November 14th and 15th, we’re excited to host our next Artist Advisory Council Member Activation at Dance Place, The Creative Space. The Creative Space is a local dance organization dedicated to supporting dancers in their professional development through workshops, productions, and collaborations. Dance Place’s Audience and Community Engagement Apprentice, Juliana Pironti, sat down with Kamali Hill, founder of The Creative Space, to discuss the evolving landscape of dance in Washington, DC, her personal dance practice, and her upcoming work, The Moving Art Gallery, presented at Dance Place.
Hi, Kamali, Can you introduce yourself?
I’m Kamali Hill. I am the Creative Artistic Director and founder of The Creative Space. We’re a company that supports professional dance artists in their transition. So, those professionals coming out of high school or college and thinking, “Where do I go? What do I do,“ you can come here. It’s also for artists who are beyond the emerging category and asking, “What happens to my career after this?” You can come here too, whether it’s to build community and find others to collaborate with, or to take class for yourself so you can stay in your practice.
How did you end up here in DC? How has being a local artist impacted you with everything going on in DC?
Yeah, so I’m actually from the area. I left in 2009. I went to school, I went to VCU in Richmond, so I was gone for four years, and then came back home for a little bit, for about a year, a little under a year. Then I moved to Atlanta for five or six years. From there, I went to Texas for grad school. I was back and forth to Chicago for summers, all of it surrounded by dance. Dance was just taking me to all these different places. After Texas, it was back to Atlanta for a year or two, then back home. Then it was off to Mississippi… and then back here, permanently, now going on two years.
This is the first time that I’m actually settling somewhere. I was actually telling someone the other day that I find myself planting, or like, planting little gardens, in the places I go, but the roots weren’t deep enough for me. But here, I’m loving the process of building this business, especially in this area, especially for dance, and especially for a time like now.
When I look at the state of everything… My whole life I was learning from different people in this area. And when you look at the impact of other professional dance companies, so many of these institutions were pillars. They’re still here, but some have had to transition into other formats or they don’t exist anymore. The professional dance community, you’ve seen a huge shift. And I’m like, “Wait a minute. This isn’t the dance scene I used to know. This isn’t the dance I grew up with. This isn’t the thriving environment I remember it being.” So now, it’s like: “Alright, who are the people doing the work to keep dance alive in this area?” Especially when it comes to concert dance. And who do I need to connect with so I can be part of that community, of making that happen?
Dance Place is a no-brainer. Especially with Tariq, and what his vision is for the future. I’m like, “These are the kinds of things we want to be connected to, connected with, for the DC community at large.”
Your creative work at The Creative Space centers around three core pillars: education, presentation, and collaboration. Could you talk us through each of these and how they show up in your artistic process?
All three of these pillars work separately, but they also work as a unit. That stems a lot from my own creative practice and process. Everything that I do, number one, is rooted in some form of collaboration. Whenever I start a piece, it begins with conversation. It starts with getting into the minds and the heads of the people I’m working with so that I can find a way to plug them into the conversation of what they’re going to be presenting.
When it comes to the education part, education is not just, you know, sitting at a desk and reading a book. Education is also learning from other people’s experiences and processes, and figuring out how I can do something to make myself better as an artist, or to make this community better by being able to, you know, lift somebody up in a way that they can use their gifts and talents for the greater good.
When it comes to the presenting part, that’s literally their work being seen in front of a new audience. I really believe that dance is the highest form of human connection when it comes to art. It’s ephemeral. It exists and holds time, space, and energy that cannot be duplicated. It’s not like music, where you can consistently play it. We’re listening to music now, but we don’t have to stop what we’re doing to observe it. We can play it in the background, it’s passive.
So when we look at dance, this is a form of discipline, of self-control, of autonomy on a completely different level. This is why I support the art. I believe it’s something that is significantly important.
In the work you’re creating right now for Dance Place, how are those pillars showing up? And is there anything new, like a new medium or modality, that you’re excited to explore within them?
So the show we have coming up is called The Moving Art Gallery. I’ve had this project in my head for about two years now. I was like, oh, well, I want to do this thing with immersive theater. I was like, it’s immersive, it’s nomadic, it’s something. But The Moving Art Gallery was the image, or the name, that came to me, and then everything else started to fall into place.
