Jessica Laliberte Bowman, a Chattanooga choreographer and teacher for Hamilton County Schools, is one of 21 artists selected internationally to join Curriculum in Motion Institute, a yearlong professional development program for choreographers at Jacob's Pillow.
Motivated by a desire to make new dances with young artists, Ms. Bowman co-developed the Student Choreography Project at Chattanooga Center for Creative Arts, where she is on dance faculty. Jacob's Pillow is one of the field's most prestigious professional dance training centers and has been recognized as a 'hub and mecca of dancing' in TIME Magazine and 'the dance center of the nation' in The New York Times.
Jacob's Pillow is a national historic landmark, recipient of the National Medal of Arts and home to America's longest-running international dance festival.
"I am honored and humbled by this opportunity to work with the CIM Institute," said Ms. Bowman. "To work with Jacob's Pillow truly is a dream realized as a choreographer and dance educator, and I cannot wait to deepen my practice, broaden my skill set and share what I learn with my students and community."
Officials said, "The Curriculum in Motion Institute is a highly specialized professional development experience for choreographers that examines and explores how dance makers are essential artistic, civic and community partners in a COVID-19 world and beyond. The Institute, led by Curriculum in Motion Co-Founder Celeste Miller and Founding Artists Kimberli Boyd and Michael Richter. Curriculum in Motion uses body-based practices and uses an approach that embraces dance as an accessible, complex system of physical, mental, emotional, creative and spiritual knowledge rooted in body-based intelligence. It directly supports the work of dance makers in K-12 classrooms, museums and after-school programs. Institute participants gain access to a meaningful network and may apply to join the esteemed roster of Curriculum in Motion Artists."
"Being a part of this intimate cohort of artists from as far away as Mumbai, India and from cities across the United States, I am excited to represent Hamilton County Schools and the state of Tennessee," Ms. Bowman said. "I believe that equitable access to the arts is a powerful vehicle for building community."
Ms. Bowman holds a bachelor's in dance from Columbia College Chicago and has spent 15 years collaborating with community organizations. She is recognized for having a unique ability to see obstacles as stepping-stones that helps her build community. The last five years of her career have focused on teaching dance standards through interdisciplinary arts and literacy, writing curriculum and presenting her work at conferences for artists and educators. Ms. Bowman served on the board of directors for the TN Association of Dance for a decade and most recently sat on the Arts Advisory Focus Group for the TN Department of Education's re-opening guidelines for Arts Education.
Over the next 12 months, Ms. Bowman looks forward to diving deeper into the creative process, cultivating relationships with new colleagues and forging new partnerships in the Chattanooga community. In July of 2021, she will travel to Jacob's Pillow in Becket, Ma., to present her Curriculum in Motion Institute Capstone Project.