WCT STAFF
Walltown Children's Theatre Founding Artistic Director/ Executive Director
I am an established arts educator with more than thirty years of experience and an alumna of The North Carolina School of the Arts (renamed, The University of North Carolina School of the Arts - UNCSA) with a degree in Modern Dance. My passion for dance was realized at a very young age; I am the product of a summer arts program that came to my rural community, Mt. Airy, North Carolina. After a six-week summer program in the late sixties, I left home at age fourteen to study dance professionally at the North Carolina School of the Arts and received extensive training to become a dancer of the world-renowned Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre. I have performed with other great companies such as The Joffrey Ballet, Agnes de Mille Heritage Dance Theatre, DanzaHoy, and Bella Lewitzky. I have worked with the MacArthur Award legendary genius, Jacques d’Amboise of the National Dance Institute in New York City, the New Jersey school system, and the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.
After a successful concert dance career, my dream of developing as an artist in a Latin-American country came true when I had the opportunity to teach in Caracas, Venezuela. There, I served as resident choreographer for Radio Caracas TV and opened the Cynthia Jazz Center. My teaching and choreography have taken me to Japan, France, Switzerland, Morocco and back to the “Big Apple,” New York City.
Back in the United States, I knew I wanted to work with under-served youth. I could relate very well to what a community-based arts program could do for the life of a child. My commitment to giving back gave conception to Walltown Children’s Theatre (WCT) in 2000. My ‘Art-Reach’ began in a small, predominately African American community in Durham and has extended throughout the state with educational shows, workshops, academic tutoring, and community outreach. This outreach has led to community partnerships including the following: the Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina’s “Summer Kids Feeding,” Duke University Office of Community Affairs’ “Doing Good in The Community,” Triangle Community Foundation’s “Send A Kid to Camp,” the Durham Arts Council, and The Neighborhood Improvement Services of Durham.
Walltown Children’s Theatre (WCT) inspires positive social change by developing and reconnecting diverse, under-served youth in Walltown and the surrounding communities through quality performing arts programming, after-school academic tutoring, and collaborative leadership opportunities. We are known for our exemplary programming and socio-economical diversity. WCT benefits youth of all backgrounds by exposing them to the very best training in theatre, dance, acting, fencing, guitar, and piano. WCT renews hope for all children but especially for those who live with severe home conditions: lack of income, incarcerated parents, parents living with HIV/AIDS, etc. Thus, some of WCT’s artistic productions have been aimed at issues affecting children—real-life issues such as teen violence. Other material includes classics such as William Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” in Spanish and Unity: A Tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
In addition to my work at Walltown Children’s Theatre, I also served for over 18 years as adjunct faculty in the drama program at the University North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA) until 2015.
I was Co-Director at WCT from its inception in 2000 to 2010, when I became the full-time Executive Director.
I am honored to be the recipient of several awards that have recognized my work as an arts educator and community leader. I have received outstanding awards from the Kennedy Center and was named Miss North Carolina’s Woman of the Year in 1998. I have received the Ten Year Recognition Award from UNCSA. The Triangle Community Foundation awarded me the Kathryn H. Wallace Award for Artists in Community Service, an award given annually to recognize an individual who has made a significant contribution to the Triangle community. In 2014, I was Woman of the Year by Spectacular Magazine, Z Smith Reynolds 2015 Sabbatical award, and was also honored with the Cultural Enrichment Service Award by the W. Deen Mohammed Islamic Center. I currently serve as an advisory board member to the City Council and the City Manager on the Durham Cultural Advisory Board
I am an established arts educator with more than thirty years of experience and an alumna of The North Carolina School of the Arts (renamed, The University of North Carolina School of the Arts - UNCSA) with a degree in Modern Dance. My passion for dance was realized at a very young age; I am the product of a summer arts program that came to my rural community, Mt. Airy, North Carolina. After a six-week summer program in the late sixties, I left home at age fourteen to study dance professionally at the North Carolina School of the Arts and received extensive training to become a dancer of the world-renowned Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre. I have performed with other great companies such as The Joffrey Ballet, Agnes de Mille Heritage Dance Theatre, DanzaHoy, and Bella Lewitzky. I have worked with the MacArthur Award legendary genius, Jacques d’Amboise of the National Dance Institute in New York City, the New Jersey school system, and the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.
After a successful concert dance career, my dream of developing as an artist in a Latin-American country came true when I had the opportunity to teach in Caracas, Venezuela. There, I served as resident choreographer for Radio Caracas TV and opened the Cynthia Jazz Center. My teaching and choreography have taken me to Japan, France, Switzerland, Morocco and back to the “Big Apple,” New York City.
Back in the United States, I knew I wanted to work with under-served youth. I could relate very well to what a community-based arts program could do for the life of a child. My commitment to giving back gave conception to Walltown Children’s Theatre (WCT) in 2000. My ‘Art-Reach’ began in a small, predominately African American community in Durham and has extended throughout the state with educational shows, workshops, academic tutoring, and community outreach. This outreach has led to community partnerships including the following: the Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina’s “Summer Kids Feeding,” Duke University Office of Community Affairs’ “Doing Good in The Community,” Triangle Community Foundation’s “Send A Kid to Camp,” the Durham Arts Council, and The Neighborhood Improvement Services of Durham.
Walltown Children’s Theatre (WCT) inspires positive social change by developing and reconnecting diverse, under-served youth in Walltown and the surrounding communities through quality performing arts programming, after-school academic tutoring, and collaborative leadership opportunities. We are known for our exemplary programming and socio-economical diversity. WCT benefits youth of all backgrounds by exposing them to the very best training in theatre, dance, acting, fencing, guitar, and piano. WCT renews hope for all children but especially for those who live with severe home conditions: lack of income, incarcerated parents, parents living with HIV/AIDS, etc. Thus, some of WCT’s artistic productions have been aimed at issues affecting children—real-life issues such as teen violence. Other material includes classics such as William Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” in Spanish and Unity: A Tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
In addition to my work at Walltown Children’s Theatre, I also served for over 18 years as adjunct faculty in the drama program at the University North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA) until 2015.
I was Co-Director at WCT from its inception in 2000 to 2010, when I became the full-time Executive Director.
I am honored to be the recipient of several awards that have recognized my work as an arts educator and community leader. I have received outstanding awards from the Kennedy Center and was named Miss North Carolina’s Woman of the Year in 1998. I have received the Ten Year Recognition Award from UNCSA. The Triangle Community Foundation awarded me the Kathryn H. Wallace Award for Artists in Community Service, an award given annually to recognize an individual who has made a significant contribution to the Triangle community. In 2014, I was Woman of the Year by Spectacular Magazine, Z Smith Reynolds 2015 Sabbatical award, and was also honored with the Cultural Enrichment Service Award by the W. Deen Mohammed Islamic Center. I currently serve as an advisory board member to the City Council and the City Manager on the Durham Cultural Advisory Board