T.LANG DANCE Strategic Plan
WWW.TLANGDANCE.COM
Introduction T. Lang Dance, is dedicated to exposing the arts and emerging communities to the creative impact and genius of dance.
T.LANG DANCE About the company
T. Lang Dance, an Atlanta based dance company, performs original provocative works created by artistic director and choreographer, T. Lang. Founded in 2012, Lang relocated T. Lang Dance from New York City to Atlanta; continuing to develop, direct, and produce high-impact work that blends traditional and experimental contemporary movement. T. Lang Dance delves deeply into American history and its avoided complexities - investigating and excavating untold truths of identity and community. Envisioning choreography in which dance and technology are interdependent, Lang collaborates with forward thinking composers, visual artists and engineers to create interactive and responsive virtual environments like no other.
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Mission Vision Mission Statement Established in 2012, T. Lang Dance, an Atlanta based dance company, performs poetic expression of dance created by T. Lang, which illustrates deep, arousing investigations relevant to issues of identity, history and community. Vision Through the vehicle of modern dance, Lang's work communicates uniquely creative perspectives with depth and a movement style that captures the attention of the viewer with its evocative physicality, technical range and emotional viability. Each conceptual work takes the audience into an immersive artistic journeys with narratives that unflinchingly address the complexities of human emotion. T. Lang Dance is committed to collaborating with multi discipline artists that intersect arts, technology and design. This commitment expands the lens of contemporary performance by taking experimental risks in production and educating young artists to understand the evolution of collaboration through the intentional blending of art and technology.
Spotlight
T.LANG DANCE
T. Lang Dance is committed to bestowing the arts community in Atlanta with quality and substantial works that encourage and dig for authenticity and truth in movement.
Founder and Artistic Director of T. Lang Dance, is dedicated to exposing the arts and emerging communities to the creative impact and genius of dance. Lang earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts in performance and choreography from the University of Illinois (Urbana-Champaign) and her Masters of Fine Arts in performance and choreography from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. In the early part of her career, Lang danced with the Metropolitan Opera Ballet and Marlies Yearby’s Movin’ Spirits Dance Theater. In 2008, Lang relocated T. Lang Dance from New York City to Atlanta. She continues to develop, direct, and produce high-impact work that blends traditional and experimental contemporary movement. In 2011, T. Lang was commissioned to create a work in
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T. Lang Founder Artistic Director collaboration with Grammy award winning artists Sweet Honey in the Rock. This work, 4 Little Girls, was presented at the Gala Concert during the historic unveiling of the King Monument in Washington, DC. The following year (2012), her work M O T H E R/ M U T H A was presented at Atlanta’s Goat Farm Arts Center. Creative Loafing and Arts America called this work a “powerfully thought provoking… masterfully blended work” of “unsettling genius.” M O TH E R/ M U T H A delves deeply into the complexities of American history. It thoroughly examines the origin of objectifying African American women, a topic rarely examined so vividly and honestly through the lens of dance. In 2014, High Museum of Art and Goat Farm Arts Center produced Lang’s Post Up. Post Up pushes the boundaries of dance to create a multi-media
experience of rich audio and visual adventure. T. Lang Dance also worked on a new collaborative project, Doxology Ring Shout, with American playwright Paul Carter Harrison and choreographer Dianne McIntyre for the 2014 National Black Arts Festival. Lang began her 2015 season with a commission from Flux Projects for a collaboration with visual artist, Nick Cave. Nick Cave's Up Right Atlanta in collaboration with T. Lang was presented at Ponce City Market. Assistant Professor in Dance, Director of Spelman Dance Theatre at Spelman College, and founder of SWEATSHOP, the Atlanta summer dance intensive, Lang stays engaged with the next generation of artists. Lang has been on faculty at the American Dance Festival since 2013.
