Theresa Ruth Howard
Theresa Ruth Howard began her professional career with the Philadelphia Civic Ballet Company at the age of twelve. In 1989 joined Dance Theatre of Harlem, where she had the opportunity to travel extensively throughout the United States, Europe and Africa. She has worked with choreographer Donald Byrd as a soloist in his staging of New York City Opera's Carmina Burana, his critically acclaimed Harlem Nutcracker, as well as the controversial domestic violence work The Beast.
In 2004 she was a founding member of Armitage Gone Dance! Premiering Time is the Echo of the Axe within the Wood at the Joyce Theater, and performed at Biennale Festival in Venice, Italy. In 2007 she left the company but has stayed connected with choreographer Karole Armitage and the dancers when acting as rehearsal directress. In addition participated in the 10th anniversary season of Complexions: A Concept in Dance as a guest artist.
As a writer Ms. Howard has contributed to Russell Simmons' One World magazine (art), and The Source (social politics), as well as Pointe and Dance Magazines (Dance), and is working on the completion of her first work of fiction. In 2002 at the Tribeca Theater and Bronx Academy of Artists and Dancers, Ms. Howard presented the first installment of a one-woman work that highlights her multi-faceted talent Anonymous Superstar: All dressed up and nowhere to go. is poignant and comical, infused with both classical and pop references. The production was written and choreographed by Ms. Howard and inspired by the likes of Degas, Dorothy Parker, and her life experiences.
As a teacher Ms. Howard has been an Artist in Residence at Hollins University in Roanoke Virginia and taught at Sarah Lawrence and Marymount Colleges, Shenandoah, and Radford Universities. In 1999 she joined the faculty of the historical American Dance Festival, working with the Young Dancers Program. As a result of her work at ADF Ms. Howard was invited to Sochi, Russia to adjudicate the arts competition and teach master classes at Expectations of Europe in January 2001. In July of 2002 she traveled to Burundi, Africa where she coached and taught the Burundi Dance Company then continued on to Hamilton, Bermuda to work with United Dance Productions where she taught a summer intensive which included Ballet, Modern, Jazz, and Personal Development. Ms. Howard has worked with the Ailey Camp (Bridgeport Connecticut) as a Ballet instructor, and Ailey Camp Too! Teaching Creative Communications. She is currently on faculty in the Ailey School.
Ms. Howard's belief in the development, and nurturing of children lead her to work with at risk youth. At the Jacob Riis Settlement House in Queensbridge New York, she founded S.I.S.T.A (Socially Intelligent Sisters Taking Action) a mentoring program for teen-age girls where she was able to provide them with both support and council, while empowering them to become the creators of their destinies. In addition she developed a dance program, which lead to an exchange with the Dance Theatre of Harlem. Through her teaching travels Ms. Howard began to observe a universal disenchantment and disconnection in teenagers that disturbed her, so she set out to address it. Combining her philosophies of life and teaching, with the skills she garnered through outreach programs with diverse communities, she developed the personal development workshop Principles of Engagement: Connecting youth to the infinite possibilities within. Designed to help teenagers analyze some of their ineffective behavior, breakdowns in comprehension and communication, and integrity in approach and attack, the workshop encourages them to investigate their personal process of learning and illustrates how they can become proactive in their progress through Accountability. Principles of Engagement gives teens a set of workable tools to increase their levels of success at tasks, and goals not only in dance, and all aspect of their lives.
Theresa Ruth Howard is certainly diverse and multifaceted as an artist, and is moved to both write and create work; however she sees every student she encounters as a work in progress, and the potential to change the world one person at a time.
The only was to make this world a better place it to be better people in it!