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Ashley Tate

@dancert8

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Professor, Artist, Researcher 👩🏾‍🏫💃🏾✍🏾
Founder: @tothebeatyallsymposium

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Looking back on my work with St. Louis Dance Theatre this past winter and feeling deeply grateful for this experience.

Creating “Fault Lines” with these dancers was an especially meaningful process. Together, we explored the embodied impact of redlining, exclusionary zoning, and the lasting ways systemic inequities continue to shape our environments, communities, and lived experiences. We asked: How does policy live in the body? How do invisible systems shape breath, weight, proximity, and choice?

This cast approached complex material with so much openness, curiosity, rigor, and care. I’m grateful for the trust they brought into the room and for the energy we built together through this process and performance. Missing this group so much. 😔

Grateful for these ridiculously talented trainees!

@stldancetheatre_trainees

📸: @carly.vanderheyden.photo
💡: @danny_maclaughlin

And shoutout to Lisa Reimer for the perfect costumes! taken in The Grandel by @dancert8

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4 months ago

It's time to get these very withered muscles and bones back on stage! If the universe and my health allows, I will be performing with ADC this Saturday (7:30 pm) and Sunday (3:00 pm) at the Grandel, in our final main stage concert of the year. Here is a clip from a composition I created a couple years ago. This beautiful music was created by Ólafur Arnalds and Alice Sara Ott.

Tickets are on sale now (link in bio)! https://www.metrotix.com/events/detail/ashleyliane-dance-company-unseen

You can also get tickets at the door!

#ashleylianedancecompany #ashleytatechoreography #stlouisdance #stldance #adcfamily #dancers #instadancers #dance #professionaldancers #kaf #kranzbergartsfoundation #thingstodoinstlouis #stlouis #dancecompany by @dancert8

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4 years ago

I am deep into the final stages of putting together my first virtual concert, and while I am exhausted, I am proud. I choreographed 13 solos and 10 somewhat socially distanced ensemble pieces...wrote a few pages of lighting cues, worked on music selections and licenses, cleaned and prepared costumes, conducted Zoom and in person rehearsals with my staff, and now I am making it into a product for all to see. In a pandemic. We are resilient, strong and mighty. I love ADC. Forever and always. See you at the shows this weekend. :-)

Music: Ólafur Arnalds

Ashleyliane.com/visionsofhope by @dancert8

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6 years ago

CONGRATULATIONS to Ashley L Tate on being selected as one of the 2026 Dance City Festival Chicago Best Choreographers!

As a part of our Festival Exchange Program, DCF’s Best Choreographer Award selects choreographers who presented their work at DCF Chicago to return as a guest performer at the 2027 DCF Detroit Choreographers Showcase!

We look forward to welcoming Ashley back to Detroit next year!

#dancecityfestival #dancefestival #internationaldance #dance by @dancert8

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5 days ago

19 years of friendship filled with dancing, nights out and in, brunches, big hugs, belly laughs, and more memories than I can count.

B, you are truly one of the most incredible people I know. You are thoughtful, supportive, genuine, generous, and you have one of the biggest hearts.

You are an amazing friend, artist, wife, and mother, and I continue to admire and learn from the way you love and show up for the people in your life. Thank you for being you!!

Happy Birthday, B! Love you so much, @brandyjkimble! 🥳 by @dancert8

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a month ago

January–May, in no particular order. ❤️

A few moments from the first part of 2026 beyond the studio, classroom, conference room, and office. Many meaningful moments (and people) aren’t pictured. by @dancert8

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3 months ago

Looking back on my 8th semester at UNC Charlotte, a season filled with teaching, research, creative practice, service, and professional growth.

This spring, I taught Hip Hop and Street Dance, Dancing for Choreographers, Choreography and Production Practicum, and Performance Practicum. I also had the opportunity to share my hip hop pedagogical research at the International Association of Blacks in Dance Conference in Atlanta, GA, and at the Department of Africana Studies 24th Annual Symposium at UNC Charlotte.

This semester pushed me in new directions as I wrote my first white paper submission for the National Endowment for the Arts Grants for Arts Projects program. Receiving positive feedback on that submission was both exciting and encouraging. As I shared in a previous post, I also choreographed, produced, and organized the UNC Charlotte edition of the No Tears Project. In addition, I was honored to be invited to guest lecture in both the Teaching Dance: Theories and Practices and a Hip Hop Culture course in the Department of Sociology.

Through support from an ASC Artist Support Grant, I attended the International Conference on Urban Affairs in Chicago. I was also honored to be invited to perform at a ceremony celebrating my friend and long-time collaborator, Joan Lipkin, as she received the prestigious Margo Jones Award.

I led drop-in classes for the department, choreographed and performed in the faculty concert alongside Amber and Jason, and served on a couple of department and college committees. I also served on the National Honor Society for Dance Arts Award Adjudication Committee

I am sure I am forgetting things, but life in academia and the arts rarely slows down.

This semester brought its share of challenges, growth opportunities, and meaningful moments. Through it all, my family, friends, and students offered encouragement, support, and perspective when I needed it most. I am deeply grateful. ❤️ by @dancert8

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3 months ago

In late April, I presented the No Tears Project in collaboration with UNC Charlotte Dance in the Anne R. Belk Theater. Founded by jazz vocalist Kelley Hurt and pianist Christopher Parker, the project uses music, poetry, and dance to engage with memory, resistance, and storytelling through an embodied lens.