Artistic Statement & Influences I am a woman who reflects on her childhood like one searching for answers to the future. Let me draw the picture: I grew up in middle America where I lived in a homogeneous community in a two parent household where it was filled with immense love, security, laughter and lessons. My maternal grandparents were successful entrepreneurs in the deep south. Their love, commitment, support for each other was displayed every single day until my grandmother departed. I would listen to many conversations around the dinner table about everything from their new business strategies to issues of colorism that my grandparents had to deal with growing up, to stories of the effects of jim crow and how their resilience carried them through America's terror. My maternal grandparents taught me about spirituality and the benefits of being connected to a stronger presence. My paternal grandparents lived deeper in the south on our family farm, where they worked sun up to sun down to ensure that all 8 of their children would live the life of their dreams. They were pillars in their small rural community. They were generous to others, though I could never figure out how they could manage maintaining their land, providing for their family and being of service to their neighbors. At their table I would hear horror stories of injustice followed by "children leave the table‌" as my aunts and uncles continued to reminisce. Somehow, through the painful and complicated conversations, I would always hear laughter. It could be possible that laughter covered the pain and the reality that the unresolved suffering left for my generation was our responsibility to heal. My parents who were educators taught me the value and legacy of our family's history. I grew up always asking my parents detailed questions about their childhood, personal questions that went beyond knowing the history/legacy, but ,I was more interested in learning how they handled life emotionally. I was always curious to learn what connects me emotionally or rather learn of our similar behavioral traits and the emotional connections that I share with my family's past encounters. I would often sit in my parents' office and watch them gather research for their lectures. When they hosted gatherings with their colleagues discussing hot topics of the day, I would sit at the top of the stairs pretending to be apart of the conversation! I fondly remember nightly dance improvisations sessions while my father played the piano and my mother gracefully reclined. I would watch them deliver eloquent speeches that had the same tone when they would read stories to me and and my sister at bedtime or at the kitchen table. They were brilliant storytellers who continued to use this creative delivery inside their conservative careers. Their love for each other and for us was felt, affirmed and delivered daily. I needed this affirmation since growing up in my community, though I was "popular" I experienced a sense of not belonging because I didn't look, speak, carry myself in a manner that made others feel "comfortable". I too was made to feel like an outsider‌.the other other. Perhaps, I am compelled to create works that uncover untold stories of American history. By doing this, I am allowing the "other other" to see reflections inside an alternative perspective. Moreover, it is only natural that I contribute works that investigate identity, history and community. These stories and experiences are a part of America's intricately complex fabric which provides insight to ideas that I cherish and celebrate. Furthermore, the inspiration to create works with soul and depth are therapeutic encounters for my mind and body. These empowering experiences from childhood memories are healing influences that I hold dear. They assist me with capturing the new experiences created for T.Lang Dance.
REPERTORY
T. Lang Dance produces high-impact work that blends traditional and experimental contemporary movement.
T.LANG DANCE REPERTORY HIGHLIGHTS
MOTHER/MUTHA Delving deep into the complexities of American history. Stripping away the veil of shame, Mother/ Mutha reveals the raw emotion and endurance of African women who were forced against their will to breed slaves. This work research literature of the courageous Harriet Jacobs, the sinister Willie Lynch, and the images of the audacious Kara Walker to reveal the unspoken pain and fortitude of the atrocious act of capitalism and power and the haunting affects on the families. This story, masterfully blended, thoroughly examines the origin of objectifying African American women, some known to us all, but seldom examined so vividly and honestly through the lens of dance. • 60 minute, 12 dancers, 2 singers, video projection •
POST UP
4 -Part Series
A Dance, Music and Digital Collaboration Post Up, presented by T. Lang Dance as visual storytelling through movement and technology, derived from the desire to reconnect with love once lost. Inspired by the literature of Heather Williams’ Help Me Find My People, which explores the custom of newly freed men and women who posted ads in publications announcing their search for a lost loved one - T. Lang’s Post Up series puts a lens on the journey and complexities of reunification. From Post Up to Post Up in the House to LIT, these works evolve to investigate the ritual of searching through movement prayers for love tending towards self-destruction. Post is the final installation of this journey where the love letter, the ad has been answered - love has been found. The Post Up 4-part series is revealed in the following iterations: •
Post Up - Following multi-generational, uncensored conversations on love and personal diary entries that beg for the return of a deceased loved one, this work investigates the search for love lost. ◦ 40 Minutes, 9 Dancers, Interactive video
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Post Up in the House - First presented by the High Museum of Art, performed as a visual installation within the Mi Casa, Your Casa public art exhibition, created by contemporary designers Héctor Esrawe and Ignacio Cadena, this work explores the delicate balance of sanity, reality and the private unseen prayers of searching hearts, ◦ Site Specific, 30 Minutes, 6 Dancers, Live Music, Interactive LED Lighting
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LIT Variations #1 - #10 - This work explores investigative trails and obstacles endured to successfully reunite. LIT Variations is a migration work that performed in 10 variations throughout the city of Atlanta. Each variation was reconfigured in staging, music scores and intentionality within choreography. Variation #1-10, 18 Minutes, 7 Dancers •
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Post - Through entangled aggressive movements to staggeringly tender moments, this final work explores the familiar complexities of rediscovery as the search for love ends to only begin again. ◦ 40 Minutes, 6 Dancers, Hologram Interactives, 3D Mapping
T.LANG DANCE PROGRAMS
Through creative collaboration, mentorships and direct dance education, T. Lang Dance is committed to cultivating the next generation of artists.
