About the Artistic Director
Erika ‘Red’ Stowall is an educator, dancer and choreographer residing in Detroit, MI. Red graduated from University of Michigan School of Music Theatre and Dance with a Bachelor in Fine Arts. She is a recipient of the Kresge Artist Fellowship, Applebaum’s Emerging Artist Award as well as Fulbright Hays GPA Study Abroad grant, awarded through the University of Detroit Mercy. Red uses her classical training combined with her background in West African dance, as the foundation of her work.
Many of her works explore her real-life experiences navigating being a black woman in society. Her work is based on positive portrayal of Black stories and advocating for Black women's voices. Red sees dance as a calling and is passionate about creating performance pieces, which invite conversation on safe spaces for Women of Color, restoration and positive narrative/images of Black communities. She is currently the dance teacher at Martin Luther King High School, in Detroit, her alma mater. Red is the founder and current Artistic Director of Big Red Wall Dance Company. The company has been active since 2011.