Christine Jowers Friedman '85 receives two professional dance awards
In early December Christine Jowers Friedman '85 received the 2022 Distinguished Achievement Award in Dance from The American Dance Guild for “her visionary creation of The Dance Enthusiast,” a nonprofit, independent arts journal. Later in the month, Jowers received a Bessie, or the dance industry’s version of the Academy Awards, from The New York Dance and Performance Awards for her outstanding service to the dance field.
Virgin Islander Jowers honored with two professional dance awards
By SARA KIRKPATRICK Daily News Staff
When Christine Jowers realized she would be honored by two prestigious dance institutions in the same year, she was surprised. “It’s heartwarming and mind blowing to me,” Jowers told The Daily News. On Thursday Jowers received the 2022 Distinguished Achievement Award in Dance from The American Dance Guild for “her visionary creation of The Dance Enthusiast,” a nonprofit, independent arts journal.
Later this month, Jowers will receive a Bessie, or the dance industry’s version of the Academy Awards, from The New York Dance and Performance Awards for her outstanding service to the dance field. “It’s been a time to reflect and I’ve enjoyed that,” Jowers said. Jowers credits her dedication to arts, community and service to her Virgin Islands heritage and upbringing. “I have this sunshine in me that’s from the Caribbean, from St. Thomas, from all the people that I know in the community, and from my ancestors,” Jowers said.
Jowers was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and moved to St. Thomas when she was 6-years-old, after her father John Jowers was offered a position with the Virgin Islands Council of the Arts. “My dad was a dynamic figure in the arts,” Jowers recalled. “We walked from the office to the post office and he would stop and ask people, ‘What are you doing with your artwork, let me see your portfolio.’ He helped a lot of artists in the Virgin Islands grow.” Her mother Dolores Jowers served as the curator of the Virgin Islands Museum at Fort Christian. At 13, Jowers started formal dance lessons at the St. Thomas School of Dance where she studied ballet, tap, and jazz. “I hated it,” Jowers laughed. “I didn’t want to go after school to these dance classes, I wanted to hang out with my friends.” Although she was at first reluctant to practice, when it came to performing she was filled with excitement. “The Virgin Islands in the 70s and early 80s, there was a lot of energy, the arts were exciting and the community really supported dance,” Jowers said. She attended Ss. Peter and Paul Catholic School through high school, and went on to attend college in the mainland U.S. at Sarah Lawrence College and Goucher College. “I always danced, but I was very into my academics,” Jowers said.
After she received her degree in dance history and communications, Jowers started her professional dance career and joined a company in Maryland. As a dancer she performed, taught, and produced her own work. One of her first productions, “The Singular Voice of Woman” premiered at The Place in London in 1997, and highlighted women in dance history. During her career, Jowers realized that very few publications covered the dance industry, and she saw a need for more positive performance reviews. “All the reviews were so horrible, and would decimate the artists, without having any idea of how difficult it is to work in the arts,” Jowers explained. “We wanted something that was appreciative and supportive, but also truthful.” In 2007 Jowers launched The Dance Enthusiast, an online platform that covers the dance scene and provides a space for artists to write, and for audiences to contribute their feedback. “It was just me writing at first, but the positive energy really caught on,” Jowers said. “Other writers were attracted to the site.”
Over the last 15 years dancers, critics, journalists and professors have contributed their writing to the site. Today, Jowers currently resides in Boston and continues to serve as The Dance Enthusiast’s editor-in-chief. During the pandemic, Jowers turned to the visual arts and started painting, what she calls “dancing on canvas.” Looking forward, Jowers hopes to contribute her art expertise here in the Virgin Islands. “I’d like to be more involved, seeing that young people get involved in the arts and movement,” Jowers said. “Even if you are never going to be a dancer, there are so many interesting people who have a background in dance.” Her advice to all those interested in the arts is to study diligently and to start creating. “If you love it, and you are finding joy in it, just go,” Jowers said. “Make a painting, write a poem, interview everyone around you and write it down and keep learning, but don’t be afraid.”
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