorporation in 1999. The board also began to raise funds for an executive director, and hired Dr. Rosemary Johnson in January, 2002.
Teri Weksler's artistic vision for Southern Danceworks is to:
• Bring new audiences to modern dance through the unity of dance and live music
• Commission new work by guest choreographers
• Collaborate with a variety of community artists and arts organizations
• Develop partnerships for educational outreach programs
• Train dancers to achieve the highest professional level of modern dance
Today the company consists of highly trained professionals, including preschool specialists, teachers for special needs groups, for non-dancers and the elderly. Under the expert artistic direction of Teri Weksler, the company offers a wide variety of acclaimed programs, including repertory concerts featuring works by Alabama and nationally renowned choreographers, educational performances for schools, master classes, and teacher workshops. Educational outreach activities for schools are based on the Alabama Course of Study for Arts Education.
Southern Danceworks has ongoing relationships with several dance organizations. Teri Weksler is on the faculty at the Alabama Ballet and at Birmingham Southern College. Other company members teach at and perform with the Alabama Ballet, Children's Dance Foundation and Samford University. Partnerships and collaborations include the Metropolitan Arts Center for the Honda Dream Lab Project, Birmingham City Schools, the Jefferson County Schools, the Alabama Dance Summit, the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame, nationally renowned choreographers Kraig Patterson and Robert Battle, Alabama choreographers, Space One Eleven and New York
Choreographer/installation artist Anthony Meyers and the Alabama Symphony for Peter and the Wolf. |
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