Trevor Miles is a self-taught, powerhouse artist hailing from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He began dancing at age 17. After trying African and Modern Dance, he quickly began to develop his own style. Hip-Hop dominated the earlier years of his career as he created signature routines and stories of depth.
As he connected with other dancers across the city, he also began teaching at a variety of sites, such as Urban Pathways Charter School, Thelma Lovette YMCA and Clairton City School District. Trevor offered his dance classes free of charge, and in 2013 he was awarded the NACCP Community Service award for his efforts with youth in the City of Clairton. Other courses he’s instructed include Yoga at Pittsburgh Classical Academy, Healthy Living Masterclasses at the Thelma Lovette YMCA, and Vocal Lessons at Obama Middle School. His stage performances helped raise thousands of dollars for charity, and in 2013, he met another career milestone-- over $10,000 raised for Friends of Denang, The Homeless Children's Education Fund, Uniqua's Love, the Clairton City Food Bank and the Make-a-Wish Foundation. In 2014, Trevor joined the Kelly Strayhorn Theater (KST) as their Community Engagement Fellow. He also worked extensively on the theater’s social media, maintaining the Facebook, Instagram and Wordpress. While at the theater, Trevor performed in many of their events, including the My People Film Series, and numerous Family Time events. Also in 2014, Trevor decided to create his own hand-selected collective of dancers to take his storytelling to the next level. Trevor C. Dance Collective was born, and quickly gained notoriety after enjoying multiple outings at KST, Mr. Small's Theater, the University of Pittsburgh, and recently the Benedum Center. |
Reed Dance II
Founded in September 2015, Reed Dance II bridges the gap between high school to college and college to the professional stage. Rooted in the power and passion of black dance traditions, the company strives to create a healthy, safe environment to learn with no judgment using movement as the catalyst to creativity with complete freedom to express and embrace who young dancers are as individuals. With a curriculum that puts students at the center of learning, students are able to walk their own road and make their own conclusions based on the knowledge given. 
Greer Reed
Founding Artistic Director REED DANCE II A native of Pittsburgh, Greer began early training with the Pittsburgh Black Theater Dance Ensemble. Upon graduation from high school, her intensive dance education continued at the University of the Arts, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and the Dance Theater of Harlem in New York City. Having successfully completed the Certificate and Merit scholarship programs at the Ailey School, she became a member of the outstanding Ailey II. Ms. Reed has been consistently recognized for her dedication and passion to the community and mentoring young dancers. She was part of the New Pittsburgh Courier’s first group of recipients for the Pittsburgh Fab 40, which recognized the outstanding talents and leadership of forty African American Pittsburgh individuals under the age of forty. Additional awards include the Pittsburgh Creativity Project Award for creating her summer dance program, Reed Dance Intensive, which debuted at the Dance Alloy Theater in the summer of 2008. In June of 2009, Ms. Reed received the Urban Heroes Award for her contributions to the regional community as well as Pittsburgh Courier’s 50 Women of Excellence. In honor of Black History Month 2010, Ms. Reed was awarded one of ten History Makers Awards honoring young African American leaders of today. Her dedication to young people is a driving force to enrich, empower and inspire. Ms. Reed, from 2009- 2011, stepped in as Artistic Director for the now defunct Dance Alloy Theater, which was one Pittsburgh’s premier modern dance company. In 2009, she received an August Wilson Center Fellowship to create the August Wilson Center Dance Ensemble, which was the center’s resident dance company. The August Wilson Center Dance Ensemble was named Dance Magazine’s “2012 Top 25 to Watch.” With growth comes change; in 2014 the August Wilson Center Dance Ensemble transitioned into REED DANCE. |
Vanessa German
