USC Kaufman Artist in Residence Hope Boykin | Photo by Jayme Thornton for Dance Magazine

Hope Boykin is beloved — on stage and off. The USC Kaufman Artist in Residence was recently named Dance Magazine‘s October cover star, an honor reserved for the brightest talents in dance today.

 

 

 

 

 

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The two-time Bessie Award winner is no stranger to the limelight. She was a standout performer. First with Complexions and Philadanco, then Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. But it’s her work as a choreographer that generates new praise. Since leaving Ailey nearly four years ago, she has earned a reputation as a generous but formidable creator. The combination has drawn interest from companies and artists around the country eager to experience her process. It’s also the driving force behind her company, HopeBoykinDance. The company will premiere a new evening-length dance theater work at the Joyce Theater in the fall of 2023.

“Boykin’s performance career—beginning with a breakout start at Philadanco and concluding with a 20-year run at the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, from which she retired in 2020—established her reputation as one of the most compelling dancers ever to grace the stage,” writes Courtney Celeste Spears for Dance Mag. “In her post-performance life, Boykin has begun to share that voice through choreography, spoken word, and writing. Her Joyce Theater choreographic debut in New York City this month—during which her company, HopeBoykinDance, will premiere the evening-length, scripted dance-theater work States Of Hope—promises to reveal yet more aspects of Boykin’s distinctive creative language.”

Read on at Dance Magazine.