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Rodney Veal

Rodney Veal to Join CET & ThinkTV Staff

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Long-time host of The Art Show poised to help station continue to expand its footprint in the arts.
Dayton, OH – Public Media Connect, the regional partnership of CET in Cincinnati and ThinkTV in Dayton, announced today that Rodney Veal would be joining the PBS station’s staff effective July 1, 2024. Veal has been involved with the station for more than a decade, namely as the host of The Art Show and the co-producer of the station’s upcoming documentary about Bing Davis.
“Having Rodney Veal as a member of the team allows public media to serve the arts community at an even deeper level, enabling us to amplify the voices of artists, uncover hidden gems in our region, and enrich our cultural landscape even further. We all look forward to the many talents Rodney will bring to the station,” Public Media Connect’s Chief Content Officer Colin Scianamblo said.
In addition to his work in television, Veal is an independent choreographer and multi-disciplinary artist. He graduated from Eastern Michigan University with a B.S. in Political Science and Visual Arts and then received his M.F.A in Choreography from The Ohio State University. Veal has choreographed and presented performance installations all over the Miami Valley, notable projects being Reveal: Five Zones of Beauty, shown at the Springfield Museum of Art in 2011, and the GHETTO installation at the University of Dayton’s ArtStreet in 2015. His most recent exhibitions were Beautiful Remains at the Harmon Museum and the Art Space Lofts Gallery in the Spring and Summer of 2022. Rodney has exhibited his work in a group show, Cantata in Five Movements, at the Dana Wiley Gallery in the Fall and Winter of 2022.
Veal has also received several Montgomery County Arts and Cultural District grants and fellowships, including an MCACD Fellowship for 2010-2011, and he was one of five artists chosen nationwide to participate in the BlueSky Dayton Project Artist in Residency Program in collaboration with the University of Dayton in the summer of 2009. He currently serves on the Board of Trustees of Ohio Dance as President and on the boards of trustees of Levitt Pavilions Dayton, HomeFull, Dayton Live!, Dayton Performing Arts Alliance, Westcott House and the Community Advisory Board of WYSO.
“I’m grateful for this incredible opportunity to help get the message out about the diverse and exciting art being created right here in Southwest Ohio. And I am honored to be in service of the arts community that has enriched my own life on so many levels. I cannot wait to hit the ground running,” Veal said.
Adding Veal to the station staff, which currently employs about 70 people across two locations (one in Cincinnati and one in Dayton), will allow the organization to continue to deepen its commitment to the arts, both as a megaphone for local artists and art organizations and as an art organization itself. Kitty Lensman said adding Veal to the team was an amazing opportunity at just the right time.
“Rodney’s creativity and passion for everything arts makes him a natural addition to the ThinkTV & CET team. I look forward to working with him,” she said.

Culture Works Campaign for the Arts 50th Anniversary Campaign Co-Chairs

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Culture Works is pleased to announce the Co-Chairs of the 2024 Campaign for the Arts: Bing Davis as the Artistic Chair, and Rodney Veal as the Community Chair.

Willis “Bing” Davis is an internationally renowned artist with art in public and private collections around the world. He is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Ohio Governor’s Irma Lazarus Lifetime Achievement Award in 2009, the highest art award given in the state of Ohio. In addition to his artistic work, Bing Davis is known for his creative and innovative approach to teaching, learning, and human development through the arts resulted in his receiving state, national and international acclaim.

Bing grew up in Dayton, Ohio. He left when he attended DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana, graduating in 1959. He also attended the school of the Dayton Art Institute and received his Master of Education degree in 1967 from Miami University, Oxford, Ohio. He has traveled all over the world, but continues to call Dayton home and demonstrates his commitment by residing and working in the community. When he retired from teaching in 1998, he opened the Davis Art Studio and EbonNia Gallery in the historic Wright-Dunbar Business District. He has continued offering youth and community art and cultural activities through SHANGO: Center for the Study of African American Art and Culture. Bing is a leading advocate for diversity in both the arts and in our community, and Culture Works is thrilled to have him advocate for the arts and Culture Works as Artistic Chair of the campaign.

