Nathan Trice; Artistic Director/Choreographer, Anti-Racist Organizer and Inter-Spiritual practitioner is originally from Detroit, MI. He is a 1990 honorable discharged US Naval veteran who began his artistic career in 1988 under the direction of Aulani Chun in San Diego, CA, while simultaneously completing the remaining two years of a four-and-a-half year contract with the US NAVAL Service. Upon completion of his US Naval service he was accepted and then completed the Alvin Ailey American Dance Center 2-year Certificate Program in 1993, and went on to spend the following six years as a featured artist with MOMIX dance company, Complexions Contemporary Ballet, Joseph Holmes Chicago Dance Theater/Deeply Rooted Dance Theater, Donald Byrd/The Group and Forces of Nature Dance Company. In between performing for other companies, Trice spent time developing and presenting his own choreographic work, teaching philosophy, style and technique.
In 1998 Nathan Trice found and began artistic directorship of nathan trice / RITUALS Dance. Theater. Music with the goal of presented artistic educational programs & performances that reflect the importance of empathy, compassion and understanding.
In 2001 Nathan created the Recognizing Women Project (RWP), an annual 6-month research and performance initiative to create educational processes and performances about the stories and experiences of women across cultures, generations and geographies. Over the past 22 years the (RWP) has premiered at Judson Memorial Church, Orensanze Arts and Culture Center, Harlem Stage E-MOVES, Triangle Theater, Vassar College, Kumble Theater and the Charles H. Wright African American Museum of History.
In 2005 Trice received the RestorationART, now known as the Billie Holiday Theater, Youth Arts Academy Recognition Award for his innovative work with their youth dance program. In that same year Trice was awarded an indefinite residency at The Billie Holiday Theater Arts program.
In 2007 Trice created An Inquiry Dynamic: The future, to invite dancers to collaboratively create work that investigate and re-imagines the trajectory of Humanity, Race, Spirituality, Love, Technology and Environmentalism. AID: The Future has been presented and performed at Laguardia High School Dance Department, Long Island University Brooklyn Dance studios, The Billie Holiday Arts studios and the Kumble Theater.
From 2001 – 2011 Trice was a guest-artist faculty at Long Island University’s Brooklyn campus dance department and in 2007 he was the inaugurating artist for the guest artist residency program of dance at LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts for four consecutive years.
In 2012 Trice created Strange Love: EPISODES, a multi-media performance that uses themes from the books of Bell Hooks “All About Love” and Esther Perel’s “Mating In Captivity” to explore and illustrate the beauty and anatomy of community stories and experiences of courtship, intimacy and love. Residencies/performances include FreeCandy 2011-12, SummerStage 2009/12/16, Kumble Theater 20014, 15, 17, Billie Holiday Theater 2018 and Alpha Omega Theatrical Dance studio 2021.
In 2014 Trice co-found (ACRE) Artist Co-Creating Real Equity with Maria Bauman and Sarita Covington. ACRE is an inter-generational, multi-racial group of artists and cultural workers committed to organizing to develop anti-racist leadership for racial equity in the influential realms of art and culture: arts & education, funding, media, curation, casting and space. In 2019 Trice and co-founders Maria Bauman and Sarita Covington received the BAX Arts and Artists in Progress Award.
From 2016 – 2018 Trice was given directorship of the Billie Holiday Theaters choreographic residency program which focused on providing choreographers of African descent in the five boroughs of NYC the resources to incubate and develop innovative new works.
In 2020 Trice was ordained into Inter-faith/Inter-spiritual ministry through One Spirit Alliance. In the same year he became the organizer, developer and consultant for the NY Northeast Anti-Racism Coalition for Faith Ethical and Spiritual Communities to help develop anti-racist leadership within participating religious and spiritual congregations, communities and institutions.
Since 1998 Trice and his company have toured throughout the United States, Bermuda, Aruba, Japan, Argentina and Hong Kong performing in some of the most prestigious festivals, including Summer Stage, Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, the 92nd Street Y’s Harkness Dance Festival in the world, including City Center Fall For Dance, Lincoln Center’s Out of Doors, E-Moves Gatehouse Dance Festival, Symphony Space, Judson Memorial Church’s DADD series, Danspace Project, (IABD) International Association of Blacks in Dance, Hiroshima City Museum, Dance New Amsterdam’s (DNA) In The Company of Men, Aruba Festival and The Hong Kong Hip Hop Festival.
Critics have identified Trice’s work as innovative, thought-provoking, and otherworldly performances that reflect and touch the core of the human experience.