Joel Hall (Finding Aid)

Joel Hall

1949 -

Favorite Color: Teal

Favorite Food: chicken and salad

Favorite Time of Year: Spring, summer

Favorite Vacation Spot: Hawaii

Interview Length: 139 minutes

Interview Date(s): November 24, 2004

Interview Location(s): Joel Hall Dancers 1511 West Berwyn Street, Chicago, Ill, 1511 Berwyn Avenue, Chicago Ill, 1511 Berwyn Avenue, Chicago, Ill

Abstract

Noted dance and choreographer, Joel Hall details his earliest years in Chicago. He also discusses his mother's decades-long institutionalization and it's effect on him. Hall describes the sights, sounds and smells of his Cabrini Green neighborhood and other anecdotes from his childhood. Famed dancer and choreographer, Joel Hall, details his hardscrabble childhood . A decline in family fortunes due to his father's alcoholism, led young Joel to run away from home, which eventually led to his incarceration in a juvenile detention facility for four years. Encouraged by friends and his stepmother, Hall attends community college, then decides to move to New York City. Founder of the Joel Hall Dance Company, Joel Hall, describes his return to Chicago to pursue his dancing career. Hall discusses the great mix of talent in the Chicago dance community. He also briefly discusses his mentor, choreographer Talley Beatty and his influence upon Hall's dance career. Renowned choreographer, Joel Hall discusses his experiences as a dancer who evolved into a choreographer. He highlights noteable dancers from his troupe and from other modern dance companies across the nation. Noted choreographer, Joel Hall, shares his many triumphs and some losses, including a fire which destroyed his studio. Hall also chronicles his battle against prostate cancer and a lifetime of predjudice against him as a gay black man. The segment closes with several photographs drawn from his dance career.

55 Stories (See Ordered Story Set)