Vincent Thomas & VTDance
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Social Impact
Vincent E. Thomas founded VTDance as an outlet for performance projects including solo, group, and collaborative choreographic endeavors. VTDance is multi-dimensional. The work builds on the use of contemporary dance, improvisation, text / movement, a variety of sound sources, and collaborations with other artists, including dancers, musicians, poets, visual artists, and others [to be discovered]. These ideas coupled with witty, poignant, athletic and gestural movement are the rich palette for VTDance. Vincent works in and with communities with a variety of workshops, Table Talks, master classes, and community engagement activities.
Dancer, choreographer and teacher, received his MFA in Dance from Florida State University and a BME in Music from the University of South Carolina. He has danced with Dance Repertory Theatre (FSU), Randy James Dance Works (NY/NJ), EDGEWORKS Dance Theater (DC), and Liz Lerman Dance Exchange (MD).
His choreography has been presented at various national and international venues including DUMBO Festival (NY), Velocity Festival (DC), Modern Moves Festival (DC), Philly Fringe (PA), Edinburgh Fringe Festival (UK-Scotland), Barcelona and Madrid, Spain, Avignon, France, Athens, Greece, Bari, Italy, Copenhagen, Denmark, Nova Scotia, Canada and Taipei, Taiwan. He is the Artistic Director / Choreographer of the national touring What’s Going On project.
Vincent was awarded at the 2006 Metro DC Dance Awards for Emerging Choreographer and Outstanding New Work, a 2009 Best of Baltimore- Choreographer Award, the 2011-2012 Towson University Student Government Association Faculty Member of the Year, a 2014-2015 NextLook Artist for the University of Maryland College Park and Joe’s Movement Emporium, a 2012-13 American Dance Institute Incubator Artist (MD), a 2016 Baker Artist Award finalist, a 2017 Best of Baltimore Award for the What’s Going On production, the 2017 Pola Nirenska Award for Outstanding Achievement in Dance (DC), and the 2019 University System of Maryland Regents Faculty Award for Excellence in Research, Scholarship & Creative Activity, the 2020 MDEA Living Legacy Award, and a 2021 William G. Baker, Jr. Memorial Fund Awardee.
He is an Urban Bush Women BOLD Facilitator, faculty member for the UBW Summer Institutes (NY), and Professor of Dance at Towson University (MD).