Pearl Young is a choreographer and dancer originally from Waterbury, CT. She is a recent graduate of Tufts University—Magna Cum Laude— and was the recipient of the Alice E. Trexler Dance Studies award for the Class of 2022. Her choreography and goals as a dancer have consistently revolved around creating space for and demanding attention toward Black American styles. When she began choreographing at The Taft School, she dedicated her choreography and research to representing the journeys Black people have taken through social injustice. In her senior year, she trained under Nathan Trice as well as received the rights to perform Pearl Primus’s “Strange Fruit”, taught by Kim Bears-Bailey of Philadanco, as her culminating piece to her senior thesis. In college, Young’s passions manifested in the founding of Harlem Grooves, a collegiate dance company dedicated to Black American dance. She also worked as the lead choreographer in Tufts’ production of “Almanac: The Musical”. Additionally, she earned a dance minor and her work as a dance department ambassador helped fuel the creation of a dance major at Tufts. Most recently, Pearl has been choreographing a production of Matilda at The Park School in Brookline and teaching dance classes with Jean Appolon Expressions in Cambridge; additionally, she professionally dances and choreographs with local universities, Urbanity Underground, and Midday Movement Series. Pearl is excited and grateful to share her journey through movement as a part of the Black Women’s Empowerment Conference!