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Christine Jowers has toured the USA, the UK, and Caribbean as a performer, choreographer and teacher sharing her passion for dance and dancers with many audiences. Born in Albuquerque, New Mexico and raised in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, Christine is the daughter of an artistic, community oriented West Indian family (her mother, Dolores, the Curator of the Virgin Islands Museum and her father John - a former dancer, visual artist, and Director of the Virgin Islands Council of the Arts): She traces her love of history, movement, and the arts to her family and the beauty of her island heritage.
In 1997 she created Christine Jowers/Moving Arts Projects in order to extensively pursue her explorations of the art of dance while creating productions that innovatively connect audiences to modern dance and its history. Her premiere cj/MAPs production, THE SINGULAR VOICE OF WOMAN opened to full houses in London, England and was noted for its “exceptional solos” (Dance Express Magazine). Hailed as “… a remarkable performer…” (J.Mackrell, The Guardian- UK), and “a fine dramatic dancer” (JL Conklin, Baltimore Sun), Christine’s performances have taken her through a breadth of movement encounters. She has performed such diverse, contrasting roles as, the principal female lead in the modern dance classic “Passacaglia and Fugue in C Minor” by Doris Humphrey, and the role of a quizzical pregnant statue answering questions about Isadora Duncan in the solo “Mother/Flesh” created for her by renowned performance artist Ann Carlson.
As a principal dancer with the Doris Humphrey Repertory Dance Company, Christine performed lead roles by Humphrey and Eleanor King across the nation, to critical acclaim. She has performed and been coached in the work and technique of Jean Erdman by Erdman’s protégée, Nancy Allison, and in the work of Eleanor King by noted Duncan interpreter, and King protégée, Lori Belilove. She has danced for such historic notables as Anna Sokolow and Bertram Ross. Christine has also performed with Z’eva Cohen, The Maryland Dance Theater, The Dance Alloy, The Nancy Allison Dance Theater, Diane Jacobowitz Dance Theater, and with the artists’ colony, The Yard, in addition to extensive freelance work.
Christine has been presented in a variety of professional arenas, with highlights being: The Festival Du Musique-St. Barts, French West Indies, as a featured guest with Martine Van Hamel and soloists from the American Ballet Theater, The Dancenow NYC Fall Festivals at the OK Harris Art Gallery and Joyce Soho, Dancenow NYC/Keigwin+Kabaret at Joe’s Pub in The Public Theater, and as a featured guest artist with KunYang Lin/Dancers.
Christine is currently on the faculty of the Jose Limon Institute in NY . She has been on the faculty of The Laban Centre for Movement and Dance Studies and Danceworks in the UK. She has been a guest artist at The Islington Arts Factory, The Liverpool School of Performing Arts, and Roehampton College in the UK, as well as Goucher College, Kean College, The New Jersey Center for Performing Arts and various educational institutions in the USA.
Her particular interest in introducing young audiences to the beauty and inspiration of dance has led Christine to foster outreach programs in communities throughout the east coast and Virgin Islands. She has given dance workshops, taught choreography, and performed for children and teenagers under the auspices of Artists in The Schools programs, Teen Arts, Young Audiences, and Very Special Arts programs. In 1991, she created a dance program for children and adults at the YWCA in Summit, NJ, directing the program from 1991-1996, and founding the highly regarded Free Community Dance Series there. Christine’s work in community dance was funded and commended by the Union County Office of Cultural and Heritage Affairs and the New Jersey State Arts Council. She recently established cj/MOVING ARTS PROJECTS’ MOVING KIDS SALON to sponsor workshops for kids and “their grownups” in New York City. Its success has inspired the company to offer this special program in the city four times a year. |
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