Dancer/Performer
Biography
Charisma Brown is a dancer, teacher, and choreographer from Wichita, Kansas. Her passion for dance began at age four after seeing The Nutcracker for the first time. Although she is versatile and trained in many styles, her comfort genres are jazz and contemporary. She started her training at MGM Dance Studio, where she studied ballet, jazz, and tap. Her dedication to dance continued through recreational classes even during a brief period of financial hardship, leading to her return to intensive training at age fourteen on scholarship at Newton Performing Arts Center. She is currently performing with Metropolitan Ballet Wichita as a company member, teaching classes at Encore Dance Wellington, and, of course, actively auditioning.
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Charisma received comprehensive training in ballet, jazz, tap, contemporary, modern, acro, hip-hop, and pointe, studying at institutions such as MGM Dance Studio and Newton Performing Arts Center. During this period, she also developed a strong artistic voice through choreography, receiving awards for solo works and getting invited to national performance teams. She also earned a scholarship to AMDA's summer study program while still in high school. She is known for bringing grace, precision, and emotional depth to her movement.
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Charisma currently performs with Wichita Contemporary Dance Theatre, Metropolitan Ballet Wichita, and Mid-American Dance Theatre. She has collaborated with renowned choreographers and appeared in the dance film The Wanderer by Charlotte Boye Christensen. Her additional performance credits include productions of The Nutcracker with multiple Wichita-based companies. Most recently, she performed as an ensemble member and featured dancer in Matilda with Newton Community Theatre.
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Dedicated to continual growth, she regularly attends pre-professional intensives and travels to New York City to train in advanced classes across diverse styles. Her training includes the Joffrey Jazz and Contemporary Intensive directed by Michael Waldrop and Angelica Stiskin, the Oklahoma International Dance Festival with Austin Hartel and Thyrsa Da Rosa, and Broadway Dance Center. She is also a current mentee of Menina Fortunato, focusing on professional development, media presence, and networking within the dance industry.
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In addition to performing, Charisma is an experienced dance educator. She has taught through outreach programs such as Chance2Dance, introducing elementary students to the arts, and has worked with dancers ages three through eighteen in both recreational and competitive settings. She also initially taught at Derby Children's Theatre and the Northwest YMCA. She currently teaches at Encore Wellington, where she leads beginner through advanced classes and coaches competitive team dancers. Charisma aspires to pursue a professional performance career on a cruise line or Broadway stage and hopes to one day open her own dance studio to inspire the next generation of artists.
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Artist Statement
Realistic
Expressive
Freeing
Captivating
Empowered
I am a dancer, choreographer, and teacher. Growing up, my grandmother took me to see the ballet, and from that moment on, I knew I wanted to dance. Dance has given me my roots, and I do this every day because of what dance has done for me. Dance has allowed me to express the complexities of my life. Growing up and dancing have been interconnected for me, and this loop has inspired me in my dance journey.
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I enjoy making dances because I like to express myself through movement and have free autonomy in what goes into my work. I crave the openness and versatility that choreography gives you. I also enjoy the challenge of creating different kinds of dances, including various dance styles, solos, groups, duets, and more. Each choreographic process has something new to offer. I like the idea of something fresh. I prefer to tell various stories through my work, including realistic personal stories, relatable and broad narratives, and fantasy tales.
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I like that each audience member has their own interpretation and connection to my work. I love the connection that personal and realistic stories make. Getting that out in the world is essential to me because everyone experiences unfavorable circumstances that are not always discussed or are hard to discuss. However, I also appreciate how a fantasy story or theatrical production can transport an audience into an escape from their realities, even if only for a few minutes at a time. My goals and aspirations as an artist are difficult to articulate and explain. I am passionate about sharing realistic works and spreading awareness about topics that are not usually openly discussed in society. I am still exploring what I want my interpretation of my work to be. A part of me does not care about that. However, I see the importance of focus in my current and future work.
I don't have a set process for choreographing. I have tools such as motif and repetition that I work with, but nothing is ever set in stone. Also, it depends on my concept. I often work with the music first, and I am a very visual person, so I see the movements of each word or beat I want to bring out in the piece. At other times, I have a crystal-clear concept but have yet to find the perfect music for it. In those cases, I work more with abstraction and how I want to communicate the idea, whether that involves partner work, theatrics, props, or other elements. I primarily work in a standard proscenium setting; however, I am interested in film work and virtual landscapes. I have many inspirations to guide my work. I love taking inspiration from other well-established dance artists. A few of my favorites include Gina Menichino, Erica Klein, and Shannon Atkins. However, when I have a concept in mind, I always look up dances on similar topics/concepts to dissect and see what tools or choreographic processes I want to include. As a dancer, I also take inspiration from music. Still, I use that to inspire my movement and drive my plot or story, but not so much for tools or ideas on conveying the topic/story; sometimes, there are exceptions if I find that perfect song. I also take inspiration from movies, books, and other written and visual representations of stories.
I want to explore my approach to my themes more in my work. For example, I am enthralled by how a fantasy or theatrical story can transport an audience out of their reality, even if only for a few minutes at a time. I connect to my work through my lived experiences. For example, I have made pieces about feeling isolated and inadequate, something I have experienced regularly since I was a teenager. I have also made dances about feeling empowered and like you are on top of the world. I also connect to my work through others' experiences. This is more of a goal in my work, but I want to be a voice for others who do not have a way to express the things that occur in their lives. I am passionate about spreading awareness and empowerment. Through our ideas and movement, we can express, uplift, and inspire others.
Resume
Demo Reels