The performance featured Kelley Hurt and Christopher Parker alongside undergraduate dancers, musicians, alumni performers, and myself. I directed, choreographed, produced, and organized this interdisciplinary production, bringing together history, performance, mentorship, collaboration, and community engagement.

Together, we shared selections from the No Tears Project repertory surrounding the legacy of Medgar Evers, the hope of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the story of the Little Rock Nine, and works responding to the deaths of Trayvon Martin, Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd, Amadou Diallo, and Eric Garner, alongside new material exploring the Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education case and Charlotte’s history of school desegregation.

Thank you to Natalia Moss, Janise Rodriguez, Madison King, the UNC Charlotte Departments of Dance and Music, Meg Whalen, CHArt, Ryan Harris, Kip Taylor, Toby Schuetze, and the teams in Performing Arts and Operations for helping make this event possible.

The No Tears Project continues to grow in powerful ways, and I am deeply grateful to the artists, collaborators, students, alumni, and audience members who bring this work to life.

Chris and Kelley, it is an honor to know you and the entire No Tears family. I am forever thankful to be a part of this important and powerful work. Your trust means everything to me! ❤️

📷: Toby Schuetze by @dancert8

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3 months ago

Monachopsis (n.) — the subtle but persistent feeling of being out of place; the sense that you don’t quite belong in your surroundings.

This spring, I had the privilege of creating “Monachopsis,” a new dance work that explores the spaces between belonging and isolation, connection and disconnection, and the deeply human search for where we fit.

I left every rehearsal excited for the next one. Watching this work evolve week after week and witnessing the growth, commitment, and artistry in the room was one of the highlights of my semester.

A heartfelt thank you to Piper, Jahnia, Abbey, Grace, Angelina, Jasmine, Kayla, Ava, Cierra, and Keegan for your dedication, hard work, and willingness to fully engage in the process. Your trust, focus, and talent brought this piece to life in ways I could not have imagined.

Thank you as well to everyone who came to the concert and supported me, these artists and our work.

Dance has a unique ability to express emotions that often evade words, and this work became an opportunity to explore the discomfort, beauty, and complexity of feeling both connected and alone. I am incredibly proud of what we created and grateful to have shared this journey with such a remarkable group of people. Much love! ❤️

Concert Photos: Amy Hart and Kat Lawrence taken in Carolina Theatre CLT by @dancert8

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3 months ago

✨ Excited to finally publicly share some wonderful news! ✨

I’ve been awarded a 2025–2026 North Carolina Choreographic Fellowship through Trillium Arts, which will support the continued development of my choreographic work, Hazel.

Tomorrow, I’ll be taking four dancers to the mountains of western North Carolina to immerse ourselves in the creative process of developing the newest iteration of this work. Inspired by the legacy of Hazel M. Johnson and the ongoing fight for environmental justice, Hazel explores the relationship between people, place, and environmental inequity.

I began creating this piece while living in my hometown of St. Louis, Missouri, during the pandemic, when I became acutely aware of the lack of accessible green space in my historically Black neighborhood. That experience deepened my commitment to environmental justice and planted the seeds for this project.

With one of my long-time collaborators, Joan Lipkin, I developed an initial iteration that was performed in St. Louis in 2021. Now, living and working in Charlotte, North Carolina, I’m grateful for the opportunity to return to and expand this work during a residency at Trillium Arts.

As I revisit Hazel several years later, I am approaching the work not only as a choreographer, but also as a researcher, using movement, observation, and dialogue to investigate how our relationships to land, environment, and community are shaped by histories of inequity and resilience.

I’m deeply grateful to Trillium Arts, my dancers and collaborators, and all those who continue to support this creative journey. by @dancert8

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4 months ago

In March, I led my second year of Under Construction, a student choreography showcase emerging from the collaboration of two courses I served as Professor of Record for, Dancing for Choreographers and Choreography and Production Practicum. This continues to be a space where experimentation, risk-taking, and emerging artistic voices can take shape.

Together, these courses support students through a full creative process, from concept development to production, including staging, music selection, performer collaboration, and the refinement of artistic intention into performance.

This year’s choreographers, Abbi, Devdan, Maggie, Keegan, and Amber, offered thoughtful and deeply personal investigations into movement and storytelling. Thank you all as well for the incredibly kind anti-inflammatory fruit basket, so thoughtful and appreciated!!!

I am deeply appreciative to Madison King, Sydney Lin, and Amaree Ratliff for their care and artistry in lighting design, program creation, and stage management.

I am grateful to all the faculty, staff, departments, student collaborators, and guest artists who make this work possible, including Production Arts and Operations, the Dance and Music Departments, our student ushers, and collaborating music students Josepp-Inés Jones, Brandon Stinson, and Marc Denton.

Concert Photography: Toby Schuetze
@clt_dancedept by @dancert8

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4 months ago

The last couple of days of my spring break trip felt softer and more reflective. I spent more time paying attention to small details, slowing down, and appreciating how restorative the experience had been overall. Leaving was hard, but I’m grateful for the reminder that rest, quiet, and intentional time away are necessary too. More solo vacations are in my future, for sure. Thank you @civana for the incredible customer service and the much needed reset. by @dancert8

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4 months ago