The pandemic (Covid-19) has been a major disruption to life as we know it or knew it. Aspects of our lives have been in crisis, some to devastating ends. The arts were hit hard. Theaters and performance venues still have the 'ghostlight' on. In a moment of stillness, I considered my 'ghostlight' as an artist. What, where, and how would I move forward and continue to move a needle forward in the field. This gave me energy/gas to charge ahead with creative justice and inquiry to be productive and still do the important work and engage with communties and organizations with and through art.

Here are two major examples of artistic projects that flourished out of the pandemic- "Mugshots" and "Hands of Power".

"Mugshots" Project- 2020 DANZINC International Virtual Residency- Singapore

"Hands of Power" I wanted to consider the meaning of silver lining? Traced back to the writings of John Milton about a cloud’s silver lining, I admit I had no real knowledge of him nor his writing. But I did have a memory of my grandmother teaching me the power of making the best out of the ‘not so best’. In other words, ‘making a way out of no way’, as they would often say in the southern baptist church. Big Ma (the late Mariah Brown) was a spiritual soul from the south, who always saw good in others. I am reminded of Big Ma and me making lemonade and sweet tea in the cosy kitchen. This memory of (as a child) taking sour lemons and making something sweet and delicious out of it, is what has stayed with me during these times. This pandemic has been, truthfully, troubling and challenging on so many levels. Since March 13th, the pivot dance has been my Electric Slide, my Cupid Shuffle, and my Wobble. And this dance continued into the fall semester, as we pivoted into all online/virtual classes (teaching and learning). So in true Big Ma fashion, I decided to make some lemonade. A huge pitcher of lemonade has been the Modern Repertory class. In early August, I decided to create a piece inspired by the 100th Anniversary of the 19th Amendment, Women’s Suffrage Movement, March on Washington 1963/2020, and Voting. It has been a thirst-quenching journey. The virtual platform challenges, the diminished individual moving spaces, the lack of in-person physical community and tactile connections were the lemons, and the research, creative processes, personal investigations of subject matter, new ways to connect with a larger university community, and the students were the cups of sugar. The result is the dance piece  “Hands of Power”. The work has five sections: My first vote…, I am…, In my hands…, In my feet…, and In our Rights. For the section In my feet…, I reached across and within the university community to engage collaborative partnerships with others in an organized “artful” march. I work in the pageantry marching arts so I am very familiar with aspects of marching, but I wanted to bridge and fold social justice and social movement marches into this creative process for art. It was really important to share with the dancers, in practice, how life and art reflects each other. One of my favorite quotes is “Life imitates art far more than art imitates life” by Oscar Wilde.  What initially was going to be 9 dancers ended up being over 30 participants, two videographers, and one photographer. The participants were asked to create signage for the march and to consider what would be a platform they would march about. What would/do they stand up for? What cause do they value and want to add their voice? What issues would/do they vote for? It was an amazing gathering of folks across a spectrum, coming together for a common goal of common good. In my feet… is performed by Modern Repertory, TU Dance Company, Assistant Professor Alison Seidenstricker (Dept. of Dance), Assistant Professor Michelle Humphreys (Dept. of Music), Bria Bennett (Athletic Dept.- Community Partners Coordinator), Luis Sierra (Office of Civic Engagement), three members of the Women’s Track & Field, members of Towson AIDE, and several  other Towson University students. Videographers: Rebecca Wolf (Dept. of Dance- Production Coordinator) and Ben Rosenbaum (Athletic Dept.- Director of Digital Media), and Alex Wright (TU Photographer). At the beginning of the semester, I had no idea it would turn out this way. Throughout the creative process, I continued to listen to the art and allow it to blossom, stir, and evolve into a tall pitcher of lemonade. Storyboard Draft:     My first vote… (Voting Booth)…maybe 4 solos     I am… (Profile Solo)…maybe 4 or 5     In our hands… (Hands)…maybe 9 frames…Text: The New Colossus poem     In our feet… (Marching)….Drumming- Michelle Humphreys     In our Rights… (Finale)….Drumming- Michelle Humphreys

