A native of Chicago, IL. James Morrow is the founder and artistic director of james morrow/ The Movement. Coming from an urban background, Morrow yearns to see the classical vocabulary prevalent in concert dance integrated into the hip-hop culture with which he is submerged. His movement has become a fusion of modern, contemporary, and urban dance styles. His choreography can be seen on companies throughout the U.S. and internationally, working in Utrecht, Vienna, Mumbai, Krasnoyarsk, and New Brighton. Morrow was also the founder and artistic director of Chicago’s instruments of movement from 2001-2008 pioneering the urban fusion dance movement.
Morrow was on Faculty at the American Dance Festival (summer 2010). He received a fellowship to Hollins University/The American Dance Festival (2011) where he earned his MFA in dance. He has been recipient of the Artist Ambassador Award to Northeastern Illinois University (2001), The Mordine and Co. Mentoring Project (2006), Chicago Cultural Dance Center’s Dance Bridge (2008), Movement Research at Judson Church (2012), SOLO Commissioned Choreographer for Minnesota’s McKnight Dance Fellow (Stephen Schroeder 2012), Bates Teacher Fellowship (2013), and Massachusetts Cultural Council Fellow in Choreography (2014).
As a dancer/ performer, Morrow has worked with Chicago based companies: The Joel Hall Dancers, Deeply Rooted Productions, Ascension/The Kirby Reed Project, Ken Von Heidecke’s Festival Ballet, Larry Long’s Civic Ballet, Culture Shock Chicago, Concert Dance, Inc., Mordine and Co., Hedwig Dances, The Tyego Dance Project, Impetus Dance Chicago, MOMENTA, and Nick Cave’s (Soundsuits) of The Art Institute of Chicago.
As an educator, Morrow has been a guest lecturer/ adjunct professor at Jacksonville University and Amherst College. He has worked as dance faculty at Northeastern Illinois University, Florida State College at Jacksonville, Episcopal School of Jacksonville, Hartford Academy for the Arts, and Pioneer Valley Performing Arts. He is currently living in Salem, MA and working as an assistant professor of dance at Salem State University.