Dwight Rhoden

Dancer, choreographer, founder and art director of Complexions Contemporary Ballet Dwight Rhoden was born in Dayton (Ohio), and started dancing at the age of seventeen. He has worked with the Dayton Contemporary Dance Company, Les Ballets Jazz de Montréal and as a Principal Dancer with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre. As a dancer, he has taken part in TV projects, documentaries and commercials in USA, Canada and Europe. Rhoden has also made appearances in PBS Great Performances specials.
In 1994, Rhoden and the legendary dancer Desmond Richardson formed Complexions Contemporary Ballet.
Together they have brought a new contemporary style into the ballet world, creating a brand that remains unique even twenty years later. Complexions Contemporary Ballet is recognised for its pioneering spirit and the creation of its own style. The project continues to experiment with classical ideas to re-discover the opportunities of dance. Led by Rhoden, demand for appearances by Complexions has risen significantly.
Since 1994 Rhoden has created more than eighty ballets for Complexions, as well as many works for other companies including the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, the Aspen Santa Fe Ballet Company, Ballet Met, the Dance Theatre of Harlem, Colorado Ballet, the Dayton Contemporary Dance Company, the Joffrey Ballet, Miami City Ballet, New York City Ballet / Diamond Project, North Carolina Dance Theatre, the Pennsylvania Ballet, Philadanco, the Mariinsky Ballet, the Minneapolis Dance Theatre, the Phoenix Dance Company, Sacramento Ballet, Oakland Ballet, the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, the Washington Ballet and the Zenon Dance Company.
Rhoden has directed productions for various artists, uniting the world of classical ballet and contemporary dance. He is a director and choreographer for TV shows, films and theatre productions including So You Think You Can Dance, E! Entertainment’s Tribute to Style and Cirque Du Soleil, as well as collaborations with Prince, Lenny Kravitz, Kelly Clarkson, ELEW, David Rozenblatt, Nicholas Payton, The Drifters, Paul Simon, Billy Strayhorn, Nina Simone, Marvin Gaye, U2, The Turtle Creek Chorus and Patrick Swayze.
In 2004 Rhoden created the Racial Reconciliation project at the University of Mississippi, recognised as a catalyst for dialogue in a historically divided society.
In 1998, Rhoden was rewarded with a New York Foundation Arts Award. In 2001 he won the Choo San Goh Award for Choreography, and in 2006 he received The Ailey School’s Apex Award in recognition of his extensive contributions to the field of dance.