Rochon, Valerie J.

Valerie Jerusha Rochon, a dance educator and arts administrator, was the originator and director of the African American Dance Directory Project during the mid-1980s.

This project, which operated under support of the New York Foundation for the Arts, was designed to be a comprehensive resource that would serve as a research and marketing tool for, and regarding, African American dance companies performing modern, jazz, tap, ballet, and African Folkloric dance. Rochon also designed the directory to include commissioned essays and art work. Ultimately Rochon was unable to complete the directory as envisioned; however, a preliminary edition containing partial information was published in 1986. Rochon had a varied career, finding employment as a dance teacher and holding various administrative positions for arts agencies, including a cultural project known as the Mighty Eno Enterprises on which she worked with Eno Washington. Even though the African American Dance Directory never came to fruition as she planned, Rochon continued to collect dance materials for the project until the year 2000. She also maintained her ties to the African American dance community.

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