Performing artist CarlosAlexis Cruz is the 2014 McColl Award winner. An assistant professor of voice and movement in the College of Arts + Architecture, Cruz received the honor for the project “Nouveau Sud, Nouveau Cirque,” which translates to “New South, New Circus.”
Cruz will learn and incorporate “underground” dance, acrobatic and physical theater scenes that thrive within local ethnic communities into cirque-style performances. The project will include neighborhood residencies expected to take place between January and December 2015 and a main stage production in the spring of 2016.
Presented by the Arts & Science Council, the McColl Award is named in honor of Hugh and Jane McColl; it is given every three years. The award comes with a $25,000 grant that Cruz will use to implement his project.
“Nothing like this has ever been done in Charlotte-Mecklenburg, so we are excited to see what Carlos creates,” said ASC President Robert Bush. “It’s something that will bring our community together in the truest sense – not only will Carlos bring talented underground performers to the forefront, but his project will tie their stories and traditions to the larger story of our city and county.
“Just as important is that the McColl Award gives life to new, creative and innovative thinking that is a hallmark of what Hugh and Jane McColl have stood for throughout their years of service and leadership in this community. That spirit of innovation lives on through this prize,” added Bush.
Cruz is a physical theater expert who introduces the role of the body, movement, physical gesture and facial expression to the narrative structure of his work, said Ken Lambla, dean of the College of Arts + Architecture.
“His background is in how our physical expression is an introduction to different segments of our community often overlooked in search of dialogue,” Lambla said. “Professor Cruz understands deeply the role of theatre in drawing out full human and artistic expression across ages, backgrounds, languages, and cultural origins.”
The McColl Award is open to individual artists, scientists and historians, as well as arts, science and history organizations in Mecklenburg County. ASC received 18 applications for this year’s award. The previous McColl Award winner is John Love, who was awarded the 2011 grant for his multi-disciplinary project “Fecund.” Past award winners also include Children’s Theatre of Charlotte, the Light Factory, Carolina Voices, Charlotte Symphony Orchestra, Moving Poets Theatre of Dance and Carolina Raptor Center.