Deeply Rooted Reveals New Leadership

Deeply Rooted Dance Theater, and its parent organization, Deeply Rooted Productions, have commenced 2023 with significant developments in its evolution, as the organization continues to grow as one of Chicago's premier dance institutions. Now under the leadership of Nicole Clarke-Springer, artistic director since fall 2019, and, as of January 1, 2023, Makeda Crayton as executive director, Deeply Rooted is one of Chicago's only major dance companies led by two Black women.

Priorities for Clarke-Springer and Crayton include expanding the company's performance schedule, broadening the Dance Education program, and opening the Deeply Rooted Center for Black Dance and Creative Communities (Deeply Rooted Dance Center), a state- and city-supported facility for dance education and collaborative programs with community partners on Chicago's South Side.

"I am thrilled to have Makeda join our team and partner with me to lead Deeply Rooted to its next level as an institution," Clarke-Springer said. "Conceiving, developing, and implementing the company's artistic vision is only one component of how I view my leadership role as artistic director. I want to ensure the highest level of excellence in all areas of the organization, including its financial plans. Often, the roles of artistic director and executive director are siloed into art and finance, with finance 'managing' the art at the expense of the company's mission, vision, and values. Having a strong business acumen from my arts administration-dance degree from Butler University has given me a perspective on both roles. Makeda understands this and has a similar background, which allows us to work side by side with the mutual respect we need to move Deeply Rooted forward. As the old adage goes, 'iron sharpens iron.'"

"We are ushering in the next generation of Deeply Rooted Dance Theater, and I am honored to continue this company's legacy and take it to new heights," Crayton said. "Our work during the next few years will grow and strengthen the organization's infrastructure to position Deeply Rooted for long-term institutional sustainability. The company has expanded to a 26-week contract for our dancers, and we are making plans for more frequent performances on Chicago stages as well as resuming some national and international touring. We also intend to further develop our Dance Education programs, now in two locations, in anticipation of the opening of the Deeply Rooted Dance Center."

Crayton continued, "Every time I introduce myself to someone, they have nothing but good things to say about our company. We want to activate that energy so we can continue to grow as an institution. And our Deeply Rooted Dance Center will be a crucial element in that growth, addressing cultural and economic disparities caused by long-standing disinvestment. It is rare for an executive director to have an intimate knowledge of the life of a performer, including the rigor required of the performers' bodies and minds. I lived it, and I can use my experiences to add context to the business acumen necessary to maintain a financially viable dance organization."

"We are a true reflection of what leadership is beginning to look like within the arts today," Clarke-Springer commented. "What began as an art form dominated by men in leadership is changing. I'm excited to be a part of the transforming landscape within the industry, and I'm extremely excited to do so with Makeda Crayton."

In other important developments, Co-Founder Kevin Iega Jeff has shifted to the role of emeritus executive artistic director and is focusing his energies and efforts on continued fundraising and community programming for the Deeply Rooted Dance Center. Daniel O. Ash, president of the Field Foundation of Illinois, is now serving as chair of Deeply Rooted's board of directors.

Makeda Crayton has served in artistic and administrative roles on and off stage throughout her career. While a guest artist for Cape Dance Company in South Africa, she served as repetiteur for world-renowned choreographer Christopher Huggins. She also assisted Huggins with setting ballets on The Ailey School, Ailey II, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Philadanco!, Dallas Black Dance Theater, and the Dallas Theater Center's production of The Wiz, among others. She has performed in Broadway shows, regionally and internationally and has taught across the U.S. and overseas. Her first official engagement with Deeply Rooted was teaching ballet for the Summer Dance Intensive in 2011 and 2012. In 2021, after performing as a soloist with Cirque du Soleil's Zumanity for seven years, she joined Deeply Rooted as operations director, becoming executive director on January 1, 2023.

Nicole Clarke-Springer found her dance home at Deeply Rooted first as an apprentice and later as a company member. She took a brief hiatus from the company, serving as adjunct professor at Chicago State University and Western Kentucky University, touring with Clifton Brown Dance Company, and choreographing for companies such as Kenyetta Dance Company (Indianapolis), then returned to Deeply Rooted in 2006 as dance education director. During this time, she began deepening her choreographic voice, creating and later setting works including Nine, Dounia, and Femme for the main and second companies. She was appointed to the Artistic Team in 2013 and became artistic director in 2019. Her recent choreography for the company includes Until Lambs Become Lions (2014), Forces (2018), Madonna Anno Domini (2022), and her work on the choreographic teams for GOSHEN (2021) and the conceptualization of Q After Dark (2022). She also was an adjunct professor at Northwestern University. She lives in Skokie, Illinois.

Premiering in 1996, Deeply Rooted Dance Theater reimagines and diversifies the aesthetics of contemporary dance by uniting modern, classical, American, and African-American traditions in dance and storytelling. Through its uncompromising pursuit of excellence, Deeply Rooted demonstrates the transformative power of art and beauty through dance education, performance, and cultural enrichment in Chicago and on the world stage. Deeply Rooted is rooted in traditions of American and African-American dance, storytelling, and universal themes that spark a visceral experience and ignite an emotional response in diverse audiences worldwide. Deeply Rooted collaborates with nationally renowned choreographers, across the spectrum of modern, ballet, and African dance, to reflect contemporary voices. For information, visit deeplyrooteddancetheater.org.

Deeply Rooted's programs are partially sponsored or supported by African American Legacy at the Chicago Community Foundation, Allstate, Alphawood Foundation Chicago, The Arts Work Fund and Smart Growth program of the Chicago Community Trust, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Builder's Initiative Foundation, Building Collective Power - Voice program of the Chicago Community Trust, Chicago Black Dance Legacy Project funded by Doris Duke Charitable Fund and The Mellon Foundation and The Walder Foundation, Chicago Community Trust Sponsorship, Chicago Park District's Night Out in the Parks Program, Chicago's Cultural Treasures, CityArts Grant from the City of Chicago's Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, Crown Family Philanthropies, Pamela Crutchfield, Enterprise Holdings Foundation, The Field Foundation of Illinois, Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, Ginger Farley Charitable Fund at the Chicago Community Foundation, Illinois Arts Council Agency, The International Association of Blacks in Dance, Irving Harris Foundation, The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, John G. Palfrey and Catherine A. Carter Family Fund, Lloyd A. Fry Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, The Polk Bros. Foundation, Pritzker Traubert Foundation, The Reva and David Logan Foundation, The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation, The Shubert Foundation, U.S. Bank, Walder Foundation, The Weasel Fund, and Deeply Rooted Family of Friends.