Margi Cole

Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago alumna Margi Cole ’90, founder and artistic director of The Dance COLEctive (TDC), is relocating to Birmingham, Alabama, where she will become Instructor of Modern and Contemporary Dance at the Alabama School of Fine Arts (ASFA), a 7th–to-12th-grade public magnet school. Cole, a graduate of Columbia College’s Dance BA program and a longtime Columbia College Dance Center faculty member, has worked more than 25 years in Chicago as an artistic director, choreographer, dancer, and educator.

Margi Cole

Cole will take her company The Dance COLEctive to Birmingham with her, effective July 29, 2021. Cole, an ASFA alumna, will instruct, choreograph, counsel, and evaluate students in ASFA’s dance department. She will teach modern dance technique and theory, stage and choreograph original works for AFSA performances and lecture demonstrations, and mentor and advise dance majors and non-majors, among other responsibilities.

“I am ready to share my love of ASFA and my passion for empowering young artists,” says Cole. “I can’t wait to fully immerse myself in the creative culture of the department, the school, and the Alabama arts community. What a unique opportunity to return to my ‘roots’ and help cultivate future artists and community leaders in the place that opened the door to the artist I am today. I am incredibly grateful to be able to return ‘home’ to ASFA.”

In addition to her work at ASFA, Cole plans to continue leading The Dance COLEctive, producing concerts and engaging in projects. “I’m looking forward to new opportunities for collaboration in Birmingham and beyond,” she says, “but, after a long and fruitful artistic journey in Chicago, I also hope I can maintain my ties there and participate in projects if they arise. I am extremely grateful to have enjoyed so many years of creative discovery and support.” Celebrating 25 years of cutting-edge choreography, innovative collaborations and mentorship of new choreographers, the company supports and advances the creative vision and curiosity of Cole, its founder and artistic director, as well as partnering artists.