Ashley Brown Named Director Of The Martha Graham School

The Martha Graham Center have announced that Ashley Brown has been named Director of the Martha Graham School. Brown brings over 15 years of educational and leadership experience to this role.

Brown comes to the Graham School after creating the high school dance curriculum and founding the International Baccalaureate Dance Program at the Prospect Schools Charter network. She has touched the dance world in many ways, working with Shining Light to take the Arts Impact workshop into prison facilities, consulting with The Juilliard School in the K-12 Division as a dance curriculum specialist, and supporting dance programs in Vietnam.

"We're thrilled to have found the ideal candidate for our School Director in Ashley Brown," said Martha Graham Center Executive Director LaRue Allen. "She is a true educator, an exceptional artist, and a fabulous mentor for our students. Her remarkable range of experience and skill set will have an immediate impact on our School."

Ashley Brown was the founding high school dance teacher for the Prospect Schools Charter network, where she designed the high school dance curriculum and established the International Baccalaureate Dance Program, as well as serving as the Arts and Athletics Director (2013-2015), the 9th Grade Level Leader (2021-2022), and the K-12 Dance Coordinator (2018-2022). She has also worked with Shining Light, an organization that takes an Arts Impact workshop into jail/prison facilities. In March of 2019, she choreographed and performed BARS: You See Boundaries, I See Freedom for TEDxColumbiaUniversity 2019 to process and share her experiences. In addition to being a dance educator, Brown was the artist director of a faith-based dance company BT Dance for eight years, participated in the last cohort of Dance New Amsterdam's, Raw Materials, and choreographed I AM.

Prior to moving to New York City, Brown attended Florida State University and graduated with an MFA in dance performance and choreography. She performed with Dance Repertory Theatre under the direction of Lynda Davis, and interned at Dance Theater of Harlem as the Executive Assistant. Brown attended Spelman College, where she was ballet and jazz faculty and assistant director of the Children's Drama and Dance Performance Theater, before graduating with a BA in child development. Currently, in addition to her appointment as Director of the Martha Graham School, Brown consults with The Juilliard School in the K-12 Division as a dance curriculum specialist and supports dance schools in Vietnam.

The Martha Graham School caters to a wide range of students, from professional dancers to those seeking their first dance experience, and offers professional training programs and outreach programs in the public schools. Located in New York City, it is the longest continuously operating school of dance in the United States and the only one primarily focused on the Martha Graham Technique and Repertory. Classes are taught by faculty who have worked with Martha Graham and who are current or former members of the Martha Graham Dance Company, as well as other artists who teach a variety of dance styles. www.marthagraham.edu