T. Lang Dance
Programming in Communities T. Lang’s SWEATSHOP Summer Dance Intensive A week long dance intensive for pre-professionals and professionals entering and in the field of concert dance. T. Lang’s SWEATSHOP SUMMER DANCE INTENSIVE, provides the opportunity for the dancing professionals to hone their progressive physicality in contemporary modern at an affordable rate. T. Lang’s SWEATSHOP SUMMER DANCE INTENSIVE explores the mechanics, journey and process of new experimental movement in urban contemporary modern. Technique Class Drawing from sophisticated contemporary modern technique this class blends urban movement forming a unique style and approach. Focusing on core
strength, velocity along with suppleness this class applies from repertory, improvisation, and personal experiences allowing the dancer to demonstrate complex movement sequences with intelligence and artistic expression. Composition Class Storytelling, exploration strategies and improvisatory investigations are used to generate movement and phrases. Choreography will then be deconstructed, dissected and detected, allowing the choreographer to pinpoint and reveal their true authentic voice. This composition class challenges and guides the choreographer into unleashing their imagination; creating juxtapositions of the mind and body that stirs the soul.
Envisioning the future
STRATEGIC PLAN
T. Lang Dance is at a pivotal moment….
T. Lang Dance has many reasons to celebrate its growth. 2015 proved to be the company's breakout year with increased visibility through performances, teaching and creation schedules. We are pleased to share with you our highlights. • Sweatshop, the T. Lang Dance summer dance intensive established a home at the Goat Farm Arts Center in 2015. T.Lang Dance technique was taught to 40 students, a welcome increase of students participants that traveled to Atlanta from the south and east coast regions.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
• Presented by Flux Projects , 2015 saw a curated collaboration between T.Lang Dance and Nick Cave on the world premiere work, UpRight Atlanta. This program was performed in the newly renovated Ponce City Market 7 times reaching 7,000 audience members. • The premiere of LIT Variations performed in ten alternative venues and continued the company's collaborative spirit with sculptural interactive artist, Rebecca Makkus for Creative Loafing's Best of Atlanta Block Party. • Students from the American Dance Festival studied under T. Lang for six weeks at Duke University and performed the second variation of LIT. • While an Artist-in-Residence at Temple University Lang was invited to present her research on her work, Mother/ Mutha, to Spelman College's Ida B. Wells Distinguished Lecture Series. As a result of the company's hard work and commitment from T. Lang Dance's artistic staff, board and the generosity of our financial supporters, 2016 will prove to be one of the company’s most ambitious seasons to date, launching with a commission from the High Museum of Art for the Jean-Michel Basquiat, The Forgotten Notebook exhibition. T. Lang's new work POST will premiere in fall 2016 and will be in collaboration with digital media engineers Ph.D candidates from Georgia Institute of Technology.
T Lang Dance takes the audience into immersive artistic journeys with narratives that unflinchingly address the complexities of human emotion.
