Gabrielle Abram (Dance 2015) Speaks to Students During Common Experience

March 2, 2022

Gabrielle Abram (Dance 2015) with Mary Harding, Dance Instructor

On Monday, February 28, Gabrielle Abram (Dance 2015) spoke to students during Common Ex. Common Ex is a series of presentations where students hear about the artistic life from practicing artists, many of whom are Perpich graduates. Gabby framed her presentation between videos of her final choreographed piece at Perpich and her current project, Juke Jam Stories of Love. Between those two videos, she spoke about the ups and downs of her artistic journey. She talked about the preparation she received at Perpich and the importance it placed on developing a community to support her in her work. Abram shared how those communities helped her not only continue to dance, where she produced sold out shows, but also to explore opportunities in directing and producing film. Gabby told students, “Life after Perpich has definitely come with many ups and downs, but the foundations of this school have aided in my success and triumphs of today.”

Gabrielle Abram is a Gary, Indiana native, and a 2020 Momentum New Dance Works fellow. She is a self-taught, multi-lingual Hip Hop artist and has received training in Ballet, Modern, West African, and Jazz at Perpich Center for Arts Education, TU Dance Center, and received a scholarship to attend the ARENA Dances Summer Intensive. During her time at Perpich, she choreographed four works and performed at the school’s annual winter and spring dance shows. Abram attended Columbia College Chicago for one year, then returned to the Twin Cities to work as a professional Dancer, Choreographer, and Producer. She has performed works by local and international choreographers Mathew Janczewski, Vanessa Voskuil, Orlando Hunter, Marciano Silva Dos Santos, and Nildinha Fonseca (Brazil). She has danced at The O’Shaughnessy Auditorium, The Southern Theater, and The Cowles Center for Dance & The Performing Arts. An active artist in the Twin Cities’ Hip-Hop community, Abram has danced in productions, Mixtape Vol. 1; Mixtape Volume 2; and Rooted: Hip Hop Choreographers’ Evening. Abram made history as the first black woman to teach American Jazz dance at the University of Minnesota in September of 2020. Gabrielle is a member of STRONGmovement, directed by Darrius Strong, and Atlantis13 Dance Collective, directed by Peace Madimutsa and Johnathan Van Arman. She is a dance teacher at Saint Paul Conservatory for Performing Artists. In 2018 Abram co-produced Listen., at The Lab Theater, a collective of 9 choreographers sharing Pan-African perspectives and personal stories of black identity. In 2019 Gabrielle, along with business partner Rayna Howard, created BGC Productions; a Film and Media Production company dedicated to creating, collaborating, and producing art that elevates and inspires Black and POC Artists. Abram continues to produce, dance, and create work in the Twin Cities.

Instagram:  @gabbythebaddieabram
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/gabby.abram