Artistic Director
William Charles Crowley, received his MFA in Dance from the University of Michigan. He received additional dance training while on scholarship at the Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance in New York City. William has danced with Aerial Dance Theater, Ann Arbor Dance Works, Dansplateau (Belgium), David Taylor Dance Theatre, and Dance Gallery/Peter Sparling & Co., in which he performed the lead role in Martha Graham's masterwork, El Penitente.
William has received favorable reviews from such publications as: The Detroit Free Press, The Chicago Tribune, Denver Rocky Mountain News, Miami Art Exchange, The Miami Herald, and Dance Magazine, which stated: "That... Crowley seems to share [his] magic with us makes this universe ultimately reassuring."
William moved to Miami, FL in the Spring of 2000, where he accepted a three year teaching position at the prestigious New World School of the Arts. He then joined the faculty at Miami-Dade College where he taught Modern, Ballet, Composition, and Repertory. Recent choreographic credits include: Sirene (2003), Ghost Light (2004), Duende (2004), Two Rooms (2005), Surrender (2006), Silenzio (2006), Momentary Lapses of Reason (2006), The Stable (2007), and Summertime (2008). Recent choreographic credits for stage productions include: Cabaret (2001), Godspell (2001), Choephori from The Oresteia (2002), A Midsummer Night's Dream (2003), and Once Upon A Mattress (2004).
In March 2004, William became Founder and Co-Artistic Director of Next Step Dance, a modern dance company in Fort Lauderdale, FL. In April 2004, the company held their premiere performance in a studio space at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts in Fort Lauderdale, FL. Miami Art Exchange wrote: "William Charles Crowley... [an] accomplished dance maker."
In August 2004, William returned to Michigan as a guest artist to perform in the Peter Sparling Dance Co. 10 Year Retrospective. He also returned to Michigan in September 2004, to work as a guest choreographer with Aerial Dance Theater, setting his work, Kawabata Suite.
From 2002-2005, William served as a choreographer for the AVEDA corporation, choreographing runway shows for their Get Connected Tour/Master Jam in Los Angeles, CA, Atlanta, GA, St. Petersburg, FL, New York, NY, Hollywood, CA, Miami Beach, FL, and Dallas, TX, as well as their national conventions, AVEDA Congress 2002 and AVEDA Congress 2005 in Minneapolis, MN.
In January 2005, William became Artistic Director of Next Step Dance and relocated the company to Bay Harbor Islands, FL. In April 2005, Next Step Dance made its triumphant return to the Broward Center for the Performing Arts with the 2nd Annual Next Step Dance Series, and was also the subject of a feature story in the Lifestyle Section of the Sun Sentinel. In May 2005, William was invited to perform his work Woodblock Study, in the NewGrounds 2005 dance concert presented by Moving Current Dance Collective in Tampa, FL.
Since then, the company has returned to the Broward Center for the Performing Arts to present three more successful annual performances, including the sold out 4th Annual Next Step Dance Series: Celebrating the Male Dancer, and was once again honored with a feature story in the Sun Sentinel.
In January 2008, William served as Dance Coordinator for the Florida Grand Opera's production of Bizet's, Les pecheurs de perles ("The Pearl Fishers"), performed at both the Carnival Center for the Performing Arts in Miami, FL and the Broward Center for the Performing Arts.
Currently, William is on faculty in the Department of Fine Arts at Barry University in Miami Shores, FL, where he teaches Modern, Ballet, Repertory Ensemble, and Dance Appreciation. He is also on faculty in the Dance Program at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, FL, where he teaches Modern, Ballet, and Stretching Body Work.
This is the company's sixth season.
Reviews
"Crowley danced with powerful athletic motion..." -Holland Sentinel
"William Crowley presented... an epic work.... [He] carefully constructed an intriguing collage of movements and emotions. The result was a dramatic contrast between outer serenity... and inner turmoil." -Michigan Daily
"At other times, as with William Crowley's tortured variation... the work took on an affecting, nearly mystical air." -Detroit Free Press
"...the sturdy, muscular dancer named William Crowley seemed especially Grahamesque..." -Chicago Tribune
"William Crowley... god-like..." -Ann Arbor News
"...a clear standout, danced with strength and sensuality by... William Crowley."
-Denver Rocky Mountain News
"William Charles Crowley... [an] accomplished dance maker." -Miami Art Exchange
"...Crowley gave an incredibly fresh performance of... [Martha] Graham's, El Penitente." -Ann Arbor News
"...lively performance... enthusiastic audience." -Miami Herald
"That... Crowley seems to share [his] magic with us makes this universe ultimately reassuring." -Dance Magazine