CLEO PARKER ROBINSON DANCE ENSEMBLE THE GORDON CENTER | BALTIMORE, MD
Cleo Parker Robinson | Founder and Artistic Director Winifred R. Harris | Associate Artistic Director Ensemble | Michael Battle | Caeli Blake | Adrian Dominguez | Jasmine Francisco | Corey Jamel | Devrae Jefferson Gabriela Maduro | Max Nelson-Steinhoff* | Lamar D. Rogers | Lauren Slaughter | Nasira Watson* *Apprentice to the Ensemble
FOR ALL TIME – ALWAYS Cleo Parker Robinson Dance World Premiere 2025 This piece was born from silence. Each movement reflects a quiet conversation I've had with grief, hope, and healing - a return to my roots, a grounding sense of self. It celebrates a love that feels timeless, deep, and often effortless - not perfect, but profoundly right. Inspired by the divine, spiritual love shared between Cleo and Tom Robinson. I invite the audience to witness, to feel, and to find your own reflections in the stillness between the steps. Lisa Johnson-Willingham Choreographer Lisa Johnson-Willingham Music and Spoken Word Roberta Flack, Jon Baptiste, Tom Robinson Lighting Design Anastazia Coney Dancers Corey Jamel, Lauren Slaughter Choreographer | Lisa Johnson-Willingham Music and Spoken Word | Roberta Flack, Jon Baptiste, Tom Robinson Lighting Design | Anastazia Coney Dancers | Corey Jamel, Lauren Slaughter
The MOVE/ment
World Premiere 2019
This incredible opportunity brings together a diversity of dancers, in both culture and genre, creating a work reflective of these powerful times in our community and the world. The arts have always been a powerful catalyst for positive social transformation. My challenge, as the choreographer, has been to awaken my personal memories of the Civil Rights Movement, while finding new ways for the dancers to develop their own voices, in recognition of social change that is yet to come. When my Ensemble performed In Montgomery, AL in commemoration of the 50th Anniversary of Dr. King’s assassination, I was inspired by his words “We have no other choice but to keep moving with determination. We’ve gone too far now to turn back. We can change the world with non-violence.” —Cleo Parker Robinson Choreographer | Cleo Parker Robinson Original Lighting Design | Lloyd Sobel Lighting Adaptations | Anastazia Coney Costume Designers | Shirin Lankarani (Colorado Ballet), Alex J. Gordon Vocals and Spoken Word | Cleo Parker Robinson and the Ensemble I TURBULENT TIMES Music | “Tears for Johannesburg” Max Roach Dancers | Students of the Towson University Dance Department: Addison Adams, Sarah Dickey, Twine Drake, Marielle Emmanuel, Amaya Hill, Lea Johns Jenna Magness, Tamia Marsh, Mathias Montalban, Shivani Mutreja, Grayson Wozniak II AIN’T GONNA LET NOBODY TURN ME ‘ROUND Music | “Wade in the Water”, “Ain’t Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me “Round” Dancers | The Ensemble III FATHER TO SON: A CHANGE IS GONNA COME Music | “A Change Is Gonna Come” Brian Owens, Thomas Owens The Father | Lamar D. Rogers The Son | DJ Jefferson The Men | Michael Battle, Adrian Dominguez, Corey Jamel