Interview: William-Michael Cooper Shares Dance With All

I am always happy to spread the good news about arts in our area. Here is an extremely informative and exciting press release from William- Michael Cooper and the Contemporary South Dance Company. I am happy to share it with BroadwayWorld.com readers.

"Contemporary South Dance Company is proud to announce that they have been awarded a grant through the Alabama State Council on the Arts (ASCA) through the ARTS IN EDUCATION program. This grant will allow for the company to further their mission in dance education and outreach in the Rural South. They seek positive growth through their continued work with vulnerable communities in the state who might not have access to arts education programs in their communities. This year, they will be doing a statewide tour that will take them to four counties in Alabama to perform original contemporary works, teach FREE masterclasses in rural communities, and allow for students to participate in productions who happen to live in rural communities. This is the second tour of this kind and they are extremely proud of the work they are producing. The additional funding from the Alabama State Council on the Arts will help expand these professional tours and allow for them to reach more students in the rural South. This year, they will also be creating a performance which will benefit the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). This performance will take place in the spring in Birmingham, AL. Please visit our website for additional information on how you can support Contemporary South Dance Company, and for additional information on tour dates, performances, workshops, masterclasses, and professional artists.

"William-Michael Cooper is currently the founding artistic director of Contemporary South Inc. Contemporary South is a recognized non-profit with a mission to advocate for dance education in the rural South. William-Michael Cooper is a current company member of Les Ballet Grandiva which is based both in NYC and Tokyo, Japan. Cooper joined the company as a full time company member in 2003. Since 2003, Cooper has completed several international tours with LBG working his way up for a corps member to a soloist. For three years, Cooper has served as the company touring rehearsal assistant and acts as a company marketing liaison on tour. Cooper began his pre-professional studies while on scholarship from American Ballet Theater to study at The University of Alabama. While at the University of Alabama, Cooper was a member of Alabama Repertory Theatre and choreographed for Dance Alabama. In 2002, Cooper joined Dayton Contemporary Dance Company II where he intensely studied ballet, jazz, and the Horton modern dance technique. During his time as a student, he worked with Ballet Tech while obtaining his BFA in Ballet at nationally acclaimed College-Conservatory of Music (CCM), University of Cincinnati. Cooper has worked with Cincinnati Ballet, Alabama Ballet, Les Ballets Grandiva, Lar Lubovitch Dance Company and Men on Pointe (founding member). As a member of Les Ballets Grandiva, Cooper has performed in New York City and toured both nationally and internationally. Cooper has had the honor to work with many acclaimed choreographers/directors including; Peter Anastos, Lar Lubovitch, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Maureen Flemming, Brian Norris, Mark Dendy, Victor Trevino and Katherine Crockett. He is a certifiEd Graham instructor and has taught for the Ecole Superieure de Danse Cannes with Rosella Hightower, the College-Conservatory of Music's Preparatory Department, Ballet Tech of Ohio, the NYU Preparatory Department in Dance, Staten Island University in New York, Birmingham-Southern College, The University of Alabama at Birmingham's ArtPlay (serving as artistic director of the ArtPlay Dance Ensemble) and Birmingham Ballet (serving as ballet master and artistic director of the HOPE Outreach Ensemble). Cooper's choreography has been commissioned by several professional dance companies both nationally and internationally. Cooper is on faculty at The University of Montevallo and is also ballet master for the Marilyn Sanders Center of Performing Arts in Jasper, AL. Cooper is proud to call Birmingham, AL his home and is excited about the growth of arts in the South."

Congratulations to William- Michael Cooper and Contemporary South Dance Company. For more information on this amazing program go to http://www.contemporarysouthdance.com.

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