About Tracie Marie

A captivating dancer, actor, choreographer, director and spoken word artist, who believes in the power of individualism and creativity, born and raised in Baltimore Maryland, where she begin her training at the Baltimore School for the Arts, with a host of inspiring instructors, that included Sylvester Campbell and Stephanie Powell. She continued her dance and theatre training at Catonsville Community College, Studio 801, Morton Street Dance Studio, Towson State University and Coppin State… more

"FROM THE MISSISSIPPI DELTA

THIS PRODUCTION WAS FEATURED FOR THE 2011-12 THEATRE SEASON AT COPPIN STATE UNIVERSITY. As a member of the cast, I was able to use my skill set not only as an actor, but also a singer and dancer, and was happy to take this production on the road when we were invited to the Kennedy Center National College Theatre Festival. I have included a brief description of the play: Drama. By Dr. Endesha Ida Mae Holland.
Cast: 3w. (Each of the three women will play multiple roles.) The journey begins in Greenwood, Mississippi—the Delta. "In my Delta town, some black girls aspired to become the woman—the mistress of some wealthy white man. But the darker ones—like me—could make it by going to the cottonfields, working from sun to sun, for just about three dollars a day," laments Phelia (Holland's alter-ego). It is those and other dreadful experiences that inspire her to dream far beyond the funny-paper walls in her drafty shotgun house in Dixie Lane Alley. Phelia's mother, Aint Baby, is a powerful influence. A midwife who delivers babies of poor black and white women, she also rents out rooms to prostitutes, as a way "t' make a livin' for me an' my chulluns." On her 11th birthday, Phelia's childhood is brutally stolen from her by a white man. Not even Aint Baby can protect her from white people, nor remove the sickening taste of shame. Phelia plots a series of escapes. After the rape, she attempts to join a minstrel show as an exotic dancer, astounding the male audience with her "special" skill, but the plan is quickly thwarted. At the age of 12, Phelia is a prostitute and a thief. At 14 she has quit school and spent time in jail, and by 16, she is an unwed mother. Then the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) comes to town, and Phelia is swept into the momentum of the civil rights movement. Tragically, Aint Baby is killed when her house is firebombed, and a heartbroken, but determined Phelia goes off to meet her destiny in the North. There she finds herself lured into the neon world of pimps, junkies and whores. Amazingly, she is encouraged and supported by a community of civil rights workers, friends and her "street family" to attend college. The journey ends, 20 years later, as Phelia "buck-dances" across the stage at the University of Minnesota to accept her Ph.D. Inspired by Alice Walker's poem "Revolutionary Petunias," the play closes with an emotional tribute to unsung black "sheroes"—extraordinary, ordinary women who are the backbone of the African-American community. Single flexible set. Approximate running time: 2 hours.
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"LOVE ME GOOD" VIDEO

It was an honor to receive the invitation to be choreographer and lead dancer for Baltimore's own, grammy-nominated artist Maysa's latest video "Love Me Good" The director Keston De Couteau is also one of Baltimore's great artist. This video was shot in Baltimore's gem, The Eubie Blake National Jazz Institute and Cultural Center.
  • Maysa "Love Me Good" (part 1 of Blue Velvet Soul)
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SKITTLES AND SWEET TEA: A CHOREOPOEM FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE

Tracie Jiggetts served as co-writer and director for this awe inspiring production. The cast included over 50 students from grades 6 through 12. This choreopoem used poetry, dialogue, dance and music, to give the audience the young people's perspective on the recent mass school shootings, the Trayvon Martin case and the rise of youth violence in Baltimore city. Under Ms. Jiggetts' guide the young artist were able to not only highlight the problems, but also highlight solutions. This production was truly a labor of love.
  • Skittles and Sweet Tea Commercial
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SPOKEN WORD/ DANCE PERFORMANCE

This performance was a part of the StoryTellers series at the Eubie Blake Center. Here I presented a poem from the play "Belly of Woman" written by Margaret Locklear. Then I close with a dance featuring my choreography to Nina Simone's "Strange Fruit"
  • Tracie Jiggetts performs a piece from "Belly of a woman" @ 11/15/09 Storytellers
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SPIKE LEE TRIBUTE AT CREATIVE ALLIANCE

The crème de la crème of B’more’s African-American performance community pay tribute to the most influential black filmmaker ever with music, performance, and more. The accomplished actors of playwright Rosiland Cauthen’s Kuumba Artists re-enact a scene from Spike’s work and include an interactive element with the audience. For this production I was a featured actor and dancer!
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NINA SIMONE TRIBUTE AT CREATIVE ALLIANCE

Director Rosiland Cauthen explores Nina’s profound influence with a group of dynamic young companies and artist. I was featured as a dancer presenting original choreography to Nina Simone's "Sinnerman"
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