Bio
James Morrow (he/him) is an internationally recognized, award-winning queer choreographer, dancer, filmmaker, and visual artist from Chicago, IL, based in Virginia Beach, VA. He is the founder and artistic director of james morrow/THE MOVEMENT and is known for developing his signature “Urban Fusion” movement style while leading his Chicago-based company, instruments of movement, from 2001 to 2008. Rooted in street dance forms, specifically Breakin’, House, and Rave, Morrow’s movement expanded in college to incorporate concert dance, resulting in a multimodal aesthetic that fuses modern, contemporary, and street dance. His creative process is deeply informed by Critical Race Theory, Feminist Theory, and Queer Theory, using these lenses to interrogate and generate.
Morrow’s choreography has been commissioned and presented throughout the U.S. and internationally, with projects in Utrecht, Vienna, Uusimaa, Mumbai, Puebla, Toronto, Montreal, Krasnoyarsk, Kerch, Vancouver, London, Scotland, Tbilisi, Warsaw, Palermo, Bangalore, São Paulo, Istanbul, Florence, Stockholm, and New Brighton.
As a filmmaker, Morrow creates award-winning dance films that merge physicality with cinematic imagination. His work explores the intersections of movement, identity, and speculative worlds, blending aerial dance, street styles, and surreal visual narratives to craft immersive experiences that challenge perceptions of gravity, connection, and reality itself.
In his visual art practice, Morrow creates paintings and collages using defeated materials, found objects, and archival processes. Deeply influenced by graffiti and street art aesthetics, his work incorporates layered textures, bold marks, and fragments of pop culture to evoke urban landscapes and underground histories. By transforming discarded materials into vibrant compositions, Morrow explores memory, resilience, race, and queerness, while honoring the rebellious energy of street art as a mode of resistance and reclamation.
As a performer, Morrow has danced with numerous Chicago-based companies, including The Joel Hall Dancers, Deeply Rooted Productions, Ascension/The Kirby Reed Project, Ken Von Heidecke’s Festival Ballet, Larry Long’s Civic Ballet, Culture Shock Chicago, Concert Dance, Inc., Mordine & Co., Hedwig Dances, The Tyego Dance Project, Impetus Dance Chicago, MOMENTA, and Nick Cave’s Soundsuits. His other performance credits include collaborations with Tino Sehgal (Berlin), The Baha Men (Bahamas), Helen Pickett, nicholasleichterdance, Gina Kohler/Dream Factories, Danielle Russo Dance Company, Tami Stronach Dance, Tessa Chandler, Margaret Morrison, MX OOPS, Yozmit, DeeLite, and DJ Kotchy (New York), Gerry Trentham/Pounds Per Square Inch Theatre (Toronto), Sesame Street Live (Minnesota), Kalamazoo Ballet (Michigan), Tommy DeFrantz/Slippage, Ellen Hemphill/Archipelago Theater, Jim Havercamp, and Alex Maness (North Carolina), Jacksonville Dance Theatre, Rachael McClellan Leonard, Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra, Elevated Aerial Dance (Florida), and Jen Pollins, Paul Matteson, Peter Dimuro, Across The Ages Dance Project, and THE WONDERTWINS (Massachusetts).
As an educator, Morrow has served as full-time dance faculty or Assistant Professor at Northeastern Illinois University, Florida State College at Jacksonville, Episcopal School of Jacksonville, Hartford Academy for the Arts, Pioneer Valley Performing Arts, and Salem State University. He was also on faculty at the American Dance Festival (2010) and at the Bates Dance Festival’s Youth Arts Program (2018–2020). In 2011, he received a fellowship to Hollins University/The American Dance Festival, where he earned his MFA in Dance. Morrow is currently an Associate Professor of Dance at Old Dominion University.
Beyond his professional work, Morrow finds balance and inspiration in his role as a father and husband. His family is a constant source of creativity, grounding, and joy, shaping both his worldview and his artistic practice. He carries this sense of love and care into his work, allowing personal life and artistry to remain deeply interconnected.
