Chuck Davis
Dr. Charles "Chuck" Davis, (Founder and Artistic Director)of the African American Dance Ensemble and then New York based DanceAfrica is a native North Carolinian. He attended Howard University and majored in Theater/Dance and continued his study in African dance under the guidance of Babatunde Olatunji, Eleo Pomare, and the Bernice Johnson Dance Company. His growing reputation as one of the foremost and accomplished choreographers and teachers in the traditional techniques of African dance compelled the American Dance Festival of Durham, NC, to recruit him for the position of Artist-in-Residence and to head up its outreach program. His desire to reach the young people of Durham who shared his enthusiasm and discipline for dance was the fountainhead from which sprung the African American Dance Ensemble. He has nurtured and led the Ensemble on a course to become one of the truly premier dance companies of any kind touring the nation today.