Tyrone Brooks
Artistic Director
A native of Newport News, Virginia, Tyrone Brooks a former Principal Dancer with the Dance Theatre of Harlem, New York City, (DTH). During his tenure,
Mr. Brooks was featured in many ballets including Alvin Ailey’s “The River’’; Eugene Loring’s “Billy The Kid’’; Jerome Robins’ ‘’Fancy Free”; Michael Smuins’ “A Song For Dead Warriors” & "Meda", John Butler’s “Othello”. In 1984, he was nominated for the Dancer’s Choice Award in London, England, for his performance as Alan Strange in “Equus”. Mr. Brooks has performed choreography by other artistic luminaries including George Balanchine, Agnes de Mille, Geoffrey Holder, Glen Tetley, Garth Fagan, Jerome Robins, Alonzo King, John Butler, John McFall, Robert North, John Taras, Billy Wilson and DTH Founder and Artistic Director, Arthur Mitchell.
His international performing experiences include:
Austria, Argentina, Brazil, England, France, Germany, Italy, Israel, Japan, Norway, Spain, Switzerland, Venezuela, South Africa and Russia.
His television credits include performances in NBC’s presentation of Dance Theatre of Harlem’s" Creole Giselle"; the closing ceremonies of the 1984 Olympics; PBS’s celebrated series, “Dance in America”, featuring Dance Theatre of Harlem; CBS 60 Minutes with Ed Bradley, PBS’s Live at the Kennedy Center “The Making of Firebird” and the 1993 Kennedy Center Honors.
Mr. Brooks choreographed for the televised 2004 Trumpet Awards "Black Explosion" in Atlanta, GA, "Great Performance Dance in America" featuring
A Streetcar Named Desire
Mr. Brooks was a member of the faculty at the Dance Theatre of Harlem School and the Associate Director of Dancing Through Barriers, DTH’s education and community outreach program. Mr. Brooks has represented DTH as a teaching artist, and has conducted many in-school arts education classes for teachers. He has conducted master classes and outreach programs within the New York City Public School System, sharing his artistry and introducing dance into the lives of elementary and middle school children and teachers.
He has conducted professional development workshops for teachers in curriculum development, linking various subjects such as language arts and social studies with movement. He has also conducted master classes and outreach programs in South Florida the Dance Theatre of Harlem/Kennedy Center Residency in Washington, DC and the Northern Virginia area.
Mr. Brooks has taught at the various institutions:
Alvin Ailey American Dance Center, Florida State University, Hampton University, Flint Institute of Music/School of Performing Arts, Marymount College Manhattan, New World School of the Arts , Randolph Macon-Woman's College and Wheaton College,
He was the Resident Choreographer and Adjunct Professor at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York. His signature work, “Concerto Grosso”, has also been performed by Dance Theatre of Harlem's pre-professional program students, and Flint Institute of Music/School of Performing Arts in Flint, Michigan. In 1997, he created “Unforgettable”, a tribute in dance to DTH’s Prima Ballerina,Virginia Johnson, as a part of her farewell performance by members of the Dance Theatre of Harlem Company.
Mr. Brooks has served on the advisory panel for Virginia Commission for the Arts' Tour and Performing Arts Directory and has a (CABA) Certificate in Advanced Business Administration from Lynchburg College. He is currently on the Diversity Council at James River Day School and a member of the Board of Directors of the James River Council for the Arts and Humanities. .