T. Ayo Alston teaches and practices a signature theatrical style of West African drum and dance culture that captures the strength and power of women and community. Ayo is the founder, executive director, composer, and choreographer of Ayodele Drum and Dance, a performance training organization created for women to affirm their self-confidence and strength. Through Ayodele, she has performed, educated, fostered interpersonal healing, and created artistic work from a foundation of traditional African cultures fused with contemporary dance styles. Ayo has been focused on fine-tuning and sharing her ability to compose music on African instruments, serving as a composer and musician for The Lion King Jr. at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) and as a lead actress and musical composer for Mies Julie at Victory Gardens Theater. Ayo serves as an adjunct professor at Columbia College Chicago and is on the Dance faculty at Chicago High School of the Arts. She also has developed drum and dance programs at Jones College Prep and Walter Payton College Prep. Ayo is a 2016 Regional Dance Development Initiative Chicago Dance Lab Artist, 2018 3Arts Awardee, and 2020-22 University of Michigan-Ann Arbor Daring Dances Artist in Residence. As Ayo passes on her artistic experience and excellence to others, she honors, respects, and expresses tremendous gratitude for her own teachers, including Youssouf Koumbassa, Mouminatou Camara, Baba Chuck Davis, Jawolle Willa Zollar, Rosangela Sylvestre, her mother Sarah, her sisters, women around the world, and LIFE!
