February marks Black History Month, a time to honor the contributions and legacy of Black people and culture. In the dance community, there is a lot to honor as famous dancers such as Bill “Bojangles” Robinson, Josephine Baker, and Alvin Ailey (to name a few) have left a memorable impact on the dance world.
With that, we want to share some local artists and dancers that are making an impact on the arts and dance community today. We enjoy having these folks on our Instagram feeds, including watching them dance!
Tyrell is a performing artists and educator who specializes in popping and hip-hop dance. His Instagram feed is filled with his energetic choreography, and we love watching him bring his unique style to dance classes at The Underground Dance Centre in Toronto. When he’s not dancing, he’s also busy working on BLVCKOU, where he’s the founder of an organization that helps aspiring artists.
Where do we start when it comes to Esie? She’s an award-winning artist, director, choreographer, dancer, public speaker, and founder of Esie Mensah Creations (to name a few). We love catching her speak, and she hosts a lot of talks live on IGTV. Listening to her is so inspiring, and watching her dance is guaranteed to give you full body goosebumps.
Sam is an actor, choreographer, and dancer who you can see doing contemporary, hip hop, jazz funk, jazz, and ballet. You can catch one of his classes at The Underground Dance Centre in Toronto or The Studio North Toronto. We love having him in our feeds not just to watch him dance, but to catch his artistic, styled photo shoots and fashion.
Shakkoi is a speaker, poet, dance teacher, and author. She offers free online classes to get your body moving and posts a lot of her daily life on her page which we just love to see as there’s so much variety and what she does. Her poetry is special, and we encourage you to take a scroll and give her videos a listen.
Erika DeFreitas - @erikadefreitas416
If you want something different in your feed, Erika’s work is what you need to follow. She does work in performance, photography, video, installation, textiles, drawing, and writing. Her work is thought-provoking, soothing, and so naturally appealing to the eye. She’s a wonder to watch as she builds her career in the arts.
Who did we miss?
We know there’s so many amazing Black dancers and artists that are worth a follow, so please let us know who else we should check out! Send us a note on on Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook.