James Morrow (he/him) is an internationally recognized, award-winning queer choreographer, dancer, filmmaker, and visual artist from Chicago, IL, based in Virginia Beach, VA. He is the founder and artistic director of james morrow/THE MOVEMENT and is known for developing his signature “Urban Fusion” movement style while leading his Chicago-based company, instruments of movement, from 2001 to 2008. Rooted in street dance forms, specifically Breakin’, House, and Rave, Morrow’s movement expanded in college to incorporate concert dance, resulting in a multimodal aesthetic that fuses modern, contemporary, and street dance. His creative process is deeply informed by Critical Race Theory, Feminist Theory, and Queer Theory, using these lenses to interrogate and generate.
Morrow’s choreography has been commissioned and presented throughout the U.S. and internationally, with projects in Utrecht, Vienna, Uusimaa, Mumbai, Puebla, Toronto, Montreal, Krasnoyarsk, Kerch, Vancouver, London, Scotland, Tbilisi, Warsaw, Palermo, Bangalore, São Paulo, Istanbul, Florence, Stockholm, and New Brighton.
As a filmmaker, Morrow creates award-winning dance films that merge physicality with cinematic imagination. His work explores the intersections of movement, identity, and speculative worlds, blending aerial dance, street styles, and surreal visual narratives to craft immersive experiences that challenge perceptions of gravity, connection, and reality itself.
In his visual art practice, Morrow creates paintings and collages using defeated materials, found objects, and archival processes. Deeply influenced by graffiti and street art aesthetics, his work incorporates layered textures, bold marks, and fragments of pop culture to evoke urban landscapes and underground histories. By transforming discarded materials into vibrant compositions, Morrow explores memory, resilience, race, and queerness, while honoring the rebellious energy of street art as a mode of resistance and reclamation.
As a performer, Morrow has danced with numerous Chicago-based companies, including The Joel Hall Dancers, Deeply Rooted Productions, Ascension/The Kirby Reed Project, Ken Von Heidecke’s Festival Ballet, Larry Long’s Civic Ballet, Culture Shock Chicago, Concert Dance, Inc., Mordine & Co., Hedwig Dances, The Tyego Dance Project, Impetus Dance Chicago, MOMENTA, and Nick Cave’s Soundsuits. His other performance credits include collaborations with Tino Sehgal (Berlin), The Baha Men (Bahamas), Helen Pickett, nicholasleichterdance, Gina Kohler/Dream Factories, Danielle Russo Dance Company, Tami Stronach Dance, Tessa Chandler, Margaret Morrison, MX OOPS, Yozmit, DeeLite, and DJ Kotchy (New York), Gerry Trentham/Pounds Per Square Inch Theatre (Toronto), Sesame Street Live (Minnesota), Kalamazoo Ballet (Michigan), Tommy DeFrantz/Slippage, Ellen Hemphill/Archipelago Theater, Jim Havercamp, and Alex Maness (North Carolina), Jacksonville Dance Theatre, Rachael McClellan Leonard, Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra, Elevated Aerial Dance (Florida), and Jen Pollins, Paul Matteson, Peter Dimuro, Across The Ages Dance Project, and THE WONDERTWINS (Massachusetts).
As an educator, Morrow has served as full-time dance faculty or Assistant Professor at Northeastern Illinois University, Florida State College at Jacksonville, Episcopal School of Jacksonville, Hartford Academy for the Arts, Pioneer Valley Performing Arts, and Salem State University. He was also on faculty at the American Dance Festival (2010) and at the Bates Dance Festival’s Youth Arts Program (2018–2020). In 2011, he received a fellowship to Hollins University/The American Dance Festival, where he earned his MFA in Dance. Morrow is currently an Associate Professor of Dance at Old Dominion University.
Beyond his professional work, Morrow finds balance and inspiration in his role as a father and husband. His family is a constant source of creativity, grounding, and joy, shaping both his worldview and his artistic practice. He carries this sense of love and care into his work, allowing personal life and artistry to remain deeply interconnected.
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