“One of the reasons it is important for people to support the arts in Dayton is that the arts add such a quality to life that cannot be added any other way. Art is one of the best ways to…touch all people in all neighborhoods,” said Bing. He added, “Contributing to the arts is one of the best ways to touch all people and to add a richness to living. It gives us all a good feeling to contribute to something so worthwhile – art, music, dance, drama, and creative words.”

Rodney Veal is the host of the Art Show on Think TV, and the podcast “Inspired By.” He has a long association with the arts in Dayton and with Culture Works, where he worked (in 1999) as special assistant to then President John Clark. Rodney has also received MCACD grants and fellowships through Culture Works. He is known for his work as an independent choreographer and interdisciplinary artist, and his works have been performed as part of the Ohio Dance Festival and other regional dance festivals. More recently, Rodney has worked as an adjunct faculty member for Sinclair Community College. He is also a visual artist, and just mounted a show at Indie West. A native Daytonian, Rodney is a graduate of Eastern Michigan University with a B.S in Political Science and Visual Arts and he has an MFA in Choreography from The Ohio State University. Rodney is President of the Board of Trustees of Ohio Dance and serves on the boards of Friends of Levitt Pavilions Dayton, Dayton Live, Dayton Performing Arts Alliance, WYSO and Homefull.

Rodney commented, “Culture Works serves as a protector of the arts ecosystem in the region, to make sure that this platform is there for people and organizations who create art, and to elevate the creativity that occurs there. They play a necessary role in ensuring that there is a fair and equitable distribution of funding and services to artists of all kinds. We need voices at the table from artists who are creating and sharing their stories from many different and wonderful backgrounds, and they need to be supported. Culture Works provides the opportunity for all those different voices to be heard and their creativity to be experienced, which makes our community that much richer and more special.”

2024 marks the 50th year of Culture Works sustaining, promoting, and advocating for the arts community in the Dayton Region. Formed in 1974 as the Dayton Arts Fund, the organization was charged with raising funds for arts groups in critical need. Individuals and businesses were asked for contributions by volunteers whose goal was to increase the number of donors to the arts. Robert A. Kerr, one of the organizers of the Arts Fund, identified the orchestra, ballet, and opera as the areas of “most critical current need,” and noted “the Dayton Arts Fund later might be expanded to include groups other than the three now covered.” (Journal Herald of October 18, 1974) Additional recipients of Campaign for the Arts funding were added including the Dayton Contemporary Dance Company, Muse Machine, The Human Race Theatre Company, the Springfield Symphony, and more.

During its 50 years, Culture Works has adapted to meet the changing needs of the arts community. Bing Davis, Artistic Chair of the 2024 Campaign for the Arts, was part of the 1992 community initiative that led to the merger of the arts fund with the Miami Valley Arts Council, to become the Miami Valley Arts Alliance. The organization became both a united arts fund and a local arts agency, adding to the region we serve and to our mission. In 1994, the Arts Alliance was rebranded as Culture Works.

As a United Arts Fund, Culture Works still raises funds for arts organization’s most critical needs, but also introduced a grants panel review system that invites community voices into decisions regarding dispersal of community supported grant funding. As a Local Arts Agency, Culture Works advocates for the inclusion of art and artists in development projects, pursues local, state, and national funding, provides support and services for arts organizations, runs artist support programs–including professional development for individual artists–develops outreach to build connections between the creative and business sectors, and initiatives that improve our community and our schools.

The annual Campaign for the Arts, which is Culture Works’ principal grants program, unites gifts from individual donors, corporate supporters, and workplace giving campaigns into funding for Community Arts Grants. Community volunteers award general operating support to local arts organizations through an open panel application review process.

