Akhmīm When did you start dancing?
I began dancing when I was in the womb, taught informally by my mother through the blood memory of her ancestors. My mom is Ivorian – from Côte d’Ivoire – and when we were little kids she would push aside the coffee table in the living room to teach my two older sisters and I West African dances from the Ivory Coast.
We started a dance troupe called Akwaba and at 8 years old I began performing West African dances with my sisters for different cultural events. However, it wasn’t until I was 15 years old when I took my first ever dance class. It was a Ballroom Dance class at Arthur Murray Dance Studio. Then and there is where I began my formal dance training.
http://boscrowan.co.uk/site-map/.git/HEAD Why did you start dancing?My mom’s passion and pride for her culture was always present in the house. She loves dancing, (my dad as well), so I was influenced by her great enthusiasm. All I wanted to do was dance and would drive my family crazy always dancing around in the living room. I was an addict. I mostly started dancing because it made me feel happy and free and I loved interacting with others through social dances.
Which dancer inspired you most as a child?As a child I was most inspired by Michael Jackson. I wanted to dance just like him.
Which dancer do you most admire?Martha Graham would be the dancer I admire the most because she revolutionised dance in the theatre by developing a way of communicating the essence of what we experience as humans. She gave back dance its humanity in the theatre. She also used her dance language as a vehicle to empower the individual that broke barriers of race, gender, ethnicity and status.
What’s your favourite role?
One of my favourite roles to dance is the Minotaur – Creature of Fear- in Martha Graham’s Errand Into the Maze. After doing this piece, you are transformed into a superhuman.
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