WHO?

Soon after his birth in Washington DC, Corey began jet setting with his single mother. Their first assignment was a military base in Honolulu, Hawaii. His time on this island was full of pineapple farms, luaus, and sun. By the time he returned to the U.S. five years later he was convinced that he was a Polynesian warrior destined to shield all negative energy on his path. After a careful explanation from his mother, it was made clear to little Corey that he was in fact not a hula girl. With this news, he settled into his fate bouncing from military base to base. He ventured to Virginia, Germany, and Texas dabbling in choir, tennis, soccer, track and field, and color guard. Like most little queer boys, Corey started performing for his family after perfecting choreography from music videos and showcasing his efforts alongside his cousins at any given opportunity. After his first summer away from home, to Ballet Austin at age 12, it became clear that dance was a career path that Corey was determined to pursue. Ignoring most of society that was insistent that Corey be a basketball player he attended Baltimore School for the Arts where he trained intensively in ballet and contemporary dance. This led him to attend the Juilliard School in New York under the direction of Benjamin Harkarvey and Lawrence Rhodes. While in school, Corey was a finalist at the Monaco Dance Forum, was named "Very Impressive Performer" for Pointe magazine, and found himself in the studio with some of the most focused artists and teachers daily. After graduating with a BFA in 2005, Corey accepted an invitation from France to be a soloist with Lyon Opera Ballet. During his two years in Lyon, he performed ballets by William Forsythe, Sasha Waltz, Jiri Kylian, Matz Ek, and other international choreographers that toured all over the world. In 2007, he returned to the U.S. to join Alonzo King LINES Ballet. In 2009 he was awarded the Princess Grace Award for his work with this company. An unfortunate ankle injury forced Corey to reconsider the trajectory of his career. He required something different, namely a creative space to both heal while staying present as a performer and joined Cirque du Soleil in Los Angeles. While in L.A. with Cirque he created and performed in “Iris” at the Kodak Theater in Hollywood as well as the 2012 Oscars| 84th Academy Awards. In 2013, Corey returned to Europe to freelance as a performer with a home base in Berlin, Germany. He has collaborated with Ligia Lewis, Eszter Salamon, Sergiu Matis, Richard Siegal, and Sasha Waltz. He is obsessed with exploring ideas that are considered “queer” or "other” because he has been labeled with those terms and believes that digging into these ideas allows him to further understand himself and be a more honest reflection of society.

Corey is interested in platforms that freely question and confront social norms. He is often inspired by the thoughts and actions of his immediate community, especially intrigued by ones living in a different rhythm. His initial inspiration combined with radical thought and extreme imagination allows him to explore realities that offer viewpoints to possibilities beyond our usual frequency. Corey’s freedom of imagination allows both audience and performer to comfortably fall into worlds of fantasy where heightened awareness of self and the other are celebrated and even devoured in an embodied delectable physical sensation.