The Fire This Time

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“Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.” – John F. Kennedy

We have reached the tipping point as a community. The changes wrought by the global pandemic despite every rosy false projection are not going away anytime soon. Rising infection and death rates cannot be obfuscated by a reality television veneer or outright lies. The fight for racial justice and equality has exposed a raw and visceral wound that is acting like a mirror forcing us to confront the ugliest image reflected back just like the Portrait of Dorian Gray of Oscar Wilde fame. Like the character of Dorian in the novel, we cannot deny the rotting reflection of we are, a beautiful country with a decaying heart and soul. The decay comes from the poison of the original sin that haunts the founding of our country, the original sin of slavery. This sin is exacting a toll that we are in denial about paying. The bill collectors are demanding payment and we are disputing the final tally. Coronavirus is our late fee penalty on that bill.

The combined scourges of our racist past and our current undeniable diseased present are obliterating everything in its fire scorching path. The combination has exposed our collective and individual helplessness to block its inevitable conclusion. We are all staring into the heart of darkness and our fear/panic is palpable. We are looking for a lifeline to pull us to a place of safety that provides us a calming comfort. Holding out hope that maybe something of value and worth will be spared from the blaze and that we can rebuild from the ruins.

For many in our community, Dayton is and has been that safe harbor. A destination removed from the devastation. A community that is impervious to the winds of change that are sweeping our world. Our false sense of safety is rooted in the privilege of denial. Dayton has for the most part survived global conflicts, economic recessions, and societal unrest that other cities have never recovered from. This false sense of security has to lead us to encourage leadership that is more about maintaining the status quo rather than a leadership enlisted to encourage growth and Innovation. Instead, we have settled for a leadership dazed by the halcyon glow of nostalgia and myopic to the possibilities of what a visionary future may hold. Nostalgia has always been a crutch for maintaining the status quo.

Maintaining the status quo requires a certain type of leadership operating within a conducive environment. This type of leadership almost always cloaks itself in the veneer of middling respectability. A profound lack of intellectual curiosity and creative thought processes are hallmarks of their managerial style.

The twin scourges of the pandemic and racism have provided double metaphorical slaps to the status quo. Both slaps have produced a variety of responses from our leaders. Some leaders awoke from the slaps to a renewed sense of purpose, finding opportunities to deal with our problems with a certain amount of clarity and willpower. Other leaders turned their gaze inward by reflecting on and considering the severity of the consequences of their roles and looking to make amends. A small minority of our leaders punched back, obstinately refusing to address the stark reality of our challenges, retreating to a false narrative, and making decisions that dangerously contradict the harshest truths. A fatal denial that endangers us all. The danger of this approach is that our Pre-COVID world is gone up in a blaze that is leaving nothing in its wake. We cannot return to an empty lot and pretend that we have a beautiful mansion unscathed. Wake up!

The Great Reset

Yes, we are in dark dystopian times, and at times it feels as if we are being consigned to a fatalistic ending. Nihilism is a response reserved only for the privileged and over-indulged and doesn’t allow for what inevitably happens after a cleansing fire, a chance to rebuild. A massive reset that addresses a new design for our way of life. Embracing fresh ideas and concepts that provides a roadmap to a future that is inclusive, dynamic, and equal. If we had leaders who possess bold visionary and creative skills and a zest for life, we just might have a fighting chance to be reborn as a city, a Dayton 2.0. For this to happen we have to reset ourselves. We need to imbue ourselves with the ability to never accept bad and mediocre decision making. Exercise our rights as citizens to demand better from those who control the levers of power. If their incompetency causes damage or harm, exercise our rights to remove them from power. Hold them accountable at every point of their tenure.

Image courtesy of Tom Gilliam

We are all looking for inspiration and the motivation to rise up and meet insurmountable challenges head-on. We are all seeking the wisdom and guidance of exceptional leaders who will be an improvement from the gaggle of short-sighted leaders who are currently blocking our progress as we march toward a viable future. At some point, all of us have been lulled into the docile embrace of the mediocrity that governs us. We have let fear make us the pawns in other people’s games. We have let fear guide us away from who we truly are. Instead of talking about our past glories of invention and industriousness let us engage actively in the task of rebuilding Dayton from the ground up. We may be tired, battered, and burned by the fire, but we are also audaciously endowed with the forces of common sense, decency, and creative vitality that will see us through to an even unimaginably brighter future when that last ember has died. These latent powers lie dormant within all of us and the time to use those powers is now.

