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Rashaida Hill is a performance artist, community organizer, social justice worker and arts facilitator. She has had the pleasure of training and performing for many world-renowned artists while attending Old Dominion University (B.A in Theatre and Dance), The American Dance Festival, Todd Rosenlieb Dance, and the University of California, Los Angeles (MFA in Choreographic Inquiry). As a dance maker, the continuous ebb and flow informing her work includes American/Black American/Black diasporic history and cultures, Queer narratives, mental health, and trauma processing. Her work seeks to hold space for reflection, rest, recovery, and healing through invigorating and intimate theatrical displays and community arts practice.  Recently recognized by the California Arts Council as a 2023 Emerging Artist, she hopes to continue to hold space for herself and others to investigate our embodied histories and make sense of our ever-changing realities by hosting workshops, classes and conversations with some of our most vulnerable populations and art interventionist.

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Please feel free to reach out to me directly through email or find me on Instagram!

rashaida.hill@gmail.com

@20somethingdancer

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This channel has a host of performances and clips from my teaching!

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Accessible Dance and Music content from the Universities to the Streets. Come learn with me! I started this page in my 20s and it will serve as an archive of my journey until my great transition. See my experience through the ages and milestones of an artist’s career. Rashaida Hill
Master’s in Choreographic Inquiry UCLA
Artist . Performer . Choreographer . Director . Cultural Worker . Community Builder
20somethingdancer on IG

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I like to write sometimes. Read my research and some reviews of Dance in LA!

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Read writing from Rashaida Hill on Medium. Performance artist, dancer and cultural worker Recent graduate of UCLA- MFA in Choreographic Inquiry. Every day, Rashaida Hill and thousands of other voices read, write, and share important stories on Medium.

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If subscribed you'll enter the MailChimp data base where I will send out blasts about future happenings. There will be ways to stay connected to my work, events, social justice initiatives, and most of all me! Please feel free to use me as a resource! Let's build a community!

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SUBSCIRBE TO THE RASHAIDA HILL/NBFQ NEWSLETTER!

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If subscribed you'll enter the MailChimp data base where I will send out blasts about future happenings. There will be ways to stay connected to my work, events, social justice initiatives, and most of all me! Please feel free to use me as a resource! Let's build a community!

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Join Me!

What do we do when we want to get good at something? We Practice! This studio session series is called Community Practice. If you’re interested in building community, hosting your own community events, or getting to know like-minded people and building relationships, this is the space for you. How does it work? Once a month we will get together for a 2-hour practice. It starts with a discussion topic, our first, what is community? What does community mean to you? Then, a structed movement activity or skill share. As the host I’ll be facilitating an all levels and abilities movement activity or one of our practice mates will lead a skill share as we get to know each other’s strengths! Lastly, open space. The last 45 minutes the space is yours! You can continue to talk, craft, dance, sing, whatever you feel comfortable doing in the space. Let’s practicing being together, sharing, appreciating each other for presence and skill. Let’s organize and see if our community can get some shit done! Let’s get to know each other and find the safety community provides. Meet me at Pieter Performance Space on June 28 at 7pm. Hope to see you there!

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I have the honor and pleasure of serving as an assistant to this incredible project. If you have a project you need help with don't be afraid to reach out!

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​Joyful Black Mamas (JBM) is a community-driven healing arts initiative devoted to nurturing Black mothers through holistic wellness, movement therapy, and trauma-informed care. Guided by movement…

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Touch Praxis presents other others // rehearsals in the skin, a four-day exhibition and programming series held May 2–5, 2025 at Human Resources Los Angeles. This programming offers a collision of fleshy proximities, felt theory (Dian Million, 2009) and porous encounters. other others // rehearsals in the skin brings together artists, practitioners, and facilitators to explore how we relate, connect, and feel—together.

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Touch Praxis presents other others // rehearsals in the skin, a four-day exhibition and programming series held May 2–5, 2025 at Human Resources Los Angeles. This programming offers a collision [...]

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Picture left to right: Aryeal Lands, Sydney Richardson, Rashaida Hill                           photography by Zay Monae  

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“Black women will save the world” is a saying I hear often. Black American women have become a monolithic figure in the discussion of liberation for all as we have consistently shown up at every turn to confront the crises that plague us. Still, in this modern landscape, Black women withstand a constant barrage of criticism and hate directed to how we look, how we love and where we’re from. There a few questions most prominent in my mind when considering our existence. How do Black American women navigate this negation and still find joy? How can we navigate this negation without shrinking ourselves to fit into our environment? How do we successfully make space for ourselves to reflect, rest, recover and heal?

This is not resilience. It’s innate. Deeper than a code switch, it’s the secret of Black women to navigate the lack of safety in every space. However, Black women are also known to exude a celebratory joy that is specific to us despite these overarching perspectives telling us how and when we can express ourselves. This project explores this negation while juxtaposing and disrupting it with a display of emotion that is infectious, fun, and necessary. Follow three women and their intimate investigations of Black American life.

