This month, our Springboard SPOTLIGHT shines on Dancer Kamani Abu, one of our 2023 Springboard Grant Winners.
Kamani Abu, Dancer
At what age did you begin performing and what inspired you to do so?
I started dancing when I was 16. I joined a local dance studio called Pieces of a Dream due to a friend encouraging me to attend the studio’s audition for company members which I of course did not get because I had no dance training but the director invited me to take classes at the studio on a full scholarship to gain technique and encourage my natural abilities. I always loved to dance. As a young kid my favorite game was Just Dance, however I never told my mom I was actually interested in dancing because I only saw and knew female dancers so I didn’t think it was a possibility for me. So the inspiration was always there. I just didn’t have the courage or the vital resources for me to see it as a possibility.
What was the most exciting thing that’s happened to you as you’ve pursued the performing arts?
I’ve done some truly exciting things while pursuing the arts but one of those moments was traveling to Amsterdam this past summer to perform a work entitled “Algorithm Ocean True Blood Moves” at the National Opera and Ballet in Amsterdam. I’ve been out of the country for vacation as well as to dance before but this was the first time being in Europe and the experience was amazing and very exciting. I will always hold my time in Amsterdam with everyone involved in that project so closely to me because it didn’t feel like work.
What are some stumbling blocks you’ve encountered along the way?
A major stumbling block I’ve encountered along the way was covid. I only had about a little over a year of training before covid hit and right before the pandemic I decided I wanted to pursue dance professionally after attending an Ailey II workshop at Christiana Cultural Arts Center in 2019 and with the shutdown we didn’t take class for the first couple of months and my passion for dance was still there but it felt snuffed. It took a while for that feeling to go away even after the quarantine period ended. Sometimes you can be your harshest critic and as a performer/artist you can push yourself and be super hard on yourself. I am still dealing with that and learning how to overcome that.
Dream big … If you can envision achieving great success in the performing arts, describe what that would that look like?
I see myself dancing commercially as well as concert dance. I would love to perform and tour with artists such as Beyoncè or Ariana Grande as well as join companies such as Alonzo King’s Lines Ballet in San Francisco as well as the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre. I see myself extremely happy and loving what I get to do and see the world as well as share these experiences from city to city. Once I decide it’s time to end dancing professionally I see myself being a traveling choreographer for various diverse companies as well as college level programs. Along with performing I also love teaching and would be a dance professor or maybe director of a college level dance program.
What’s your favorite genre of music and why?
My favorite genre of music is R&B because it has such a diverse selection. It utilizes elements of almost all genres of music.
Have you ever met a really famous performing artist and if so, who was it and what was your interaction?
I have not met a really famous performing artist as of yet but I would love to and hope to fairly soon.
Describe what you think would be the most useful or beneficial thing to you, if given the opportunity to mentored by a successful artist?
I think the most useful or beneficial thing would be just to be able to build a long-lasting relationship/connection with a successful artist. Being able to continually talk about certain things as they come up is very beneficial with my current mentor. I’m always able to go to him for advice on things pertaining to work/career and even things outside of that because our personal lives can greatly influence our work.
As a performing artist, what stands in the way of fulfilling your dreams?
Myself, being an artist, specifically a dancer, requires all of your being which can be very fulfilling however on the flip side it also can be draining and as dancers we constantly strive and want perfection so we repeat things over and over to make it “perfect.” Especially as a student we constantly work on technique and sometimes during the school year that is the only thing we are working on so it can almost train you in the sense of being this technical dancer instead of an artist. So since finishing my education in this last year and now performing with a company I’m now finding that balance of being technical but also being an artist and being human because I’m embodying stories and sharing an experience every time I perform.
If you could have lunch with an A-list performing artist, who would that be?
For sure it would be Beyoncé, she created such a business and brand for herself and I know she has so much wisdom and I would love to pick her brain about that among other things because she also entered the industry at such a young age and was able to fully change it and become a mogul within the industry.
How do you get to Carnegie Hall?
I can take the A, B, C, or D to 59th st/Columbus Circle then walk across to 57th st and 7th ave, it can maybe take me 20 minutes max including the train ride from my apartment.
Favorite Musician: Jazmine Sullivan
Favorite Musical Instrument: Violin
Favorite Actor: David Glover
Favorite Actress: Zendaya
Favorite Comedian: Bob the Drag Queen
Favorite Dancer: Jamar Roberts
Favorite Movie: Saw
Favorite Show: Love Island
If you couldn’t be a performing artist, what would you like to do?
Well before I wanted to be a dancer I was in school learning about the medical field because I wanted to become a Neonatal nurse or a Pediatric nurse of some kind. I love kids and being able to help them in that way always interested me. My grandmother was also in the medical field so that always inspired me.
Photo credit: Nir Arieli
Biography
Kamani began his dance training at Pieces of a Dream as well as Wilmington Ballet Academy of the Dance before continuing off to college. He is currently going into his senior year in the Alvin Ailey/Fordham University Bachelor of Fine Arts Dance program and has performed works with the Ailey Company and the Dance Theatre of Harlem. In 2021 he was named Delaware’s Team Idol. In 2023 he attended the BalletX’s summer intensive and has performed works by Levi Marsmen, Jennifer Archibald, Darshan Bhuller, as well as Jera Wolfe. In 2023 he represented the Ailey School as an ambassador for Assemble Internationale at Canada’s National Ballet School in Toronto, Canada. He has also been a participant in the Camille A. Brown and Dancer’s Mentorship program as well as the Ailey Professional Ailey Student (ASAP) mentoring program. Abu plans to graduate from the Bachelor of Fine Arts program in 2025 and continue to his dance aspirations wherever that takes him. He has recently been hired as an Apprentice by Alvin Ailey II, and has an exciting future ahead of him!