One of my favorite shows to watch during this period of turbulence and despair has been HBO’s West World and my favorite line from the show that I have adopted as a personal mantra is that, “This is the new world. And in the new world, you can be whoever the F**k you want.” So the question that I pose to Dayton is, who the F**k do you want to be?

CTW Kicks Off Men at Work Campaign

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Each week, our men will compete in a themed competition. The Role Model who secures the most votes each week will win an award:

  • Beginning April 30, 2018:
    First Impressions Award
  • Beginning May 7, 2018:
    Workplace Image Award
  • Beginning May 14, 2018:
    Casually Cool Award

Voting will officially end at 11:59pm on Friday, May 18th. We will then tally the votes and announce the results at a special awards ceremony on Wednesday, May 23, 2018. Individual awards will be given to the winners of each weekly themed competition, and the individual who has the most overall votes will be crowned Clothes That Work’s “Ambassador of the Year.”

Meet the 2018 Role Models:

 


Charles Baerman
Shawn Bauman
Ben Bergman

Kevin Cornell
Ken DeMange
Aliou Diouf

Justin Howard
Jacob Hynes
Brent Johnson

AJ Kessler
Rob Krause
Tom Maher

Sean Mitchell
John North
Stephen Offord

Peter Qumsiyeh
Josh Schierloh
Shelby Shackelford

Bill Slowden
Chris Southern
Josh Stuckey

Jonathan Thompson
Bill Twiss
Rodney Veal

Philanthropy: Powerful When Personal

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Hooray! Dayton, Ohio is in the midst of an urban revival the likes of which we have never seen. A major revamping of our main library, Levitt Pavilion Dayton, A major housing construction boom, and of course major traction on the Arcade. There is a different energy and vibe to the Dayton urban landscape and the direction in which Dayton’s fortunes are heading; a forward momentum.

Photo by Tom Gilliam

We could debate the pro’s and con’s of each project mentioned, but that is a futile exercise of armchair commentary and anonymous social media commentary that at the end of the day is all sound and fury signifying nothing. The underlying thematic source of most responses to major public development projects is the desire for alternative thoughts and ideas to be heard and considered. And yes the diversity of voices in the public realm is vital to the continued upswing in the Dayton renaissance; something that underpins my personal value system.

I take my right to be in the “Room where it happens” very seriously. But that is a topic for another day. With being in the “Room” I am given a unique vantage point on these public projects, all of which are noble in the purest theoretical sense.  When we are in these meetings which are beautiful anachronistic formal exercises of contemporary business mores, (handouts, Introductions and PowerPoint and maybe a pot of coffee) we begin the process of Civic project management.  As an artist/culturalist I am privately amused at the human drama that unfolds, social machinations worthy of Edith Wharton. Trust me when I tell you most of these meetings never rise above the mundane and pragmatic. When these meetings are healthy passionate vigorous debates on what Dayton is and what it can become, that is when the possibility of bold and audacious action takes root, unfortunately this is the rare exception.

In order to have bold and audacious action requires a healthy acceptance of ambiguity and fearlessness. This attribute is commonly applied to artists and creative types, but of course skill, talent and openness needs to be present. I feel that this attribute can be applied to a Jeff Bezos, Melody Hobson, Oprah and Tim Cook (if you do not know who they are, Google them) leaders in other fields and professions. My private hope is that more people would throw caution to the wind, loosen up and let their passions fly in these meetings. I need more mavericks and rogue agents driving the next wave of urban development.

All of the aforementioned civic projects in Dayton are on a fast track, these projects are going to happen. I say this to push the conversation and dialogue to another place. What is your “personal” Levitt pavilion, what is your Main Library, what is your personal civic project? I have the great privilege to meet a lot of people from such diverse backgrounds, people who have passion projects that they want to see to fruition and take root in our community.  Some of these ideas are cool and quirky, while others are ideas that have taken root in other communities all over the world. Best practices worthy of duplication.  But the prevailing mindset is that we are dealing with finite resources and limited bandwidths for people to see these projects through.

