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Individual Artist

Sheri "Sparkle" Williams, Dayton Contemporary Dance Company, Dayton

Nominated By: William “Bing” Davis, Founder, Shango Center for the Study of Afro-American
Art & Culture

Sheri Williams is a native Daytonian who has come to be known among her colleagues and dance enthusiasts as “Sparkle.” Currently, she embarks on an unprecedented 40th season with the Dayton Contemporary Dance Company (DCDC) and is also an original member of the New York-based Complexions Contemporary Ballet. Williams has received numerous awards throughout her career, including the JOSIE Award, Fisk University’s Excellence in Artistry Award, a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Montgomery County Arts and Cultural District, and the coveted New York Dance and Performance Award (the Bessie) to name a few. All to which she attributed the nurturing bestowed upon her by many dance educators and creators and most of all DCDC company founder, Jeraldyne Blunden.

Williams has been deemed a Stivers School for the Arts Illuminarian and one of Ohio’s finest citizens in a proclamation sponsored by Ohio House Representative Lloyd E. Lewis Jr. She has been featured as a “Dayton Original” in the city’s “Dayton Patented: Originals Wanted” campaign, and immortalized among the “Dayton Skyscrapers” – a collection of works in various media by local African-American artists inspired by historical fi gures and contemporary leaders who continue to make an impact on the region.

Recently, Williams was honored to have been chosen by Academy Award-nominated fillmmakers Julia Reichert and Steve Bognar to be the subject for their documentary short “Sparkle,” which chronicles her amazing career and tenacity against all odds. She now adds the esteemed Governor’s Award for the Arts to her acclaim and gives humble gratitude while crediting any and all of her accomplishments to her exceptional discipline acquired through dance and the invaluable guidance of her parents whom she strives to represent proudly every day of her life.

Sheri Williams' video tribute (6:20 minutes)