The Crossroads Project

“Crossroads was built from my love of 3 things: my rural Virginia roots, New York City, and the transformative power of dance. Recognizing that three such different things elicit the same feeling of home within me led me to create a project that defines home as something we all share and that inside this universal experience is a power to unite that is greater than the geographic and cultural divides that often polarize us.” 

–Shannon Hummel 

The Crossroads Project intersects rural and urban community members - primarily teens and young adults - through dance, writing, visualization, dynamic conversation, and performance, helping them work together on creating collaborative video/film and live performance work while finding common humanity, de-stigmatizing local identity, breaking down stereotypes, and achieving understanding across perceived divides. Identifying the state of feeling “at home” as it applies to our bodies, residences, communities, and country, Crossroads deepens participants’ awareness of America’s complex cultures and people and through fun, participant-directed, collaborative activities, builds trust between participants whose home communities are often publicly portrayed as divided. Crossroads provides authentic, avenues for urban rural cross-cultural exchange, a critical step toward finding lasting peace in our communities, our country and our time.

Crossroads is facilitated by Artistic Director Shannon Hummel and other trained facilitators from Cora Dance’s company and faculty. All footage for video projects is shot by youth participants and edited by the facilitators in collaboration with the participants. Original music for film and live performances is composed by company composer Hans Bilger. Public video showings and live performances take place locally at each site where the project is developed, and on tour as localized projects come together in one another’s communities. Learn more about Crossroads by clicking here. Click here to view The Crossroads Project Documentary and hear from past participants, facilitators, and Cora’s founders about the history and impact of the project. For information about how The Crossroads Project can be a part of your studio, school, organization, or community, email shannon@coradance.org.

Recent Crossroads Project Videos:

The Crossroads Project in Red Hook, Brooklyn, NYC. Cohort A: Grades 4–7. Cohort B: Grades 8–12. Crossroads Facilitators: Junie Marsh and Shannon Hummel.

The Crossroads Project with Trillium Performing Youth: Lewisburg, West Virginia. Crossroads Facilitator: Shannon Hummel.

The Crossroads Project at Appomattox Regional Governor’s School, Richmond, VA. Crossroads Facilitator: Shannon Hummel.