We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Tashara Gavin Moorehead. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Tashara below.

Alright, Tashara thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear about the things you feel your parents did right and how those things have impacted your career and life.

My mom encouraged me to shine! Although I had a performing spirit I would get shy and timid. She reminded me that my uniqueness is god given and to never shy away from the things that make me different. Through dedication and determination she said all my dreams were possible. My late father encouraged me to travel, explore, and also encouraged me to pursue my dreams. They both love that I pursued an art form and creative field and they have always been fans of my art. My mom also made learning about our heritage and history as African Americans important while growing up. We celebrated the cultural holiday of Kwanzaa to appreciate our unique history as descendants of those who were once enslaved in America.

Tashara, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I am a dance artist, choreographer and educator who is deeply connected to her African American heritage and history and uses my art to express, heal, and create new realities. I began my formal training in dance at the age of 5. I studied ballet, modern, and jazz throughout my K-12 education where I was fortunate enough to go to performing arts schools in Virginia where I am originally from. My mom took ballet growing up so she introduced me to the form. We did not know that I would love the form so much that one day I would pursue making it my career. I earned a BFA from Virginia Commonwealth University and I became a bit of a nomad in my twenties pursing dance in New York, Philadelphia, Chicago and Los Angeles. While in those cities I danced with Inspirit dance company, Vissi Dance Theater, Deeply rooted Dance Theater, Lula Washington Dance Theater, and Jazzantiqua Music and Dance Ensemble all of which are Black dance companies who are committed to telling the stories of our people and experiences. I took a leap of faith and started to choreograph and teach in the midst of this time frame and saw fit after 10 plus years to earn my MFA in dance from California State University. In 2021 post graduation I began taking an ethnographic approach to my art by integrating the Nguzo Saba, the seven principles of Kwanzaa into my composition and building on jazz improvisation as my primary mode of performance. I am looking forward to continue presenting my work to not only deepen my own history but to share the history and legacy of African American culture and heritage with others.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

I have had to unlearn anti-blackness, and am still in the process of learning all the ways in which anti-blackness is woven into our society, policies, institutions, cultural and beauty standards. As an dance artist anti Blackness exist in dance programs as centering only western modes of dance such as ballet and modern and keeping African Diasporic forms such as jazz, tap, street dances and hip hop as electives. Growing up I thought the only way I could be a professional dancer was through ballet and modern. It was not until much later in my twenties that I truly understood that that is an ideology and philosophy informed by white supremacy and capitalism and has been the foundation of most dance programs and dance companies in America. Liberating myself from the idea that ballet is foundation of all dance forms and de centering white American composition tools for choreography has been paramount to my growth as an artist. Re centering my African American heritage in dance and the ways in which we approach music, dance, and composition has been freeing, uplifting and continues to be a journey. I have embraced improvisation as composition and allow music and my spiritual practices to guide me in my creation process.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

I have made many pivots in my career in order to support my art making. I started off in the food industry and realized quickly that it negatively impacted my mood. So I then switched to retail which I did for 5 years to support myself financially as an artist and it proved to be helpful because I had supportive managers who understood my career goals were in the field of dance. These customer service jobs all helped me to learn and adapt quickly in environments while also learning marketing strategies, customer engagement and buying trends, all of which help me navigate promoting my art today. Although retail did support me a great deal I then had to pivot again because it was keeping me from a schedule that would propel my dancing so I then entered the fitness industry and became a group fitness instructor. Again, great for the physical aspect of dancing but extremely exhausting. My last pivot in supporting my art has been being a dance educator while promoting my independent work. This has been an extremely rewarding and enriching pivot as it combines all the things that I love and have learned over the years. Providing quality instruction, servicing my community and the youth, while engaging in rigorous physical activity. I am elated to be in my 15 year of teaching!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://tasharagm.my.canva.site/
• Instagram: @tasharagm
• Facebook: Tashara Gavin-Moorehead
• Linkedin: Tashara Gavin-Moorehead
• Youtube: Tashara Gavin-Moorehead

Image Credits
Gregory Worsham