Red Clay Dance Company Opens Woodlawn Center on Chicago’s South Side
In late August 2021, Red Clay Dance Company celebrated the grand opening of its Woodlawn Center, located at 808 East 63rd Street in Chicago’s South Side community. The opening marked an important moment for the company as it established a permanent space dedicated to dance, creative process, and community-centered work.
The Woodlawn Center was developed in under a year after Founder and Artistic Director Vershawn Sanders-Ward signed the lease, with planning and construction taking place during the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the challenges of the moment, the project moved forward with a clear intention: to create an accessible space where artists and community members could gather, move, and create together.
By the time of the ribbon-cutting celebration, the Center was already active. Free community classes, including yoga and House dance, were underway, welcoming neighbors into the space and signaling Red Clay’s commitment to serving the Woodlawn community from the very beginning.
Located at the intersection of 63rd Street and Cottage Grove Avenue, the Woodlawn Center sits within a historic South Side corridor. The space was envisioned to support rehearsals, classes, community gatherings, and creative development, expanding Red Clay Dance Company’s ability to engage artists and residents beyond the stage.
Local arts coverage recognizes the opening as a meaningful investment in community and culture. The establishment of a Black-led contemporary dance center in Woodlawn reflected a belief in the importance of place-based arts infrastructure and long-term relationship building.
The opening of the Woodlawn Center represents a new chapter for Red Clay Dance Company — one grounded in presence, access, and the shared work of cultivating Artivism through dance.
