Sally Carlson Crowell · 1987 Honoree

Sally Crowell came to live on Capitol Hill in 1963. Before moving to Washington, she opened her own dance studio in Connecticut, attended the Boston Conservatory of Music, worked in summer theater on Cape Cod and in Indianapolis and appeared on and off Broadway in New York City.

Upon arriving in the District, Ms. Crowell enrolled at Howard University where she received a B.F.A. in Drama. She also earned a Masters Degree in Dance Education at George Washington University. During the sixties, she served on the faculties of Howard University, the former Federal City College, American University, George Washington University and the Washington Dance Theater in Georgetown. 

In the early spring of 1972, she founded the Capitol Hill Arts Workshop (CHAW) at Christ Church with about thirty students participating in her initial program. Ms. Crowell has been the organization’s President and the Producing Artistic Director since that time.

In 1978 CHAW was granted permission from the government of the District of Columbia to rehabilitate the former Benjamin Brown French School in Southeast, which had been vacant for seventeen years. The D.C. Office of Historic Preservation provided a grant of $50,000. The staff of CHAW restored the building and in 1980 moved its arts education program into the school. Today, CHAW’s programs include classes and private lessons in music, poetry readings, puppet shows, dance concerts, children and adult theater productions, art exhibits, festivals, and inner city arts and recreation camps.

During her twenty-three years in Washington, Sally has taught hundreds of children and adults dance and theater arts; directed and choreographed over fifty theatrical productions; and has been the Artistic Director of the Carousel Dance Theater which has performed at Wolf Trap Farm Park, the D.C. Public Schools, and in Provincetown, Massachusetts. She also directed the D.C. Dance Consortium which performed in New York as a part of the Hunter College Guest Artist Series.

For her work in our community, Ms. Crowell has received numerous awards and citations including the Hines Brooks Award for Distinction in Acting and a special award from the Washington Review for the establishment of the Capitol Hill Workshop. She has been honored with resolutions from the District of Columbia City Council for the Restoration of the French School and for ten years of extraordinary service to the community. Additionally, she has been nominated to receive the Mayor’s Art Award and the Washingtonian of the Year Award. Sally has been active on many community boards and committees throughout the years.

With Sally’s reputation as a human dynamo, her dream to build a theater company and create an extensive summer camp involving adults, children and senior citizens is sure to become a reality. In the meanwhile, Ms. Crowell’s talent, dedication to others and artistic contributions continue to add significantly to the overall personality of Capitol Hill.