DEEPLY ROOTED DANCE THEATER
FOUNDED: 1995
The mission of Deeply Rooted Dance Theater is to re-imagine and diversify the aesthetics of contemporary dance by bringing together modern, classical, American and African-American traditions in dance and storytelling. Through its uncompromising pursuit of excellence, Deeply Rooted seeks to demonstrate how art and beauty play a transformative role in Chicago, the nation and the world.
COMPANY LEADERSHIP
Makeda Crayton,
Executive Director
Makeda Crayton, a Chicago native, began her dance training at Studio One Dance Theatre and refined her technique at Bryant Ballet, The Juilliard School, Interlochen School of the Arts, and I.D.E.A.S.-Germany. Although dance has always been her first love, she chose to nurture her creative and analytical skills and earned a BS in biology from Clark Atlanta University.
Functioning in dual capacities in front of and behind the curtain has been a hallmark of Crayton’s career. While performing as a guest artist for Cape Dance Company in Cape Town, South Africa, she also served as repetiteur for world-renowned choreographer Christopher Huggins, and she returned to the tour of Disney’s Aida in Taiwan as dancer and assistant director. She also has enjoyed teaching across the U.S. and overseas; her first official engagement with Deeply Rooted was teaching ballet for the Summer Dance Intensive in 2011 and 2012.
On stage, Crayton has performed with the Bryant Ballet Company, Joel Hall Dancers, the Willingham Project, and Dallas Black Dance Theater. Her Broadway credits include Disney's Aida – the China tour, Summer Solstice, Dances from the Heart with the cast of Disney’s The Lion King, and Mozart L’Opera Rock in Paris, France, where she also was associate choreographer. She has assisted Christopher Huggins with setting ballets on The Ailey School, Ailey II, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Philadanco!, Dallas Black Dance Theater, and the Dallas Theater Center's production of The Wiz, among others.
In 2013, Crayton accepted the role of soloist with Cirque du Soleil’s Zumanity, where she remained until the show’s closing in November 2020. Shortly thereafter, Deeply Rooted Artistic Director Nicole Clarke-Springer and Co-Founder Kevin Iega Jeff approached her about a new opportunity that would combine her creative and analytical skills once again. In January 2021, she began working as Deeply Rooted’s operations director. On January 1, 2023, she became executive director and looks forward to fulfilling Deeply Rooted’s mission and vision.
PC: Photo of Nicole Clarke Springer by Rachel Neville Studios
Nicole Clarke-Springer,
Artistic Director
Nicole Clarke-Springer began formal training under the guidance of Claudette Soltis (Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo and Joliet Ballet Society) and the Indianapolis Ballet Theater under Dace Diodonis. She received her B.S. in Arts Administration-Dance from Butler University in Indianapolis, IN where she received the award as Butler Ballet’s Outstanding Performer.
Shortly after graduating from Butler, Nicole found her dance home within the Deeply Rooted Dance Theater family- first as an apprentice and later as company member. As a member of Deeply Rooted Dance Theater, Nicole had the opportunity to perform with artists such as Roberta Flack in Kevin Iega Jeff’s Flack as well as Jennifer Holiday in the world-renowned Penumbra Theater’s Black Nativity.
In 2013, Nicole joined Kevin Iega Jeff and Gary Abbott as the newest member of the Deeply Rooted Artistic Team and was named Deeply Rooted Dance Theater’s Emerging Choreographer for the program Generations.