VTDance/Vincent E. Thomas presents an exciting evening of new works and collaborations with a stellar cast of moving artists. In the Company of…Moving Dialogues will surprise you, entice you, and satisfy your artistic thirst. The works will stimulate conversations from a wide range of topics. Collaboration is key in the work of VTDance and the three premiers bring to the stage seasoned artists for artistic inquiry. "Dis' Land" examines the role of patriotic verses and the truth of those verses which goes unsung. Love the Poet (spoken word) and Vincent brings to the stage the familiar and the un-noticed familiar of gesture, song, and spoken words. "Invisible Presence" honors the fathers and grandfathers and the spoken and silent lessons taught, which show up in one's lives still. Runqiao Du (ballet dancer) and Vincent created a nostalgic and contemporary duet that rbings the essences of lineage in the space. "Sole Brothers" began with two movement artists walking in each others' shoes. This profound experience yielded personal insights about humanity that are learned and experienced in shoes from childhood to adulthood. Michael Sakamoto (Butoh artist) and Vincent bring culture, stories, and movement to a wonderful stew for the audience to feast. 

In the Company of…Moving Dialogues
Baltimore Theater Project
March 30th, 2019 at 8pm
March 31st, 2019 at 3pm

Within the past few years, I have collaborated with several artists- musicians, composers, poets, animators, and performance artists. These are rich opportunities and are grounded in the mission and vision of VTDance/Vincent E. Thomas. These collaborative efforts continue to feed and broaden the range of artistic work. Here is a sampling of projects over the past few years that continue to develop.

What's Going On (The Marvin Gaye Project)
Vincent E. Thomas looks through the lens of Marvin Gaye’s transcendent music and finds a reflection of the world today. Taking inspiration from 1971’s inimitable What’s Going On, Marvin Gaye’s insights into life, love and social justice are given fresh perspectives with new choreography by Vincent E. Thomas (Artistic Director), and co-choreographers Ralph Glenmore and Sylvia Soumah. This evening-length work features Modern, Jazz and West African dance. What’s Going On seeks to provoke thoughtfulness and spark conversations to ignite change in each community it touches. The work premiered at Dance Place in Washington, DC in November 2016 and is currently touring the states. The work has been performed in Virginia, South Carolina, Montana, Ohio, Delaware with SOLD OUT shows in most venues.

F.E.A.R. - scherzo #2
F.E.A.R. is a work-in-progress and an international collaboration between the dance artists Annika B. Lewis – based in Copenhagen/Denmark and Vincent E. Thomas – based in Baltimore/U.S.
The performance explores the political, social, cultural, economic, emotional, physical, medical, healing and even comical aspects of fear, and the similarities and differences of the embedded nature of fear in Denmark and the United States.

This multi-year collaboration was initiated in 2015 with support from The DIVA program/ The Danish Arts Foundation, Kassandra Production and DanseHallerne in Copenhagen. The work premiered in Copenhagen, Denmark in January 2016 at DanseHallerne and in the Baltimore, MD in February 2016 at Baltimore Theatre Project. Given the social climate in our global society, the artists are planning upcoming tour dates.

Prelude/Frustration Revisioned
​This project was a re-imagining of the award winning solo "Prelude/Frustration". This collaboration was with Elizabeth Richter (harpist) from Ball State in Muncie, Indiana and Andre Gaskins from Indianapolis Symphony in Indianapolis, Indiana (cellist). The work premiered for the opening ceremony of the 2017 Music for All Summer Symposium at Ball State University. I continue to revision the solo with a range of musical artists and instrumentations.

About the work:
Vincent E. Thomas contemplates acts of humanity in a deeply moving, multi-layered solo work. "iWitness" explores simple truths in human behaviors and implied truths in human documents from the Pledge of Allegiance to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights . "iWitness" studies and challenges the ideals we seek and attempt to follow. The solo includes "Render and Proceed" which investigates the convolution of media and its effect on the human condition and society; and "Come Change" shuffles stories of the past and present for a hopeful tomorrow.