Most of the decision making process resides in a very small cadre of individuals, and this where the question of diversity needs to be answered.  We all have a tendency to see diversity though the narrow lens of race and class.  For this conversation I want to focus on the role of class in the civic decision making process.  All too often in these meetings, there is a prevailing parochial middle class lens  that shapes and underpins the decision making process.  Which baffles me at times, as we have all to a certain extent  have achieved a level of recognizable professional success.

I argue that these achievements afford us in the professional class access to a broader world view through travel and access to information (Thank you technology). Yet we constrict the concepts and executable actions to what the community can bear and lowered expectations, that feels downright Victorian at times.  There is no empirical data to back this up. I call this the Dayton “Bubble”, which constricts expansion and prevents incursion and bold thoughts and ideas to manifest themselves. And if we would encourage diversity of individuals/ideas in “the Room” where decisions happen, I suspect that bolder projects and ideas would percolate to the surface, but we will never know until we all push for that diversity to happen. I would love to see blue collar workers participating in the  civic decision making process, housewives, nurses, janitors and students engaged in making Dayton better. Leaders, I challenge you to broaden the scope of who you invite to the “room”. I challenge you to be creative and fearless in forming your committees.

I am not a wealthy individual by any stretch of the imagination and those who know me joke that I am everywhere, working on everything.  I come from a Southern family with a ridiculous work ethic. It is true that my sense of civic engagement and a belief that being in service to others and the greater good drive these motivations. I give 30-40 percent of my time, energy and skills to that end. I do not expect everyone to be this obsessive, but secretly I do.  If you are not a part of the decision making process for these large scale projects then I challenge you to push, and get your personal projects off the ground.

Call up ten of your friends and each of you put in 100 dollars. Take that thousand dollars and get your project going, or whatever your project needs, Just do it. You may succeed spectacularly or not, but why not take the chance.  Now more than ever we need to deconstruct/dismantle the “Dayton Way” and we need to accelerate this renaissance to warp speed. Our city needs color, flavor, sophistication, energy and excitement.  We need to let go of the outmoded parochial thinking and look for ways to differentiate ourselves from the thousands of other cities on the planet, that are just like Dayton. Yes, this is a global game not a provincial one, the future is now.

 

 

Dancing Bodies and Melodic Voices Come Together

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Body & Voices_croppedJPEGMusica, Dayton’s Chamber Choir, is partnering with the Dance Department at Stivers School for the Arts to present Body & Voices, a program utilizing the talents of both musicians and dancers.

 

The Musica ensemble will be under the direction of Artistic Director, Dr. Jeffery Stern and the Stivers dancers are under the direction of Adjunct Faculty and Choreographer, Rodney Veal.

The Body & Voices concert will capture the spirit and convey the story of the American Civil War through song and movement. Our program tells this story in four sections: a study of one of the most popular composers of the time, Stephen Foster; a look into the burdens of war; exploration of songs representing the struggle to end slavery; and a finale representing American patriotism. Mr. Veal says, “we are very excited to be collaborating with Musica on this concert, which allows us to interpret these wonderfully arranged classic choral works through modern dance.”

 

Body & Voices will be presented in the recently renovated Eichelberger Hall at Stivers School for the Arts on Saturday, March 12 at 7:00 and Sunday, March 13 at 3:00.

 

Tickets are $15 for adults and $12 for Students and Seniors. For more information, call (937) 619-9755 or visit www.musicadayton.org.

SMAG Dance Collective’s 10th Season Finale Comes to the Dayton Playhouse

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SMAGSave the date! for SMAG Dance Collective’s 10th Anniversary Season Spring Fling concert which takes place on May 24h at Dayton Playhouse, 1301 E. Siebenthaler Ave, Dayton, Ohio 45414.

Show times are 4:00pm and 8:00pm.  Tickets can be purchased at www.smagdance.org and Brown Paper Tickets.

