Carolyn Dorfman Dance and Rashad Wright: Fire & Rhythm

Different Roots. One Heartbeat. 

African and Jewish stories carry the weight of exile, the fire of resilience, and the promise of hope. Carolyn Dorfman Dance and Jersey City Poet Laureate Rashad Wright present a living tapestry of dance and poetry—honoring difference, lifting common threads, and celebrating the unbreakable rhythms of the human spirit. 

Rashad Wright is the poet laureate emeritus of Jersey City, New Jersey and a teacher on behalf of the Geraldine R. Dodge Poetry Foundation and Passaic County’s Theatre & Poetry Program. He is a graduate of New Jersey City University, receiving his BA in English: Creative Writing. He is the author of Romeo’s Whiskey and Papa’s Tango. 

Rashad’s poetry has been heard from both local and national stages via slam poetry, recently was a member of the 2023 New Jeru Slam Poetry team whom placed second in the country at the Southern Fried National Poetry Slam and is New Jeru’s 2024 Grandslam Champion. He is the only person to be titled the “Grandslam Champion of Jersey City Slam” twice. He has competed in Slams in the Tristate area, Oakland, San Diego, Spokane, and Denver, once ranking 25th in the country at the 2019 Individual World Poetry Slam. He has coached Jersey City Slam, the UACHS Poetry Club, and 6th Borough Slam whom placed 10th in the world at Brave New Voices 2019. Rashad has also been awarded First Place at the Walter Glospie American Academy of Poets Prize, being inducted into the Academy of American Poets. He can be found on multiple podcasts and radio interviews most notably NPR’s Here & Now and WBGO. Rashad is currently the grandslam champion of the Rockland Poets and will be representing them this year at the NorthBeast and VoxPop poetry slams. 

Outside of poetry Rashad’s work expands into memoir, fiction, short story, performance art, music, film, neo-soul alongside his band ChillBrown, jazz alongside The Just Now Orchestra, and theatre with the completion of two one-man plays Romeo’s Whiskey Live & Nimbus Presents Etu’s Raucus Caucus Tango. His work can be found in multiple online journals and magazines. Rashad has performed alongside Amiri Baraka, Rudy Francisco, Tyehimba Jess, Emi Mahmoud, and many others. He currently is working on a live production of his sophomore book Papa’s Tango Live.