Dancing into a new era
Collage performs new digital season from larger building
After finishing ballet exercises at the barre, dancers typically move to the center of the studio to perfect different combinations of the turns, kicks and jumps they might wow an audience with on stage. At Collage Dance Collective’s former building in Binghampton, dancers would maximize the small studio space by doing those combinations in circles or zig-zagging patterns.
“Some of us, we can literally do one jump and make it from one end to the other in the old building. Now, that is literally impossible,” company dancer Rickey Flagg II said while describing the new building.
Situated at the corner of Tillman Street and Sam Cooper Bou
levard, Collage Dance Collective’s new home at once provides more studio space and, hopefully, invites more people in Binghampton and around Memphis to engage with ballet as an art form, executive director Marcel
lus Harper said.
The company is just under $2 million shy of meeting its $11 million fundraising goal for the building, which, at 22,000
“What really makes me emotional is that this building, I think, will hopefully affirm for these (Black) kids, that they are worthy, that their potential matters ... and that the community thinks highly enough of them to provide them with the space that their counterparts down the street have.”
Marcellus Harper Collage Dance Collective executive director
square feet, is 10 times as spacious as the old building — and makes Collage the largest Black-owned dance company in the South. Instead of two small studios, the new building has five, some with large windows opening out to the street. There’s an administrative space, parent lounge and resource center, boutique, physical therapy suite and multiple dressing rooms.
Over the last decade of its existence, Collage has operated out of churches and high school spaces and, most recently, the small space off of Broad Avenue. A focus on providing more access to Memphis’ Black children will mean that the majority of Memphis’ population will be able to see themselves in a fine art form where they have been historically underrepresented.
“What really makes me emotional is that this building, I think, will hopefully affirm for these (Black) kids, that they are worthy, that their potential matters ... and that the community thinks highly enough of them to provide them with the space that their counterparts down the street have as well,” Harper said.
The building is meant to inspire growth and diversity in ballet, Harper said, an art form that has faced constant criticism for failing to meaningfully address its diversity issue. A ballet studio in a majority-black neighborhood should feel welcoming to Black people, who may not always feel that ballet is for them, Harper said. During construction, he wanted warm textures and colors to create a sense of belonging, for the building “to feel regal and majestic, but not European and elitist,” he said.
While strides have been made and some conversations accelerated by the protest-inspired racial reckonings this summer, it can only go so far if root problems aren’t addressed, Harper said. While cost of ballet is one thing, if people don’t know how to appreciate it or don’t feel represented, it may not matter how low-priced tickets are. Harper views Collage’s role as one that can propel ballet out of an insular dance world and toward a world that encourages broad engagement and participation.
Though Harper didn’t grow up a dancer, he fell in love with it by meeting dancers himself and seeing how they adopted the discipline of ballet in other aspects of their lives. The imagery that Collage has created keeps him involved
in the work, he said.
“I also feel very strongly about imagery, and the power of imagery to really influence and change young people’s minds about how they see themselves and others ... So I love being part of something so powerful that is positive,”
Harper said.
Amor Williams, 15, has been a student at Collage since she was 5 years old. Some people, she said, think that ballet is “strictly for one person.” She described the “great opportunity” that Collage has made for Black ballet dancers like herself, and for her male classmates. Educating people about ballet’s impact is important, and the new building is a step toward doing that.
“I get to move more. I get to grow my craft even more. I get to grow as a better dancer, as a better ballerina ... It will bring a lot of opportunities not just to me, but for everybody who gets to visit the dance studio and take classes at the dance studio,” she said.
Not many arts organizations have had the chance to embrace positive change over the last year, Flagg, the professional company dancer, said. Although the company dancers were on a longer break this summer, they’re performing now.
This year, the company is moving digitally, and some works will be broadcast on WREG in December and again in February and April, Harper said. That means in December, the company’s variation of Swan Lake will be able to reach Memphians who might not have seen ballet before.
The company is also launching an $11-per-month digital membership that includes performances and behind-thescenes footage, including interviews with dancers and short dance films. Having already launched the campaign for the new building and beginning to plan for filming performances positioned the company well for the pandemic, Harper explained.
Dancing for dedicated people like Harper and artistic director Kevin Thomas is a source of pride for Flagg.
“Every time, without fail, they always come through. They show up and show out. So I’m so proud to be a part of an organization like that, you know,” Flagg said. “And not only that, but all of that, during this pandemic — that is amazing. Businesses are shutting down. And here we are, we are coming up.”
Laura Testino covers education and children’s issues for the Commercial Appeal. Reach her at laura.testino@ commercialappeal.com or 901-512-3763. Find her on Twitter: @Ldtestino