Brandon K. Calhoun aka Chief Manny
Footworker, Director, Animator, Writer | 2024 Platform Award Recipient
Brandon “Chief Manny” Calhoun is an artist, filmmaker, and culture bearer of Chicago Footwork. As Co-Founder and Co-CEO of the multi-faceted dance company the Era Footwork Collective, Brandon’s career encompasses dance, film, music, organizational leadership, and mentoring the next generation of Chicago footworkers. Since founding the Era in 2014, Brandon and the collective have played a key role in the positioning of Chicago Footwork culture as a global phenomenon, through performance, music production, and international touring. Brandon contributed poetry, dance choreography, and film to the Era’s recent stage show IN THE WURKZ, which toured nationally in the US. Brandon’s short film FOOTNOTES debuted in 2021 on the Merchandise Mart, and its online release received over 100,000 views in 24 hours. Brandon has received grants and awards for his artistic work from the Joyce Foundation, New England Foundation for the Arts, and the University of Chicago, and he was recognized as a 2021 New Leader of Chicago by the Field and MacArthur Foundations. Brandon was born and raised on Chicago’s south east side, where he lives and makes his work.
