Extended Biography
From Chicago, Illinois, Jaymes Crowder-Acres started his dance career at age 17 at Lindblom Math and Science Academy. He studied Jazz and Modern under Joy Gross and assisted in the beginner dance course there. Simultaneously he danced under Forward Momentum Chicago and The Afterschool Matters Dance Ensemble performing around the Chicagoland Area. It was under Afterschool Matters that he debuted his first "mini" work titled Control.
Following a break from academia, he began his pursuit of a BFA in Dance at The University of Illinois in 2020. While training under numerous teachers and choreographers he expanded his repertoire to include: house, hip hop, waacking, vogue, Umfundalai, Ballet, and numerous modern styles (Horton, Graham, Límon, Humphrey) among other contemporary movement styles.
He made his debut as a performer at Illinois in 2020 under the leadership of Bevara Anderson becoming a member of the first freshman repertory company to be featured in a MainStage concert performance in the November Dance concert which has now become a tradition. He made his dance film debut in Day 100 under the direction of film student Nora Nofal. He’s performed consistently in the works of faculty, graduate, and undergraduate student works in addition to more dance films. He debuted as a choreographer at Illinois premiering two choreographic works simultaneously in Skeleton Dance 2022 and made his MainStage choreographic debut in February Dance 2024. He received his BFA in Dance in May 2024.
His achievements at Dance At Illinois:
3rd year Department Student Board Representative
2nd year Department Intern
4th year Black Advocacy Team Member
2nd year Black Advocacy Team Board Member
Lead coordinator of the mentoring program
High school summer intensive counselor
Member of the dance documentation video crew
Lead cameraman for the Spring Senior Thesis Concert in 2022 and 2023
Co-live stream director for the 2023 October Dance Concert
Student Media Coordinator for the 2023 Intricate Nerves Expanded Bodies Concert
2023 William McClellan Memorial Award Recipient
2024 Senior Magnolia Award Recipient
In 2022 he was the sole male dancer on the Champaign-Urbana-based Wrapsody Dance Company and became active in the street battle scene under the alias Echo Enigma placing first in his debut competition.
Artist Statement
I’m a dance maker who is fascinated by the formation of safe spaces and the sense of community that can be found in a group of dancers. I yearn to see dancers come together and remain individuals, embracing their unapologetic selves. I’m interested in the feeling of joy and exploring how it can work in tandem with improvisation in those community spaces. How does the ability to move freely at one’s own tempo create bombastic moments that provide a fun experience for the audience? How can energetic shifts and contrasting timing be utilized to draw the audience in to become a part of the piece and evoke emotions?
My movement aesthetic combines street styles such as house and hip-hop with Africanized styles such as Umfundalai and contemporary practices that culminate into a melting pot of movement, adaptable to movement artists of different backgrounds. I'm drawn to creating work that looks physically exhausting, even as I coach my cast to feed off each other's and the audience's energy to push past their physical limits and make even the impossible look effortless. Additionally, I am influenced by music and spoken word and how they can contribute to the energy of the process. How do all these factors come together in a sense of community?
My process is one in which each individual brings their own energy, skills, and lived experiences into the space. The end goal of my work is not to change the dancers that come into the space but instead to expand the possibilities of the capabilities that they have. The aim is to abandon the idea that to be a solid unit there has to be uniformity and instead explore how we can use our differences to learn from each other. My hope is that when my processes are finished, the dancers leave the space knowing that they are valid in whatever form they come in. Additionally, I hope that they take the sense of community they gain and spread it to others creating a more welcoming dance industry.
Contact Me
Available for:
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Perfomance
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Choreography
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Teaching
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Videography