Spring Fling is purely devoted to the art of dance; challenging, physical, dynamic and insightful works are performed.  This 10th Anniversary Season’s Spring Fling Concert features the work of many of Dayton’s OWN, so #dateyourcity

SMAG’s 10th Anniversary Season Spring Fling features the work of nearly 10 choreographers, and SMAG is proud to present the work of the exceptionally artful, Rodney Brown, Founder/Director of the Brown Dance Project, the intensely moving work of fellow dancer and life-long friend, Shonna Hickman-Matlock, Director of DCDC2, and the work of Rodney Veal, for whom there are many accolades, and yet who is a humble man who lives art in a way that only he can and our community is blessed by his amazing gifts.

SMAG’s Spring Fling also serves as a showcase for emerging choreographers such as this season’s veteran company member and Assistant Director, Taiesha Green and first year company member, Rachelle Cartee.

This 10th Anniversary Season’s Spring Fling also features the work of Deniz and Renee McClendon.  These women are long time contributors to the body of work that is dance in Dayton, Ohio, and SMAG Dance Collective is excited to share the stage with these choreographers and their dancers.

Spring Fling is very much representative of the company’s mission which is to provide opportunity for dancers and choreographers, educate and entertain diverse audiences, and to bridge the gap between artists, arts organizations and the community.

SMAG Dance Collective extends its heartfelt thanks to everyone who contributed to the company’s Spring Fling power2give campaign and also to Culture Works!

SMAG’s programming is made possible by grant funding from the Ohio Arts Council, private donors, in kind donations from volunteers and local businesses, and most recently, with the help of Culture Works’ power2give launch.

SMAG Dance Collective is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization.

New Public Art Project in Dayton: 510project

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Gallery 510 Fine Art and Involvement Advocacy announced 510project, a new public art initiative to take place in the front window of Gallery 510 Fine Art, appropriately located at 510 East Fifth Street in the Oregon Arts District.

Performance. Installation. Art Making… A window looking in… A window looking out… Artists engaging Community… Community engaging Artists… Transformation.

Each month 510project invites an artist and the community to a different kind of conversation about:

• the relevance of art in the society;

• the role of the artist and the audience;

• what it means to be a creator, viewer, participant and collaborator – and what it means to BE Dayton.

The genesis for 510project was a conversation between community catalyst Peter Benkendorf and artist Loretta Puncer. According to Puncer, who owns Gallery 510, “I think we both felt that artists who live in Dayton have much to contribute to addressing the challenges we face in the community. They just need a viable venue to begin the conversation. We are excited to have identified our first three artists, all of whom we agree have something important to say about our collective future.”

Opening Installation

Rodney Veal - "Seen/Unseen"

November 27 – December 3, 2010, Seen/Unseen with artist Rodney Veal

Friday, December 3, 2010, live performances at 7:00 and 8:00 PM, followed by artist/community conversation

Seen/Unseen is a media driven performance art installation that allows the audience to observe and interact with the work from a multiplicity of angles. It challenges patrons to really “see,” taking their participation out of passivity into active participation and engagement. When we can only see through a portal that is no larger than a peephole, what do we become as artists and audience?

Using video/sound collage and performance, independent choreographer/media artist Rodney Veal, hopes to challenge the viewers to “see” the unseen power they posses to impact and change how the performance unfolds, and ultimately how they engage with others. Seen/Unseen, ruminations on life, death and race, will only exist in the ephemeral state in which all performances exist with only the documentation serving as the finished work of art.

Upcoming Artists

December/January: Issa Randall, Dayton

January/February: Leigh Waltz, Miamisburg

About the Collaborators

Founded in 2008, Gallery 510 Fine Art has developed into a showcase for contemporary art and fine crafts with a focus on local emerging and established artists.  The gallery collection features paintings, drawings, linocuts, ceramics, fiber, wood, art glass and jewelry.  We endeavor to attract and include those new to the contemporary art scene, as well as serve knowledgeable collectors.  The gallery is located in the heart of the Historic Oregon District in Dayton, Ohio.

Involvement Advocacy, a 501(c)3 not-for-profit corporation, is committed to strengthening the Dayton region by acting as a catalyst for imaginative, entrepreneurial, community-driven solutions to pressing social, economic and civic challenges. These collaborative solutions will include citizen, government, business, institutional, organizational and philanthropic players. Involvement Advocacy’s principle program is Blue Sky Project, (www.blueskydayton.org), a juried, international summer artist residency committed to producing ambitious and meaningful works of contemporary art. It includes a strong youth development component and an emphasis on art making as community-building. The organization was also the originator of the 2009 Ten Living Cities Symposium, a response to the Forbes America’s Ten Fastest Dying Cites list.

