Red Clay Dance Company Debuts at Harris Theater for La Femme Dance Festival 2024
In March 2024, Red Clay Dance Company made its significant debut as a resident company at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance during the biennial La Femme Dance Festival, a three-day celebration of women in dance that centers choreographic works created by women of the Black/African Diaspora.
La Femme Dance Festival took place March 14–16, 2024, during Women’s History Month, marking a powerful moment in both Red Clay’s 15FORWARD Anniversary Season and in the broader cultural landscape of Chicago’s performing arts.
The festival opened on Thursday, March 14, with a VIP Opening Reception at the Arts Club of Chicago, where company leadership and audiences engaged in a fireside chat with legendary Emmy-nominated choreographer and dancer Fatima Robinson — a luminary whose work spans blockbuster tours, film, and commercial choreography including Beyoncé’s Renaissance World Tour and the critically acclaimed film The Color Purple.
On Friday, March 15, Robinson led a masterclass and Q&A for professional dancers at Red Clay Dance Company’s Center for Excellence, providing participants rare access to her decades of creative insight.
The festival culminated on Saturday, March 16 with an evening of compelling performances at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance, where audiences witnessed the Chicago premiere of Portraits in Red by Paris-based choreographer Wanjiru Kamuyu, alongside two world premieres from Red Clay Dance Company: Unconditional Conditions, choreographed by Founding Artistic Director Vershawn Sanders-Ward, and HER WOMB: Crucified, Conceived, Crescent, Congo… The Gathering, created by New Orleans-born guest choreographer Michelle Gibson with a live original score by Grammy-winning composer Adonis Rose.
This historic presentation showcased the breadth and depth of contemporary choreographic voices rooted in Diasporic experience, bringing both established and emerging perspectives into a major cultural venue on Chicago’s downtown stage.
Press coverage from major local outlets underscored the significance of Red Clay Dance’s role in this festival. The Chicago Sun-Times highlighted the return of La Femme Dance Festival as a triumphant celebration of women in dance, spotlighting Robinson’s participation and Red Clay’s artistic leadership. Coverage across NBC Chicago, CBS Chicago, Block Club Chicago, and The TriiBE contextualized the festival as both a cultural anchor and an extension of Red Clay Dance’s mission to honor choreographic contributions from Black women, while amplifying the city’s rich dance ecosystem.
Through masterclasses, dialogue, and mainstage performance, La Femme Dance Festival 2024 affirmed Red Clay Dance Company’s evolving influence — not only as a presenter of powerful dance works but also as an institutional force that elevates women’s creative narratives in the performing arts.
