“The Artist” is a solo showcase performed by artistic director/choreographer Darrius Strong, in which he touches on layers and humanity of the person behind the artist. For Strong, movement is real and it acts as a language and sometimes as a therapeutic device. Overlapped with movement phrases, “The Artist” will also showcase other routine devices he uses throughout his day that tie to the continuous work he does to heal trauma in his body — aspects of the work that are very much read, true, and relatable to the human experience for many. We are not just one-sides, but we have many layers and dimensions to our identity.

This piece is a work in progress that Strong plans to explore and evolve throughout the year.

Darrius Strong is a McKnight Fellow in residency at Crosstown Arts. He is a Twin Cities-based dancer, choreographer, and instructor. His dance company, STRONGmovement, uses the universal language of dance, blending styles such as hip hop, ballet, modern, and West African to tell stories related to society and humanity. Strong is a graduate of the University of Minnesota (BFA 2015) and is currently faculty at St. Paul Conservatory Performing Arts High School and director of the hip hop program at Eleve Performing Arts Center, where he focuses on teaching dancers how to connect their identity to movement. His creative work has been chosen for the Walker Art Center’s Choreographers Evening, and Rhythmically Speaking.

This residency is supported by Artist Communities Alliance’s (ACA) McKnight Artist Residencies Consortium. This partnership between ACA and the McKnight Foundation supports selected residency program partners in developing fair and just policies, and provides McKnight Artist Fellows with residency opportunities at these partner programs. This consortium aims to support the development of residency environments where any artist can thrive.