Portrait of an Artist – Rodney Veal, the Blue Sky Project and Dayton

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Rodney Veal is a talker.  He’ll talk to you about his art, his family, and his passion for this city.  Upon a first meeting, he’ll talk to you like you’re old friends, and he’s not afraid to tell you what he thinks.  I got the opportunity sit down with Rodney over a long lunch to talk about his experiences.  He’s doing something right – as a Dayton native making it as an artist and giving back to the community through the Blue Sky Project.  I wanted to know his story in hopes that it could help others on a similar journey.  Luckily, Rodney is happy to tell his story.

Who is Rodney Veal?

Rodney Veal is a performance artist who hesitates to use that term to define his art.  He uses visual art, dance, film, photography, music, and more to create experiences for his audiences.  Originally, he was drawn to art school for design, but dabbling in dance while in college gave him a new direction.  After graduation, he found himself clerking at the Department of Transportation, but missing the vibrancy of movement.  He decided that he needed to find a creative outlet.  Luckily, he knew he could take a beginning ballet class at Sinclair Community College at a cost next to nothing and revive his excitement for dance.

That class started the ball rolling.  Basic Ballet at SCC shifted to adult dance classes at the Dayton Ballet which opened further doors for him.  His teacher and soon-to-be champion, Barbara Pontecorvo, told him that he had good qualities; he was musical with good turn out (and he was a man), but he would have to lose weight and learn technique.  Pontecorvo’s honesty and encouragement pushed him along to work harder.

Photo Credit: Kenny Mosher

Rodney believes it was the feedback, criticism, and encouragement from local dance professionals that kept him in the scene.  Bess Imber was his “catalyst for change,” making him take dance seriously as a career.  DeShona Pepper-Robertson shared with him her great passion and positive spirit to transform lives.  It was meeting these women in the Dayton community – and so many more – that created an atmosphere where he could work and thrive.  That’s what he claims makes Dayton such a special place – the support system available to artists.  He argues that the history of Dayton in the dance world is a “history of legendary performers and teachers” all with reputations that extend beyond Dayton.

With more feedback, he kept getting better.  The success he achieved as a choreographer really enticed him and that became his passion.  He learned he was honestly good when four of his works were performed and recognized at Regional Dance America.  He credits his continued success to the fantastic support structure that exists in Dayton; his work with friends at the Dayton Ballet, Gem City Ballet, DCDC, and other dance organizations have built him into a professional dancer/choreographer.  With a light in his eyes, Rodney says, they “gave to me and they didn’t have to be generous – but they were.”  He is forever grateful for his mentors and teachers; it is because of them that he is excited to give back to his own community through the Blue Sky Project.

His days of clerking for the Department of Transportation are long gone.  Now he teaches at Sinclair (the same college that re-introduced him to dance years ago) and Stivers, acts as the President of the Board of Involvement Advocacy which operates the Blue Sky Artist Residency Program, and he freelances as an artist.  Good work brings about more good work.  Because he was a Blue Sky resident artist in 2009, Rodney has been asked to install exhibits and create other works.  Local boy definitely makes good.

The Blue Sky Project

It’s through Blue Sky that I learned about Rodney’s story.  According to their Web site, Blue Sky is “an artist-centered program committed to producing significant works of contemporary art.”  They provide a communal environment for diverse artists to collaborate with local young people, they use the creative process to teach important lessons to the youth participants, and they build up the Dayton community by contributing to the cultural experience.  Blue Sky is changing the landscape of the Dayton region with their creative and collaborative approach to art making.  Rodney believes in the mission and its benefits for Dayton, stating “if we support individuals in what they’re passionate about, it’s a win-win for the community.”

