Noel Staples-Freeman, raised in Dorchester, MA, and now a resident of Pittsfield, MA, has dedicated over five decades to teaching and performing arts locally and internationally. She holds a B.S. in Children’s Theatre, Performing Arts, and Dance from Emerson College.
Noel’s distinguished career includes landmark performances such as Nelson Mandela’s historic visit to Boston in 1990 and participation in DanceAfrica at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. She has also performed at esteemed venues including Jacob’s Pillow.
A two-time recipient of the Commonwealth Award of Massachusetts, Noel was recognized forher work with the Art of Black Dance and Music, under the direction of DeAma Battle. In 2016, she received a second Commonwealth Award for her contributions to Aashka Dance School in Hyde Park, MA. In 1995, she performed for the President of Senegal at the Sorano Theatre with
the Koumpo West African Dance Company, led by Ibrahima Camara.
Since founding Uprising Dance Theatre in 1983, Noel has directed an intergenerational ensemble that honors the traditional and contemporary dance, music, and theater of the African Diaspora. Recent performances include engagements for the City of Everett, MA; the Wandering Dance Festival in Pittsfield, MA; and community celebrations such as Juneteenth (hosted by the NAACP) and Kwanzaa (hosted by the Women of Color Giving Circle and ROPE—Rites of Passage and Empowerment). Uprising Dance Theatre has also been featured at Boston’s renowned Harborfest.
In 2023, Noel completed the COHERE program (Community Health Workers Engaging in Integrated Care) at Tufts University School of Medicine. She graduated the following year from the DEL Institute’s year-long Teacher Certificate Program. In 2025, she was appointed Adjunct Professor of African Dance Theory and Technique at Springfield College. Noel continues to share her expertise through African-rooted dance classes in Berkshire County at Community Access to the Arts (CATA), Berkshire Pulse, and the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute.