Jane Sawyer
FOUNDER AND DIRECTOR
Jane Sawyer is the founder and director of Cook County Arts Collective. A graduate of The Ailey School Professional Division in New York, she holds a BA in Dance from Columbia College Chicago. She is certified in Horton and Graham-based modern technique, and teaches these as well as classical ballet technique and Dunham-based modern. Ms Sawyer teaches modern and contemporary dance at the Harold Washington campus of the City Colleges of Chicago, and modern dance and ballet at the Hyde Park School of Dance.
Ms Sawyer is committed to developing curriculum that expands the reach of dance education and allows mindful movement to transform and heal individuals in non-traditional settings, focusing on members of our community who are currently incarcerated or have been involved with the Illinois prison system.
Since 2018, as Director of the Cook County Arts Collective, Ms Sawyer has developed and facilitated arts curriculum for female detainees at the Cook County Department of Corrections, in the facilities' internal drug recovery program. In that effort, she has led dozens of individual classes, and facilitated master classes and performances by companies including Deeply Rooted Dance Theater, Ayodele Drum & Dance, and by individual artists including Paige Fraser, Joshua Ishmon, and Sam Trump. During the period of shutdown due to the COVID 19 epidemic, Ms Sawyer provided virtual and in person movement experiences for returning citizens and residents of the Grace House residential program.
Ms. Sawyer trained and performed with Deeply Rooted Dance Theater between 2011-2017, and has performed with a number of professional companies. She is a 2022 Changing Worlds small grants recipient for her work. She has presented on her work with justice-system involved women at conferences in Chicago (McCormick Theological Seminary, 2022), and Cincinnati, Ohio (Midwest Modern Language Association (MMLA), 2023).
janes@cookcountyartscollective.org
Since 2018, as Director of the Cook County Arts Collective, Ms Sawyer has developed and facilitated arts curriculum for female detainees at the Cook County Department of Corrections, in the facilities' internal drug recovery program. In that effort, she has led dozens of individual classes, and facilitated master classes and performances by companies including Deeply Rooted Dance Theater, Ayodele Drum & Dance, and by individual artists including Paige Fraser, Joshua Ishmon, and Sam Trump. During the period of shutdown due to the COVID 19 epidemic, Ms Sawyer provided virtual and in person movement experiences for returning citizens and residents of the Grace House residential program.
Ms. Sawyer trained and performed with Deeply Rooted Dance Theater between 2011-2017, and has performed with a number of professional companies. She is a 2022 Changing Worlds small grants recipient for her work. She has presented on her work with justice-system involved women at conferences in Chicago (McCormick Theological Seminary, 2022), and Cincinnati, Ohio (Midwest Modern Language Association (MMLA), 2023).
janes@cookcountyartscollective.org
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Anna Sawyer
TEACHING ARTIST
Ms. Sawyer is a teaching and featured performing artist for the Cook County Arts Collective. A graduate of The Ailey School's Professional Division, she holds a master's degree in Early Childhood Education from the University of Illinois at Chicago's College of Education, and teaches on the faculty at the University of Chicago's Laboratory School. She has worked extensively with early learners in several roles at the Chicago Children’s Museum and as a faculty member at the Hyde Park School of Dance. She is a certified Pilates instructor, and teaches Pilates for adults through the Hyde Park School of Dance and for private clients as well. annas@cookcountyartscollective.org
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Patricia Cloud
Administrator
Patricia Cloud serves as the administrator of the Cook County Arts Collective. She has over 30 years of experience in management and project support and has served as a professional librarian at Northwestern University, The Regenstein Library at the University of Chicago, and The Center for Research Libraries. She has worked as a survey researcher and in management and project support at the National Opinion Research Center (NORC at the University of Chicago) and at Mathematica Policy Research.
Ms. Cloud served from 2011 until 2019 as a regular volunteer at the Cook County Department of Corrections, leading teams conducting worship at Division 8RTU and as a volunteer with Chicago Votes in registering detained voters and assisting in the conduct of absentee voting by detainees.
admin@cookcountyartscollective.org
Ms. Cloud served from 2011 until 2019 as a regular volunteer at the Cook County Department of Corrections, leading teams conducting worship at Division 8RTU and as a volunteer with Chicago Votes in registering detained voters and assisting in the conduct of absentee voting by detainees.
admin@cookcountyartscollective.org
Allyson ratliff
board of directors
Allyson Ratliff is Associate Artistic Director and Director of Outreach at the Hyde Park School of Dance, where she also serves as a senior ballet instructor. She has served as Chair of the Board of Directors of the Cook County Arts Collective since its founding in 2018.
Ms. Ratliff has a Master of Arts Management degree with a focus on performing arts. She has studied dance at the University of Arizona in Tucson and the Washington Ballet in Washington DC. Ms. Ratliff has taught at the School of Ballet Chicago, where she instructed classes in ballet and creative movement and served as an integral part of Ballet Chicago's inner city outreach program. She has also served as Ballet Mistress for Expressions Dance Theatre and Rhythm Street in Washington DC.
Ms. Ratliff has a Master of Arts Management degree with a focus on performing arts. She has studied dance at the University of Arizona in Tucson and the Washington Ballet in Washington DC. Ms. Ratliff has taught at the School of Ballet Chicago, where she instructed classes in ballet and creative movement and served as an integral part of Ballet Chicago's inner city outreach program. She has also served as Ballet Mistress for Expressions Dance Theatre and Rhythm Street in Washington DC.