Personal view:
I am deeply interested in creating art that reflects and poses questions about humanity, our values- personally and communally, and our desire to live in a better place/world, while realizing our role/what it may take to exist in that place. Many of these questions surfaced over the many years of making art and heavily informed, shaped, and focused my artistic and life view.
This work, which grew out of a much larger work, is the result of a persistent investigation of these questions. The initial seed of an idea was about questioning my reaction to an interaction with a homeless person. This interaction troubled me to my core. I began peeling back the onion layers and the excavation led me to questions about documents that govern us and how these are instilled from such an early age. If only I had these questions as a child instead of just learning to recite statements that had no deep or clear meaning and real application to my life. Through this journey of creating and performing this solo work (and the group work 'Witness'), I understand the world I live in and the role I have in creating a more human conscious space.

"iWitness" is based from the larger group work "Witness" which was commissioned by the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts as part of 2008 Performing Arts for Everyone and the Millennium Stage.

About the work:
In the Company of Men...(2016) is an evening of dance art embracing themes of masculinity, life, love, social awareness, and human-ness. With a talented cast of all men, I brought to the stage many perspectives on life through the physical work of the male body. The artistic range of the works is bold and impressive, featuring excerpts from Same Stories, What’s Going On, On the Shoulders of Giants, and other new works.

Personal view:
With this concert (and subsequent concerts in this series), I am interested in showcasing and embracing the range of male-ness in our society, through movement, spoken word, music, and visual art. It was a powerful evening- men of all ages, backgrounds/cultures, physical levels, and expressions, coming together in a common effort. This concert series is connected to my masculinity workshops for 'Fathers, Sons, and Other Guys'. This workshop excavates the term masculinity, in an effort to define, re-define, shatter, and rebuild what this word means to ourselves and in our community. This work is crucial as men constantly find themselves under the radar and challenged in society. Through this effort we understand ourselves more deeply. 
Part of the artist journey that informs the many ways of celebrating men and the range of masculinity, I conduct these 'Fathers, Sons, and Other Guys' workshops all over the country and internationally. Workshops have taken place in Baltimore City, Baltimore County, Washington, DC, Seattle, WA, Copenhagen and Aarhus, Denmark, with continued and additional sites in the works.

A participants view:
A special thanks to you, and a Big thank you to everybody for a great experience, very nice to be able to let go in words and physical expression because we all gave room to everyone else to experience a different form of freedom! (Rene Sogaard Hvid- father in Denmark)

Thank you to you Vincent and all of you at the course. I really enjoyed to be with you and to movements and words to thoughts. Love from Henrik. (Henrik Glahder- 9 year old son in Seattle)

Inspired by the James Baldwin essay "The Artist's Struggle", this new evening length work brings to physical life the words of selected poets. The central question focuses on 'what is the role of art in your life/your community?" This is a highly engaging evening of dance, poetry, music, song, audience dialogue, and haiku. I am really interested in involving the audience on multiple levels and for them not to be a passive viewer. The audience is warmly embraced throughout the evening and they willingly engage on deeper levels. At the end, they are asked to consider one concrete action they can take to ensure art in their lives and community. About the residency: The Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center partnering with Joe's Movement Emporium in Mount Rainier, Maryland to offer a new incubator series called NextLOOK for both locally-based and touring artists who want to develop new work with input from the community. Vincent E.Thomas/VTDance was one of the NextLOOK artists in the season’s inaugural series and we are thrilled to have been able to support the development of
Rhapsody: A Poetic Movement (January 2015 residency).

Program information

Vincent E. Thomas presents a most stunning work - "Shadows", exploring essences of masculinity/manhood through shadows of yesterday, today, and tomorrow. The work includes a cast of 19 men of various ages in a fusion of dance, theater, music, video/animation, comedy, and dialogue, exposing multiple expressions of truths, myths, and mysteries of masculinity. 

Process view:
The development of this evening-length work was the springboard to my masculinity workshops for 'Fathers, Sons, and Other Guys'. Research for the work was through a process I developed called Table Talks, where participants discuss a "hot topic" through verbal dialogue, then is led through a process of physical dialogue. Participants discuss, listen, and speak their personal truths. The rich content is then filtered and shaped into the performance work.

"Fathers, Sons, and Other Guys" workshop:
 This workshop excavates the term masculinity, in an effort to define, re-define, shatter, and rebuild what this word means to ourselves and in our community. This work is crucial as men constantly find themselves under the radar and challenged in society. Through this effort we understand ourselves more deeply. 