is an artist. She was raised in Los Angeles, California and Loveland, Ohio. She is a self-taught artist—the middle of 5 children; her mother, Sandra German, is a fiber artist, and her father is retired. She is based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania’s historic Homewood neighborhood. Vanessa is an actress, playwright, sculptor, performer and educator. She has pioneered a performance style called Spoken Word Opera—a dynamic hybrid of spoken word poetry infused with the theatrical elements of opera. She has written and performed several evening-length Spoken Word Operas including: "root, "testify," and "fire" and has been a featured performer at The Vineyard Playhouse, the Three Rivers Arts Festival, and the August Wilson Center for African American Culture. She has been a featured performer at the International Arts Festival in Grahmstown, South Africa, Pop TECH, Harvard, MIT, TED Women, and TED Education. German’s sculptural work has been shown and exhibited in galleries and museums nationwide and is in several public and private collections including: The Progressive Collection, The Weisman Foundation, the American visionary arts museum and the David C. Driskell Center. German is also the founder of, “Love Front Porch” and Homewood’s Art House, and the “STOP SHOOTING, WE LOVE YOU” yard signs. The Huffington Post noted her, "One of 30 contemporary art makers under 40 that you should know about." Her work is presently touring the nation in the Driskell Center's African American Art 1950-Present. She is one of the 102 contemporary artists selected to be in, what's been touted as the biggest show of 2014, "STATE OF THE ART" at Crystal Bridges Museum in Bentonville, Arkansas. Her exhibition, "Bitter Root", opened at the Montana Museum of Art and will tour the state through the summer of 2015. |
Dr. Herbert Vincent-Ricardo Pea’dro Jones
Director of The Heritage Gospel Chorale of Pittsburgh since its founding, Dr. Jones is one of the nation's foremost figures in choral conducting and pedagogy and an expert in the intersection between theology and musical expression. A Southern transplant to Pennsylvania, Dr. Jones has cultivated a broad-based, multifaceted career as a choral conductor, educator, operatic and oratorio bass, liturgical dancer, orator and pastor, teaching and performing across the United States and Europe. Dr. Jones holds numerous degrees: B.S. in Music, M.S. in Counseling Psychology, M.Mus. in Choral Conducting/Music Education, M.Divinity (M.Div.) in Sacred Music, Dance & Drama, D.M.A. in Music, Choral Conducting, Performance Pedagogy & Choral Music Education, and has done Ph.D Studies in Ethnomusicology. Dr. Jones has taught in the Public Schools of Mississippi (grades 6-12), the Private High School sector (The Piney Woods School, Mississippi, The Neighborhood Academy-Pittsburgh) and colleges in universities in North Dakota, Arkansas, Pennsylvania, and Mississippi, respectively. Dr. Jones is an active member of the American Choral Directors Association, the Music Educators National Conference, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, Tau Beta Sigma, and the National Guild of Sacred Dancers. He has published articles in the Mississippi ACDA/Mississippi Music Teachers Journal, the Academic Division of GMWA, the Milestone Christian Bookstore Newsletter, and several others. Dr. Jones is listed in: Who's Who Among American Teachers (dual listing); Distinguished Church Musicians In America, Outstanding Personalities of the America, Marquise International Who's Who, Residential Scholars, Choral Scholar, (University of Mississippi); in 2011, 50 Men of Excellence (selected by the New Pittsburgh Courier), in 2013, one of 5 men selected as “Men of Distinction” recognized by the Rachel Randall Education Ministry of the Pentecostal Temple Church of God In Christ, Pittsburgh, PA., and several others. Dr. Jones is considered a leading authority on the music of Moses George Hogan. His Doctoral Dissertation, “THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN SPIRITUAL AND GOSPEL SONG: THE MUSICAL CONTRIBUTIONS OF MOSES GEORGE HOGAN, COMPOSER AND ARRANGER”, is the only definitive work on the life, music, compositional style of the composer. An Ordained Minister of Music, Dr. Jones is Executive Administrative Assistant to the Academic Dean, Academic Division, of the Gospel Music Workshop of America, Inc. (GMWA), and sits on the Boards of The Simmons Scholarship Foundation, Inc. (Columbus, OH), the Afro-American Music Institute (AAMI) (Pittsburgh, PA), ‘All Nations Dance’ (Pittsburgh, PA), the Pentecostal Temple Development Corporation, Inc. (Pittsburgh, PA), Professionals for Christ, Inc. (Birmingham, AL), and RAISE Academy (Columbus, OH), and is on the faculty of Community College of Allegheny County, Allegheny Campus – Department of Music. Dr. Jones continues to maintain an active schedule conducting seminars and workshops, guest conducting, and adjudicating choral festivals and competitions. |
