Contemporary Dance with Ashley Suttlar Martin

This dance workshop focuses on the Suttlar Martin technique, a Modern Dance form that balances power and fluidity with a sound technical base that seamlessly integrates complex transitions in and out of the floor. Students move dynamically and sequentially through full-range motion, with close attention to variations in quality, form, and pathway.

Join us for a dynamic contemporary class rooted in aesthetic foundations that continue to shape the genre as a discipline and art form.

With generous support from the David and Nicole Tepper Foundation

Ashley Suttlar Martin, MFA, BFA has worked in arts-integration programs as a Teaching Artist for various school systems and community outreach organizations. She danced professionally for companies based in Philadelphia and New York City and her choreographic works have been acclaimed and presented nationwide. Martin developed and implemented the dance minor curriculum at Morehead State University, and was a contributing author of the 2020 Dance Curriculum Guide for Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools.

Martin has served on faculty at several educational institutions including Central Piedmont Community College, Coker University, Queens University, Winthrop University, Northwest School of the Arts, and the Governor's School of Arts & Humanities. She is serving her 10th season on the faculty at Charlotte Ballet and is an Assistant Professor of Dance at Johnson C. Smith University. Martin is an A+ Fellow for the NC Arts Council and was awarded the Arts and Science Council’s Cultural Vision Grant to create Subject Matters – programming for local artists that fortifies community engagement and celebrates diverse expressions.

Learn more at 4thrightdance.com.

LaTanya Johnson’s rhythmic journey blends the art of movement and storytelling through voice, theater, and visual arts.

Johnson choreographed and provided movement coaching for many productions including, A Raisin in the Sun, Seven Guitars, Ain't Misbehavin’, The Bluest Eye, For the Love of Harlem, A Soldier's Play, and The Piano Lesson. She has worked with Theatre Charlotte, On Q Productions, Free Reign Theater Company, and Brand New Sheriff (BNS) Productions. In 2016, Johnson curated a dance series in celebration of the Gantt Center’s 40th Anniversary, entitled "Catch the Dance".

Johnson’s conservatory training includes Philadanco (Philadelphia Dance Company), Historical New Freedom Theatre in Philadelphia, and Urban Bush Women Summer Leadership Institute, to name a few. She is the founder and artistic director of the Sycamore Project, a Charlotte-based “artivist” initiative using the arts to advocate and promote social and environmental justice.