Photo Credit: Betsie Molinsky

Rodney was a resident artist in 2009, and is so pleased to be involved in the Project again this year.  He gushes about youth participants from last year and the difference the Project has made in their life.  Each year, forty young people have the opportunity to be next to someone making art at a professional level, and those youth get to be actively engaged in the process as artists with ideas that are critiqued, validated, and utilized.  Talking about the kids from 2009, he believes their whole demeanor has changed; they see life in a different way.  And he believes that even if they choose to leave Dayton – they leave with a good story to share, and that story will make outsiders more interested in the region.

But it’s not only the youth participants who benefit; the professional artists from around the world are finding that they can work freely in Dayton.  Artistic collaboration is available and resources can be utilized.  There are so many possibilities available if you only ask.  Giving an example from his own experience, on Thursday, July 22, 2010, Rodney filled the Schuster Center Wintergarden with music, silk and dancers for two spectacular performances.  How in the world was this allowed?  He asked.  And Ken Neufeld, the President and CEO of the Victoria Theatre Association, said yes.  According to Rodney, this type of access isn’t available anywhere else – Dayton is a welcoming arts community.

In the Wintergarden - Photo Credit: Betsie Molinsky

Although the summer residency program is coming to an end, you haven’t missed out yet.  Coming up this weekend is the R U Experienced Final Exhibition; there are three ways to check it out.  How you enjoy it is up to you.  Thursday is a special gala with a ticket price that goes to support the project.  Dress up, meet and greet, and put your money toward this great cause.  Low on cash?  Friday is about hipsters and hanging out and seeing the art during First Friday.  Saturday is a friends and family event; although it’s more intimate, it’s not closed to the public.

In the future, Rodney hopes Blue Sky will expand to a year-round program.  The artists this year love the freedom and collaboration available in Dayton and they really want to come back.  Blue Sky hopes to host them through the year and connect them to what they need.

Future Growth in Dayton

The story could end there.  It was a great conversation about his history and what makes Dayton such a great place for young artists.  But I told you Rodney likes to talk, and our conversation didn’t stop with the good news about his history and the Blue Sky Project.  He also has strong ideas about what might be holding Dayton back.

When talking about the art scene in the region, Rodney calls it “an embarrassment of riches.”  But he fears that the audiences aren’t always “present” to enjoy it.  I asked what he means.  He points out that too often audiences will “stop the experience to beat traffic.”  Too many people don’t live life as it comes– they are always thinking of what comes next.  Rodney sounds like he gets his philosophy from an inspirational poster when he encourages that people should work to live rather than live to work, but you can tell that this is a man who honestly lives by that credo.  Life is about the choices that you make; he asks, “What are you running toward on that treadmill?”

He encourages more artistically-minded people to get involved in civic leadership.  New voices at the table will bring fresh, new ideas.  The myth that artists are too removed from “real people” and aren’t hard workers also must be dispelled.  Rodney says he has learned management and finance through the arts business, and he argues that many artists have the capability to use both sides of their brain for creative project management.  These individuals who bring the artistic “full-mindedness” can help implement the changes our region needs to succeed.  It’s a two-sided challenge; our region’s leadership must value the work done by the artists and call on them for help, and the artists must take up arms to help in the revitalization of the region.

Beyond the individual motivations of audience members and the commitment of artists, Rodney has recommendations for the region.  He wants Dayton to be the city that changes the mindset of middle-class America.  Believing that Dayton is behind the times in relations to many societal norms, Rodney wants to see more people feeling empowered to be themselves.  Rodney argues against what some people call “hometown values,” he says that it’s the region’s antipathy toward gay rights, a pigeon-holing of women, and the expectations that our young people should be on a track to marry and start having children quickly that results in stagnation.  In his opinion, breaking out of this mold can encourage more openness, creation, and progress.

Rodney’s last words of advice for those working to make a difference in the region: affect change for the people in front of you – don’t worry about how many are moved, just be sure that you can move those people as much as possible.  Trust the people around you to work.  Critique and feedback is good – Blind validation is bad.  And finally, he has words for the naysayers in Dayton.  “Change it or get out – find the place that makes you happy.”

Learn more about the BLUE SKY PROJECT here or here.