Dynamic Visionaries! ELEVATED
Celebrating the Career-Driven Artists Who Broke Boundaries at the Inaugural 2025 Choreographer’s Cup!
The Choreographer’s Cup, hosted at Dance Educators Collective on Saturday, August 30, 2025, was an outstanding competition and showcase designed to highlight the talent of both emerging and established choreographers in the dance industry. Inside Dance had a front row seat (literally!) to witness the incredible artists and talent that took the stage in Nashville by storm. With a judging panel of stars including Jamal Sims, Alicia Graf Mack, and Jackie Sleight, it was an unforgettable night for this inaugural event. Choreographer’s Cup will be back in 2026!
If you are a choreographer, or know an outstanding visionary, head to DanceEducatorsCollective.com to learn more about the submission process and deadline for 2026. We know the producers of the event can’t wait to meet you!
Now, please join us in celebrating the phenomenal geniuses who brought the audience to their feet! Each of these top 3 artists took home titles and cash rewards up to $25,000! The work these choreographers and their dancers put in, was definitely worth it. Our team at Inside Dance is honored to turn the spotlight on each of them and bring their journeys to you, our readers!
$25,000 WINNER:
ELEVĀTED “When Dove’s Cry”
Director: Howard Washington
Choreographers: Howard Washington, Marquise Williams,
Alexis Baines, Erika Rogers, and Eva Anderson
What gave you the motivation to strive for the Choreographer’s Cup competition?
What motivated us to strive for the Choreographer’s Cup was our desire to grow as both dancers and creators. We wanted to challenge ourselves, step outside our comfort zone, and see how far we could push our artistic voice. The competition felt like the perfect opportunity to showcase our art while learning from other talented choreographers. We are a tight knit group that have always worked so well together. For this one, it felt like we created something we wanted more of the world to see!
Tell us about the moment you found out you were a finalist!
It was immediate excitement! We consider ourselves family. So, to be recognized in
such a big way and be given the opportunity to share what we’ve created together was a moment of pure joy, excitement, and gratitude. All in all, we have always wanted to represent the Cleveland and Northeast Ohio dance community on a larger scale. This felt like the perfect opportunity to do so.
Give us an overview of your creative process with this specific piece:
Our creative process for this piece was very collaborative. Our director (Howard Washington) came in predominantly with a focus on the song which was, “When Doves Cry” by Prince. When we were originally preparing this piece for World of Dance, our motivation was to create a “modern day ‘Thriller’” vibe to Prince’s song. We played around with the idea of how he would approach the look of the song in modern day. From there, it just started flowing! Each of us choreographed different
sections of the song and worked together to piece it all into one until we had a finished product! A lot of our processes as a team revolve around creating movement that encompasses the idea and emotion that we want to portray to the audience. For this specific piece, it was all about paying tribute to Prince while creating something iconic that could stand the test of time.
How has this experience propelled you, as an artist, into creating new bodies of work?
Being part of this experience has been incredibly inspiring. It showed us that our movement and creative choices resonate with others, which has given us more confidence to explore new ideas and create work that’s even more personal, bold, and experimental. It opened our eyes to new movement styles, creative approaches, and ways of storytelling. We feel more energized than ever to keep creating, expanding our vision, and developing new pieces that challenge us as a team!
Tell us about finding inspiration and day- to-day passion! Where do you find your most creative work happens?
We find our inspiration in the people we create with and the times we’re in. The universe is a great source of energy for our creativity. Our group feels like a family,
and that sense of trust and closeness fuels our passion every day. Our most creative work happens when we’re together in the studio—sharing ideas, supporting each other, and building something that feels bigger than any one person. The energy inspires us to push ourselves and keep creating.
QUICK HITS
Based out of? We are ELEVĀTED Dance Headquarters, based out of Cleveland, OH.
Been choreographing for how long: We have all been choreographing for well over 6+ years and most of us have been dancing together for around 10 years.
Who inspired you? Prince was our inspiration for us with this one and we wanted to make him proud! It was all about paying homage to him.