Personal view:
With this concert (and most of my work as a teacher), I am interested in showcasing and embracing the range of male-ness in our society, through movement, spoken word, music, and visual art. It was a powerful evening- men of all ages, backgrounds/cultures, physical levels, and expressions, coming together in a common effort. The development process was over two years, holding workshops/Table Talks, listening to stories of men from various cultures, finding similarities and differences of experience and perspective on masculinity and manhood.
"Shadows" has led to my new performance series "In the Company of Men...", and has expanded my teaching research lens, focusing more on men dancing.

*Note: The full performance of 'Shadows" can be seen in the online video archives for the Kennedy Center Millennium Stage (Washington, DC). To view, please search on the Kennedy Center Millennium Stage site for Vincent E. Thomas/VTDance, June 12th, 2013. I am unable to include the performance link here.

"Occupy" is a socio-political, daring and provocative work . This evening length work considers notions of how we inhabit or occupy space, what occupies our minds, what occupies our souls, and how these notions move us (a community/society) to make change…to move towards a revolution. This work was an extension of my initial questions for "Witness" and "iWitness".
*This work was supported by the American Dance Institute (ADI) in 2013. I was an Incubator Artist for the first season of the award program.

Personal view:
Daily I ask questions about being in the world, what informs this existence, and how to exist with others in a shared space. Internally I know that the work really starts within. This is a theme of my work, what is it that informs our humanity and what are our actions to live in a more human society.

Collaborator process:
During the research of these questions I had extensive conversations with Cathy L. Draine, a dear friend, poet, and scholar. After many late night discussions with her, she birthed this amazing spoken word piece which was the centerpiece for the work- Occupy:

Photographs, ring games, hymns, blankets, recipes, lessons, heirlooms, and fading memories... (Vincent E. Thomas)

This project captures reflections and memories of loved ones through spoken text, movement, music, video and projected images. The creation process for this work is informed through community engagement activities, table talks, interviews, and creative explorations with young and old. I am very interested in people and their stories and how to bring those to life in art. For Vincent E. Thomas/VTDance I want the work to be universal, tangible, and essential. This project is a bedrock for this mission.

Personal view:
Grandmothers are the matriarchs of families. This is proven true by the many interviews and conversations I have had with people all over the world. My grandma (Big Ma) had a profound impact on me and the lessons she instilled surface daily. I questioned why there was not much discussion in my family about Big Ma after her death. Was there something I didn't know about her death? Was I being sheltered or intentionally kept out of knowing things about her? In fact, after persistently asking various aunts and uncles, I realized that it was immense pain that kept them from talking a great deal about her. Over Thanksgiving dinner preparations, as my aunts and uncles were chopping veggies, frying, baking the meal, I began to open the box of questions again. As we were around the table (with many actions to prepare), the magic was unleashed. There was so much vibrant conversation about Big Ma. they were relaxed, open, and talked more freely about her. I thought, there is something about how families talk around the dinner table. So I thought of this idea Table Talk. I grabbed my notebook/journal and began jotting down wonderful stories about my grandmother. My great aunt Helen told my Aunt Pat: "If you don't talk about her, it's like she never lived." The Grandmother Project began...
Over the course of 3 years (and more), I gathered stories from people all over the world about grandmothers. From the US to South Africa, Scotland to France, all stories (good and bad) held grandmothers with the highest esteem and praise.

Project journey:
After the first performance of the project, the stories continued to come. When I moved to Baltimore, I added to the base of the work to create a "Grandmother Project Baltimore". Featured performers were: Linda-Denise Fisher-Harrell (former principle dancer for the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater), Steven Satta-Fleming (actor and colleague), dancers from the Morton Street Dance Center, Adia Evans (BSA vocalist), and Sharon Chaiklin (Dance Therapist and elder dancer).

Press quote:
"Thomas mined the deeply felt connections of grandmothers and their grandchildren." (Washington Post)

For the work "Witness", the award-winning choreographer contemplates acts of humanity in this deeply moving, multi-layered work, exploring simple truths in human behaviors and implied truths in human documents from the Pledge of Allegiance, Universal Declaration of Human Rights to the Ten Commandments. "Witness" considers the ideals we seek and the philosophers and humanitarians we attempt to follow.

Witness was commissioned by the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts as part of 2008 Performing Arts for Everyone and the Millennium Stage.