Building the Next Generation of Dancers and Dance Lovers

A recent survey conducted by dance artist Karen Castleman looked at our region’s dance community. It identified a high level of interest in attending dance performances and documented that people are leaving NWA to attend dance performances in other cities, some as close as Little Rock and Tulsa.

While we at Walton Arts Center recognize the need to continue bringing world-class dance performances to the region, there’s also an opportunity to support the development of local dancers and dance organizations.

CONTRA-TIEMPO, a bold multi-lingual activist dance theater company, performed at Walton Arts Center in spring 2022. They also hosted a workshop for a dozen local dancers that was part dance instruction and part social activism training.

Walton Arts Center, with the help of NWA Movement Hub, sent four professional performers, CeCe Marie, Blake Worthey, Todd Belin and Garrett McCarty, to FUTURO spring workshop in Los Angeles in August so they could continue learning and growing.

Hosted by CONTRA-TIEMPO, this yearly two-week dance intensive teaches ancestral movement practices such as salsa, Afro-Cuban and hip hop. Along with learning new dance styles, students learned the history and meaning of each.

This group of Arkansas dancers, now known as Rooted Movement Collective, is the first to participate in Walton Arts Center’s Performing Artists Exchange. Local artists study with professionals in their field, and then they share what they learn with their local community through performances and workshops in schools and public spaces. This program invests in local artists and further develops dance opportunities in NWA.

During Black History Month in February, Rooted Movement Collective brought their Reclaiming Our Roots tour to 600 local middle and high school students. After performances, students engaged in interactive programs, including dance and history lessons on social dances of Afro-Caribbean and black culture.

Everyone benefits when dance thrives, and programs like Performing Artists Exchange pave the way for future performers and organizations.