Memory - Culture - Performance
Crystal Michelle Perkins is an Assistant Professor at The Ohio State University (OSU) where she teaches dance composition and contemporary movement practice. She holds an MFA in Dance from OSU, a BFA in Dance Performance from Southern Methodist University, and is honored to have performed for nearly a decade with the world renowned Dayton Contemporary Dance Company (DCDC). She continues to create new works and restage an extensive repertory of masterworks by beloved African American choreographers as DCDC’s Associate Artistic Director. Perkins is a recipient of an Ohio Arts Council Individual Excellence award, and the Josie Award, which recognizes exemplary commitment as a performer to the field of dance. Her work has toured across the United States and internationally to Kazakhstan, Russia, and Brazil. Perkins’ creative research centers on African American movement dialects and black female embodiment in contemporary dance performance. To that end, she is focused on creating pieces that embody blood memory, digital residue, personal/historical narrative, and spaces of justice/injustice. Perkins is a member of the Association of Performing Arts Professionals’ inaugural class of Leadership Fellows and the OhioDance Board of Trustees.