Hardin M. Minor

Performance Artist, Co-Founder/Artistic Director of OMIMEO Mime Theatre

Education:
Bachelor of Creative Arts, UNC Charlotte (1979)

Hometown:
Charlotte, NC

Charlotte native and multidimensional performance artist Hardin Minor is a key player in the Charlotte arts scene, embodying countless characters and enlivening spaces throughout the community. In 1978, he and Eddie Williams founded OMIMEO Mime Theatre, which continues to entertain adults and children alike with its inventive programming. Hardin credits his multidisciplinary education at UNC Charlotte with teaching him “the power of interdisciplinary cadence… the unbridled joy of the collaborative creative act.”

“UNC Charlotte is where it all came together for me, as I was required to graduate as an artist/educator, an artist capable of performance and choreography who could teach age-appropriately. In addition we had what was known as our weekly Perception, Interaction & Problem Solving (PIPS) group, discussion groups of artists from each discipline. I distinctly remember how vibrant our collective mind was during those two-hour meetings.”

He remembers faculty fondly: “My mentor was Dean Bill Mathis – brilliant…I reference him at least two to three times a week. I studied Graham Technique with Gerda Zimmermann, an original (Martha) Graham Dancer, and Limon Technique with Pamela Sofras. I learned how to enjoy the delightful brilliant curmudgeonry of Bob Croghan (Theatre).” 

Hardin received a Bachelor of Creative Arts degree in Dance and Education from UNC Charlotte in 1979, graduating as the first male certified to teach dance in North Carolina schools. From 1980-1986, he studied in New York City with Twyla Tharp, Michael Moschen, and Bob Berky and taught at The Bearley School and the National Dance Institute under Jacques d’Amboise.

Since returning to Charlotte in 1986, he has performed and produced for every kind of audience, from the corporate to the classroom, and maintained a long-standing relationship with Children’s Theatre of Charlotte. He has received the Arts & Science Council’s Creative Fellowship Award (2001) and the Blumenthal Performing Arts “Center Stage” Award in recognition of longtime service to the arts in Charlotte (2010). It has been his privilege to choreograph three works for his alma mater: TUBA (1999), ShakeDancer (2002), and GLAMERICA (2005). 

Hardin has been an active environmentalist since participating in the first Earth Day in 1970. He developed and created Charlotte Earth Day in 2020 for the 50th Anniversary and produced this free community event in 2022 & 2023.

Hardin sees great things in the University’s future. “UNC Charlotte is fast becoming the tail that wags the dog of the greater UNC system. It is positioned to become one of the great universities. The College of Arts + Architecture is excellent now and will be at or near the top in the USA within the next 10 years.”

Hardin has been named the 2017 Distinguished Alumnus in Dance. Be sure to check out his webiste.