Joel Hall Dancers Youth Company
Joel Hall Dancers & Center, 4511 N. Clark, Chicago, IL 60640
About
Joel Hall Dancers Youth Company is a pre-professional dance company where young dancers take part in dance education, performance, and pre-professional dance company activities. Company members study the artistry of Joel Hall, learn the profession of dance, and receive Black jazz dance training. The Youth Company performs the unique and exhilarating works of Joel Hall throughout the region and is part of Joel Hall Dancers & Center, a Chicago-based, internationally renowned Black Jazz dance company that performs a 50-year repertoire of “Urban Jazz” for diverse audiences locally, nationally, and internationally.
Joel Hall Dancers Youth Company is directed by dancers mentored by Joel Hall. The leadership team includes Joel Hall – Co-Founder, Artistic Director Emeritus; William Gill – Artistic Director; company members for summer 2026 include Brandon Avery, Alana Hawkins, Talia Howard, Dorianne Thomas, and Nia Towe; apprentices include Madeline Denman, Sekani Jaimevadi, and Leanna Lewis. Joel Hall Dancers Youth Company provides accessible excellence in Black jazz dance training for youth throughout Chicagoland and is part of Joel Hall Dancers & Center, which champions Urban Jazz as a social change and joy catalyst and highlights and spotlights the Black and Brown and LGBTQIA+ experience.
Joel Hall Dancers & Center was founded in 1974 and has a rich 50+ year history and 50+ years of impact. Through its First Company, Youth Company, training, and community programs, Joel Hall Dancers & Center has used dance to unite and inspire since 1974. It is one of the founding Chicago-based project partners of the Chicago Black Dance Legacy Project and is a long-standing member of the International Association of Blacks in Dance.
Joel Hall Dancers & Center’s mission states that it awakens the dancer in everyone’s soul and, by highlighting and spotlighting the Black and Brown and LGBTQIA+ experience, provides comprehensive dance education and artistic expression. The mission also states that it believes dance is a powerful tool to educate and inspire, offering instruction in techniques and insights into the history and cultural significance of dance, and that its commitment to making dance accessible and affordable helps break down barriers and challenges oppressive systems. The mission further states that by championing Urban Jazz, it engages performers and audiences to enhance collective culture and educate future generations, cultivating a more inclusive and equitable world for all.
Joel Hall was named the 2025 “Dance Champion” by Dance/USA for his work and its influence within the local and national dance community. Choreography for “In the Shadow of Nina Simone” received the African American Arts Alliance “Black Excellence Award for Outstanding Achievement in Dance.” Joel Hall Dancers & Center was named one of Chicago’s Cultural Treasures in 2021, is a founding member of the Chicago Black Dance Legacy Project, and is the recipient of the “New Business of the Year Award” from the Edgewater Chamber of Commerce. Dance Magazine has hailed the Joel Hall Dancers as “Jazz Dance at its best.”
Last updated July 29, 2026.
Joel Hall Dancers Youth Company is directed by dancers mentored by Joel Hall. The leadership team includes Joel Hall – Co-Founder, Artistic Director Emeritus; William Gill – Artistic Director; company members for summer 2026 include Brandon Avery, Alana Hawkins, Talia Howard, Dorianne Thomas, and Nia Towe; apprentices include Madeline Denman, Sekani Jaimevadi, and Leanna Lewis. Joel Hall Dancers Youth Company provides accessible excellence in Black jazz dance training for youth throughout Chicagoland and is part of Joel Hall Dancers & Center, which champions Urban Jazz as a social change and joy catalyst and highlights and spotlights the Black and Brown and LGBTQIA+ experience.
Joel Hall Dancers & Center was founded in 1974 and has a rich 50+ year history and 50+ years of impact. Through its First Company, Youth Company, training, and community programs, Joel Hall Dancers & Center has used dance to unite and inspire since 1974. It is one of the founding Chicago-based project partners of the Chicago Black Dance Legacy Project and is a long-standing member of the International Association of Blacks in Dance.
Joel Hall Dancers & Center’s mission states that it awakens the dancer in everyone’s soul and, by highlighting and spotlighting the Black and Brown and LGBTQIA+ experience, provides comprehensive dance education and artistic expression. The mission also states that it believes dance is a powerful tool to educate and inspire, offering instruction in techniques and insights into the history and cultural significance of dance, and that its commitment to making dance accessible and affordable helps break down barriers and challenges oppressive systems. The mission further states that by championing Urban Jazz, it engages performers and audiences to enhance collective culture and educate future generations, cultivating a more inclusive and equitable world for all.
Joel Hall was named the 2025 “Dance Champion” by Dance/USA for his work and its influence within the local and national dance community. Choreography for “In the Shadow of Nina Simone” received the African American Arts Alliance “Black Excellence Award for Outstanding Achievement in Dance.” Joel Hall Dancers & Center was named one of Chicago’s Cultural Treasures in 2021, is a founding member of the Chicago Black Dance Legacy Project, and is the recipient of the “New Business of the Year Award” from the Edgewater Chamber of Commerce. Dance Magazine has hailed the Joel Hall Dancers as “Jazz Dance at its best.”
Last updated July 29, 2026.
Is this your business? There is no cost, but you will be asked to sign up or log in.