STAYCEE PEARL

Staycee Pearl is the co-artistic director of PearlArts and STAYCEE PEARL dance project & Soy Sos, where she creates artful experiences through dance-centered multimedia works in collaboration with her husband and artistic collaborator, Herman Pearl. Staycee received her initial dance training at the Alvin Ailey American Dance Center. In 2009, STAYCEE PEARL dance project & Soy Sos (SPdp&SS) debuted at the Kelly Strayhorn Theater. Since then the duo has produced several works including ..on being…, OCTAVIA, and FLOWERZ, and are currently working on their National Dance Project supported CIRCLES. Staycee is passionate about sharing resources and creating opportunities for the arts community by initiating project-generating programs including the Charrette Series, the In The Studio Series, and the PearlDiving Movement Residency.

Staycee and her collaborators came to NCCAkron in June of 2021 for a Creative Residency in support of CIRCLES, a response to white supremacy and its aftershocks in Black people today. How does white supremacy affect our self-perception? How do we reclaim ourselves? Combining dance, visual arts, and an original soundtrack, the work presents snapshots of popular culture and offers a path to self-reclamation through Staycee's lens as a midcareer Black cis femme artist.