3-YEAR PROJECTION
3-year projection 2016 • Establish a temporary home for the company • Employ at least 5 dancers • Employ 1 part-time administrator • Launch fundraising campaign • Establish 501c3 status • Establish T.Lang Dance as a contemporary dance resource in Atlanta and beyond 2017 • Build fully functioning Board of Directors • Establish governing polices • Establish a community of private donors • Attract public and private sponsors and grants • Employ 1 full-time Managing Director, 1 parttime Company Manager, 1 part-time administrative assistant • Maintain professional services with a marketing firm and development consultant 2018 • Pay a salary to the Artistic Director • Establish a permanent home for company Envisioning choreography in which dance and technology are interdependent
ENVISIONING THE FUTURE
LONGTERM GOALS • To establish T. Lang’s repertory for company. Seek extraordinary and fearless technical and organic dancers, pushing the aesthetic of arts and culture; • Become a documented choreographer known as a pioneer whose technique is studied and shared; • To strategically present work fully produced by prestigious venues in the Atlanta area;
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• To establish T. Lang Dance as the company to perform choreographic works by T. Lang, for the enhancement of vendors by creating new work through collaboration with new artists, engineers, media, and design teams which focuses on the integration of motion and technology; • To attract commissions from major arts organizations and presenters from across the country including invitations to collaborate on large scale projects; • To impact the field in and beyond Atlanta, serving at the forefront of driving the arts renaissance taking place in the area; • To become a thriving business with salaried positions, an effective board of directors, extensive portfolio of creative resources with a financially sound and sustainable annual operating budget.
2015 20 performances 4 commissions 5 collaborations with multi discipline artists 2 dance intensives 140 students learning T. Lang Dance repertory, composition and technique 7 dancers employed by T. Lang Dance for the year 10,000+ attendees
MILESTONES
MILESTONES
RECENT HIGHLIGHTS • Goat Farm Arts Center - performances of Post Up • 5th Annual Sweatshop Summer Dance Festival • American Dance Festival - excerpt performance of Post Up in the House • National Black Arts Festival performance of Doxology, NEA Funded project presented in partnership with Spelman College • High Museum of Art | Mi Casa, Your Casa - commission of Post Up in the House • Hosting of Urban Bush Women at Spelman College • American Dance Festival | Faculty • Flux Projects - Choreography of visual artist, Nick Cave’s UpRight Atlanta performance at Ponce City Market • Commission of LIT for the High Museum of Art | Los Trompos installation • Spelman College Women’s Studies Program - Lecture and performance of Mother | Mutha excerpt • Technology collaboration with GATech for new work, POST • Preview event at private home of visual artist, Radcliffe Bailey • Featured in Best of Atlanta, curated by the Goat Farm for Creative Loafing • Final installation of LIT featured in Elevate Atl, curated by artist Fahamu Pecou • Temple University's Dance Department |Artist-in-Resident
“One would be hard pressed to find an Atlanta-based choreographer less afraid to put raw emotion on stage than T. Lang, “ ArtsATL
At this pivotal moment‌.. In 2008, Lang relocated T. Lang Dance from New York City to Atlanta to establish T. Lang Dance through which she continues to develop, direct, and produce high-impact work that blends traditional and experimental contemporary movement. The company is a privately owned for profit business entity operating independently and often in partnership with such presenting organizations as Spelman College, the High Museum of Art and the National Black Arts Festival while receiving creative and technical support from such organizations as the Goat Farm Atlanta and Georgia Institute of Technology. The primary source of revenue for T.Lang Dance comes from tickets sales, commissions and artistic fees. The company will apply for its non-profit status in 2016 in order to secure its position in the market as a fundable entity. This effort made by the board of directors, will launch T. Lang Dance into its next phase of fundraising, organizational development and artistic sustainability. Fiscal Sponsorship Through a strategic partnership with C4 Atlanta as a fiscal sponsor, currently T.Lang Dance is able to invite private donations and apply for public funding. Sweatshop Sweatshop is a privately owned for profit entity which operates separately but in partnership with T. Lang Dance, offering professional development classes, workshops and dance intensives. While T. Lang Dance Company seeks to establish its nonprofit status, it will continue to maintain Sweatshop as its for profit arm.
ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE
ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE
MARKETING
1773 Facebook followers 736 Twitter followers 1766 Instagram followers 4000+ Mailing list members 17 Direct e-blasts in 2015
Financial Plan Through commissions, workshops, residencies and artistic presentation, T.Lang Dance has since its inception been able to employ scores of artists while educating the next generation of dance professionals. Each opportunity has served as a resource for funding to execute a biannual project and complementing year-round programming. By establishing its 501c3 status, T. Lang Dance anticipates being able to apply for general operating support and artistic assistance grants. This will enable the Company to employ a company manager, a marketing firm (contract), a Development Consultant (contract) and a Managing Director. These roles have been determined as key to moving the company forward in creating sustainability. Additionally, T.Lang Dance has been invited to establish its permanent residence in the Goat Farm’s newly establish location (see Strategic Partnerships). This location will create a stream of rental income and establish the company as a viable source for artistic presentations in the city. By establishing its home, T.Lang Dance anticipates being to expand its workshop offerings to include a Winner and Summer intensive. The Company will also lease the space to students for teaching where the Company will retain partial income from tuitions gained. T. Lang Dance has established the following fundraising goals and objectives. • Establish a strong and growing culture of philanthropy that creates unique fundraising objectives • Develop and maintain consistent and engaging fundraising materials after each production based on our brand
• Increase ticket sales through visibility and market growth. • Develop a metric for tracking success of fundraising events and level of donors • Build a corporate support program. Attract and build brand relationships with critical corporate sponsors who support the vision of the organization.
FINANCIAL PLAN
• Launch and grow an annual campaign
2016 Financial Overview General Overview 2016 Earned Income
General Overview of 2016 Projected Expenses
EXPENCES
General Overview of 2016 Projected Expenses
General Operating $100,000 • Part-time Salaries & Contracts Artistic/Production : 60000 • Space Rental • Insurance Artistic/Production : 60000 Artistic/Production : 60000 Professional Services (Legal, CPA) •
Artistic/ Production $60,000
Artistic/Production : 60000
Artistic/Production $60,000 • Artist Fees (dancers, collaborators) lights, tech) • Engineering (sound,Artistic/Production : 60000 • Professional Staff Artistic/Production : 60000 • Costume Design • Equipment
General Operating $100,000
General Operatin
General Operatin
Gen
Gen
General Operating
Artistic/Production
General Overview 2016 Earned Income
General Operating
INCOME
Fundraising • Government/Foundations Grants • Corporate Sponsors • In-kind Contributions • Private Investors/Donors • Crowdfunding
Artistic/Production
General Overview 2016 Earned Income
$65,000
Artistic - Earned • Commissions • Residencies • Ticket Sales Artistic/Production : 65000 • Tuitions Artistic/Production : 65000 • Rental Income (sublease)
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General Overview 2016 Earned Income
General Operating Fundraising/ Development $100,000
Artistic : 350
Artistic/Production Artistic : 350
Artistic/ Production $65,00
$100,00 Development/Fundraising : 100000 Development/Fundraising : 100000
Artistic
Development/Fundraising
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Development/Fundraising : 100000
General Operating
Artistic/Production
A Space to Create It is the goal of T. Lang Dance to acquire physical space for its creative works in 2016.
This space will be the artistic home of the company and will include the following: •Rehearsal space for T. Lang Dance •Space to rent for the Atlanta dance community •Affordable live-work options for Atlanta artists •A performance Theater (seating at least 200) for creative presentations •Black Box Theater (seating at least 50) •Technology Lab The Board of Directors, and T. Lang, as Artistic Director, will take the following steps towards this goal in 2016: •Continue to cultivate artistic support from the Goat Farm and interested financial investors, •Acquire temporary rehearsal space in the West End area convenient to the company’s needs and its target audience(s), •Confirm partnership with Spelman Dance Department as sub-leaser who would agree to build-out rehearsal space and commit to a 3 year term, •Create calendar of use which will include the Sweatshop dates as the premiere opening in Summer 2016 in order to attract other tenant clients •Research other commercial spaces and partnerships that would yield all desired components with a special interest in live-work options as affordable housing solutions for the Atlanta arts community with the goal of identifying a permanent creative space for the company by Spring 2017.