I still have a creative process that I’ve used in several formats, even outside of dance. So I’m like, “okay, it’s applicable.” We just have to take it and see what it’s like to do an entire show with it. I know that I’m interested in other presenting formats, like dance and film, or site-specific dance. So we’re taking that and putting it into the space with this concert, and we’re going to see what happens. I accept the challenge. I accept the responsibility. I’m really excited because this is definitely pushing me to another level of my artistry that I’m excited for.
This season at Dance Place, the theme is “Home is Coming.” As a first-time presenter here, how does the idea of ‘home’ resonate with you, both in the comfort it suggests and the newness of sharing your work in this space? What new audiences or communities do you hope to connect with and invite into this space through your performance?
So, when it comes to not just the idea of home, but what home is, the people in this show are all people I’ve met throughout my entire career. And one of the things I’ve said over the years is that I just want to bring all my friends together in one place. I know everybody can’t move here, but how am I able to create something with my friends that’s really beautiful and impactful, but also gives them a way to meet and exchange with each other?
These are really beautiful people, and not just because I’m saying so because I like them, but because they’re actually doing work that’s very intentional. They all have very different perspectives and approaches, but I think that each of their points of view is valid.
When it comes back to the idea of home and the people coming to this event, everyone who’s been here and who supports me and my work as an artist, some of them haven’t even been able to see the work I’ve created or the things I’ve done. This work is not so much about me; it’s really a gift to the people. It’s a gift to the audience, a way to look and see what the possibilities are.
It’s about the people who are already here, those who want to support dance locally, who want to support these artists, who want to support the community. As an artist, as I’m developing on my journey, I want to be able to do that. I want people to have something to go to, especially in such a dark time.
We need human interaction. We need humans to be humans, to connect, to be present. We’re humans, not machines.
Okay, pivoting a little bit, the Artist Advisory Council. When you became a part of that at Dance Place, what did that experience mean to you? And what are you hoping that scope and growth will look like over the next two years?
So first off, I’m honored. When the opportunity was presented, I was like, “absolutely, no question. What do you need?” I think something like this is really beautiful because it brings together a group of people with very different experiences. When it comes to the development of this team and the beautiful things that we offer, the thing I’m looking forward to the most is saying: “All right, what more can we do? What other possibilities are there?”
And again, when it comes to the artists, the professional artists that we’re serving, how are we being intentional? Are we really plugging them into the people they need to connect with? Everyone’s perspective is so unique and different. So really, the goal is to continue being intentional, not just about the shows we’re presenting, but also about directly plugging into those communities and continuing to provide what they need beyond what’s happening at Dance Place. Whether it’s their careers, the choreography they’re presenting, or funding opportunities, we want to help them move forward.
And we need that. We need people who understand funding. We need people who understand the legal side of things. We need people who understand copyright. We need dance artists who are also physical therapists. Dance is a huge world, but we often centralize it around choreography and performance. Having a curation team like this, where everyone has extensive backgrounds in other areas, means we can connect artists directly to the people and resources that will help them grow. The possibilities are endless, and so are the job opportunities.
Because in the arts, it’s always the same story. The arts are the last to be looked at and the first to lose funding. The first thing cut from education is the arts, and the first part of that to go is dance. Then theater. Then band. Then physical education. It’s crazy. Why are you taking away all the things that allow humans to express themselves?
So yeah, connection, intention, and community. That’s what it’s all about.
Is there anyone on the Council that is really inspiring to you or that you would like to work closely with?
Let me say this, when it comes to the council, I know what everyone does. I know how everyone feels about their work, and I also know the intentions behind what people are doing. However, I don’t know everyone personally.
For myself, I’m willing to work with just about anybody, because you learn from those experiences. I’m a lifelong learner. So it’s not just one person. I love the fact that I get to work with all of them, and that we each bring our own insights and perspectives into the mix.
Kamali’s words carry deep meaning for the dance community and reflect what so many of us are feeling in these times of scarcity. They remind us how important it is to show up for one another, to witness each other as humans, to experience art whether it’s to escape or to connect, to laugh or to question. Showing up as a community is what strengthens us all.
Don’t miss the immersive Moving Art Gallery, presented at Dance Place on November 14th and 15th.
Tickets are on sale now!