Ma Cong
Tulsa Ballet resident choreographer and principal dancer Ma Cong is one of three winners of the third annual Choreographers of Color Award, presented by the Joffrey Academy of Dance in Chicago.
Cong will receive a $2,500 stipend and will create a new work to be performed by students of the Joffrey Academy at a special performance on March 4, 2013.
The award was created, according to the Joffrey Academy’s press release, “to recognize promising minority choreographers whose diverse perspective will ignite creativity in the field of dance.”
Other recipients for this year’s award are William McClellan, former principal dancer and choreographer of the Dayton (Ohio) Contemporary Dance Company, and Jeremy McQueen, whose career includes stints in the national touring productions of “Wicked” and “The Color Purple.”
Ashley C. Wheater, artistic director of The Joffrey Ballet, said, “It is important that we actively seek and nurture these very talented choreographers. Dance in America is as rich and diverse as its people, and we are confident that Choreographers of Color will showcase some of our most creative spirits."
Cong, a member of Tulsa Ballet since 1999, has created works for Tulsa Ballet, Houston Ballet, Smuin Ballet in San Francisco, Ballet Met and Ballet Des Moines, among others. Richmond Ballet recently performed Cong’s “Ershter Vals” before a sold-out audience in the Linbury Studios of London’s Royal Opera House.
In 2006, Cong was named one of the “25 to Watch” by Dance Magazine for his dancing and choreography, and won the 21st Century Choreographic competition in 2008.
