Biography
Tashara Gavin-Moorehead is a dance storyteller, who is deeply passionate about her African American heritage. She holds a BFA from Virginia Commonwealth University, and an MFA from CSU-Long Beach. She has toured both domestically and internationally with Deeply Rooted Dance Theater, Lula Washington Dance Theater, Jazzantiqua Music and Dance Ensemble, and The New Kariamu and Company. As an independent choreographer she has presented her one woman shows through festivals such as, The Los Angeles Dance Festival, LA’s Women’s Theater Festival and Highways Performing Arts Space. She uses an ethnographic approach to her work by studying African American history, her southern roots and her family’s lineage. She is currently researching the relationship between the Nguzo Saba,the seven principles of Kwanzaa, and jazz improvisation as a liberation practice, as well as the potential link between jazz improvisation and non western healing methods for African American women's health issues. Her mission is to create theatrical dance stories that uplift, inspire, and transform audience members through African American folktales, customs, and traditions. By merging dance, theater, and history she creates an immersive experience for the audience that produces both a collective and individualistic healing.
