Greyt Big Talk w/ Howard Washington
Cleveland's Breakfast Lecture Series for the Creative Community. Featuring Howard Washington #GREYTBIGTALK
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Howard Washington | Greyt Big Talk
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Howard Washington
Founder, ELEVĀTED Dance Company
Howard Washington is a choreographer and the founder of ELEVĀTED Dance Company, which he started in 2017 for dancers who want to make a career of hip hop in Cleveland. Under his leadership ELEVĀTED placed second at World of Dance in 2017. That earned it a place at the World of Dance Championship in Pasadena, where it was crowned USA Team Champion in 2018. The company has performed at Playhouse Square, the House of Blues, the Grog Shop and showcases across the region.
In May 2018 the company opened ELEVATED Dance HQ on Brecksville Road in Independence. Besides being the company's home, it is a full dance studio with classes in hip hop, jazz, tap, contemporary and technique. Howard holds a BFA in choreography, with a minor in entrepreneurial studies, from Lake Erie College. He has been a guest teacher and choreographer at Cleveland State University, Hathaway Brown, Padua, Brush, Lake Erie College and the Willoughby Fine Arts Association.
At his Greyt Big Talk on Public Square in August 2021 he spoke on "the duality of me": the opposing sides of a creative entrepreneur, and the forces inside us that define who we are.
Greyt Quote
“At the end of the battle, there is a beautiful version of yourself that people need to see.”
Designed by Jeff Balazs
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Photos by Korey Smerk
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Location
Cleveland Public Square
Public Square, Cleveland, OH
Public Square is a 10-acre park at the center of Downtown Cleveland, with a broad lawn, a splash pad, a café, gardens and a winter ice rink. In its southeast corner stands the Cuyahoga County Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument, designed by architect and Civil War veteran Levi Scofield and dedicated on July 4, 1894. Its renovation, designed by James Corner Field Operations, reopened the square in 2016, and today Downtown Cleveland, Inc. manages and programs it. Greyt Big Talk has met on the square twice: in May 2017, when urban designer David Jurca spoke on serendipity in public spaces, and in August 2021, when Howard Washington of the ELEVĀTED Dance Company spoke on the duality of a creative entrepreneur, under tents on the lawn.
About this event
GREYT BIG TALK is a breakfast lecture series for the creative community taking place in pop-up locations on the third Friday of every month in Cleveland.
Each event features: • local culinary artisan breakfast and coffee, • live music performances • original art by local designers • startup pitches for anything our community is making • a short talk from a successful creative person • all filmed to share with our community online. Since our founding in January of 2015, we’ve hosted over 70 events and nearly 10,000 attendees. This month's talk will take place in Cleveland Public Square and Feature Howard Washington.
Howard Washington founded the ELEVĀTED Dance Company, for dancers who wanted to pursue hip hop as a career in Cleveland, Ohio. Since he formed the company in 2017, ELEVĀTED has performed at Playhouse Square, Akron Peacemakers, Best of the Best Fashion Show, House of Blues, Collaborated with Alex Angelo at The Grog Shop, and many more official and unofficial dance showcases arose the region. Under his leadership, ELEVĀTED placed 2nd at the World of Dance Competition (2017). That enormous accolade earned ELEVATED automatic entry into the World of Dance Championship, which took take place in Pasadena, California (2018) where they were crowned USA Team Champions.
In May 2018, ELEVĀTED opened its dance headquarters on Brecksville Road in Independence. This facility not only serves as the home of ELEVĀTED, but it also has become a full-fledged dance studio offering a variety of classes including hip hop, jazz, tap, contemporary, technique, choreographer’s muse, and adult hip hop cardio classes.
Howard believes that hip-hop dance should serve as a creative and expressive platform that unites all people that shares their love and passion for it. For more information on ELEVĀTED and the studio, visit the website at ELEVATEDDANCEHQ.com
Howard is a graduate from Lake Erie College with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree specializing in choreography and minoring in Entrepreneurial Studies. He has been a special guest teacher/choreographer at Cleveland State University, Hathaway Brown, Padua High School, Brush High School, and Lake Erie College, and the Willoughby Fine Arts Association.