Strategic Partnerships POST: FUSING AFROFUTURIST CONTEMPORARY DANCE WITH ARTICIAL INTELLENGENCE TECHNOLOGIES Jessica Anderson and Mikhail Jacobs (Ph.D candidate digital media GA Tech)and T. Lang (Spelman College); Mark DiNatale (Goat Farm Arts Center) Post will be the first of its kind: the merging of contemporary dance and state-of-the-art techniques in artificial intelligence, yielding a space where dancers can perform with virtual artificially intelligent dancers and a digitally-augmented responsive environment for performance. Post is set inside a large geodesic dome installation that creates a 3D shadow theater space that will also remain as an installation for the public. Post is the 4th and final movement of T. Lang Dance’s interdisciplinary and collaborative work, Post Up. All four movements have masterfully blended entry points of creative exploration by intersecting dance, technology and afrofuturism. These forms experiment with reimagining and contextualizing historical references through an untapped yet curious lens for performance. Post explores the aftermath of reunification during America’s reconstruction era. This work investigates personal journeys on healing from lost memories while regaining new sense of resilience ignited by dreams. Post steps inside the power of kismet and the extreme spectrums adjusting to a new time and space. Through entangled aggressive movements to staggeringly tender moments, this final work explores the familiar complexities of rediscovery as the search for love ends to only begin again. Conceived and choreographed by T. Lang, the company collaborates with GA Tech’s Ph.D candidates, Digital Media Engineers, Jessica Anderson and Mikhail Jacobs along with visual artist, Hebru Brantley. Post Up series’ continues its collaboration with sound designer John Osburn. About the Goat Farm - the presenter The Goat Farm Arts Center is a hybrid project that assembles art, performance, science, design, and technology entities in developments that simultaneously operate as centers for contemporary art and performance. The center is housed in a 19th-century complex of industrial buildings and contains the studio space for over 450 artists, performers, designers, researchers, creative entities and small tech start-ups. The Goat Farm hosts classical and contemporary music concerts, traditional and experimental theatrical performances, film screenings, contemporary dance performances, art exhibitions, workshops, seminars and panel discussions. The Goat Farm joins forces with T. Lang Dance to repurpose one of Atlanta’s underused warehouse districts into an state of the arts multimedia arts center as the set design of POST along with the technology will also remain open to the public as an interactive art and design installation. The community will be encouraged to play inside the dome and feel the
Toi Pearson - Compay Manager Born and raised in Texas, Toi has been dancing for over 10 years. After receiving a Bachelors of Arts in Dance Performance from Texas Woman’s University in 2010, she started Box Dance Collective in Denton, TX. She has performed for talented Denton artists, and choreographed numerous pieces. She enjoys and relishes the creative process, believing it to be the most rewarding journey for a choreographer to discover her own thumbprint. She moved to Atlanta in October of 2011 drawn by the vibrancy of dance in the city and has since become engrossed in Scandal (on abc), and began creating an exciting network with other dance artists. In the fall of 2012 she began brainstorming ways to exercise her longing to see more choreography, and nourish budding choreographic talent. And so, BlabberMouthATL was born. In 2014 she joined T.Lang Dance as the Company Project Manager. Toi hopes to see BlabberMouthATL multiply the activity of the dance community and unify its members while helping Atlanta make dance history. She also continues to make her own work. Bang! Arts - Marketing and Promotions Firm - Deisha Millar (Board Member) Deisha Millar has been marketing, promoting, designing graphics, planning events for arts groups and small businesses for years before the realization hit that perhaps she needed to create a company based, around just that. Thus the birth of Bang!in February 2008. with a strong commitment to the artist and business communities, Deisha has a drive to open dialogues about the creativity of marketing and promotions, regardless of industry. As much as humanly possible and through Bang! , she strives to give back to her community(ies) through partnering with various arts groups, pro bono consultations and graphic design projects. Dana Lumpton - Company Advisor Dana Marie Lupton is the co-founder and Executive/Artistic Director of Moving in the Spirit, a nonprofit that serves Atlanta’s young people and creates compassionate leaders through the art of dance. Ms. Lupton studied at The American Dance Festival at Duke University and earned a degree in Business Administration from the University of Georgia. She has performed throughout the United States and Europe, and currently performs with Susan Eldridge’s company, DENSE.
MANAGEMENT
Staff
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Management & Organizational team
CONTACT: T.Lang@TLangDance.com P.O. Box 94644 Atlanta, Georgia 30318 (678) 597-8513
WWW.TLANGDANCE.COM Designed by visual artist, Charmaine Minniefield
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T.LANG DANCE
We are entering into one of our most ambitious seasons in 2016.