Reach out for access to the full length work online!

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Pictured Sara Silvis and Kylie Kaneshiro

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About

Choreographer: Rashaida Hill

Dancers: Kylie Kaneshiro, Sara Silvis

Music: Delegation - Oh Honey (12” version) Instrumental

About: a visual representation of a femme queer experience. Not necessarily in a gendered way, but in only the way a woman’s perspective can show queerness. The exhaustion, the power, the awkwardness,  the sensuality, the spark before the flame, the tension, the surprise. Feel good sensations.

Watch on YouTube Here!

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California Arts Counsel Individual Artist Fellowship Grantee

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California Arts Counsel Individual Artist Fellowship Grantee

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2023 - I was awarding an emerging tier fellowship through the California Arts Counsel.

Individual Artist Fellowships program recognizes, uplifts, and celebrates the excellence of California artists practicing any art form.

Excellence, for purposes of this program, is defined as an artist’s

Unique artistic vision

Ongoing commitment to creative practice

Engagement with and impact on the larger cultural ecosystem

This program will support artists and cultural bearers at key moments in their careers, elevating their capacity for continued contribution to the field and our state. Fellowship awards support individual artistic practice through unrestricted funding. This program is intended to support a broad spectrum of artists working in all disciplines, from diverse geographies and communities of all sizes across the state of California.

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In partnership with California Arts Council (CAC), Los Angeles Performance Practice is thrilled to serve as the Administering Organization for the Individual Artist Fellowships in Los Angeles County.

Applications are closed as of June 2nd, 2023, at 11:59 PM Pacific Time.

2023 AWARDS

Review Panelists

Applications were reviewed by a panel of artists, arts leaders, culture bearers and community members with arts and culture knowledge made up of a combination of local Los Angeles County residents and nationwide cultural workers. We thank all of the panelists for their service to the field!
Please note: If panelists submitted an application to the program, they did not adjudicate the tier in which they submitted to prevent any conflict of interest.
ABOUT THE PROGRAM

The Individual Artist Fellowships program recognizes, uplifts, and celebrates the excellence of California artists practicing any art form.

Excellence, for purposes of this program, is defined as an artist's

Unique artistic vision

Ongoing commitment to creative practice

Engagement with and impact on the larger cultural ecosystem

This program will support artists and cultural bearers at key moments in their careers, elevating their capacity for continued contribution to the field and our state. Fellowship awards support individual artistic practice through unrestricted funding. This program is intended to support a broad spectrum of artists working in all disciplines, from diverse geographies and communities of all sizes across the state of California.

The Individual Artist Fellowships program is a statewide initiative.

If you do not reside in Los Angeles County, but are a resident of California, you'll find additional application information here:

For Orange, San Diego, Riverside, San Bernardino, and Imperial Counties, please visit Arts Orange County.

For the Central Region including Fresno, Inyo, Kern, Kings, Madera, Mariposa, Merced, Monterey, San Benito, San Luis Obispo, San Mateo, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Stanislaus, Tulare, and Ventura, please visit SVCreates.

For all other California counties, please visit the California Arts Council website.

FELLOWSHIP AWARDS

The fellowship awards will provide unrestricted funding in support of the fellows' artistic practice. The following three tiers of funding will be available:
Emerging Artist Fellows - $5,000
Emerging artists are those in the beginning stages of making their work public and engaging the larger community in their practice. Individuals at this career stage may have had a few public showings of their work, but do not yet have ongoing resources or support.
Established Artist Fellows - $10,000
Artists in the Established tier regularly make their work public and engage the larger community in their practice. Individuals in this tier can give multiple examples of artistic and/or cultural works that have made significant social impact.
Legacy Artist Fellows - $50,000
Artists in the Legacy tier can point to a significant body of work, produced over a substantial period of time, that has engaged their communities and that has made significant social impact. Artists in this tier may be able to point to Emerging and Established Artists that they have mentored or otherwise positively influenced.

ELIGIBILITY

Must be 18 years of age or older at the time of submission

Reside in Los Angeles County.

Recipients of the 2021 CAC Individual Artist Fellowships are not eligible to apply.

GUIDELINES

Los Angeles Performance Practice wants to thank the over 20 community partners who provided input and insight to the creation of the guidelines and process.

FAQs

APPLICATION & REVIEW CRITERIA

Applications will be reviewed by a panel of artists, arts leaders, and culture bearers and community members with arts and culture knowledge made up of a combination of local Los Angeles County residents and nationwide cultural workers. If you are interested in serving as a panelist, click or tap the button below to complete a Panel Interest Form.

Review Panel Criteria

Creative Vision - Artist effectively communicates their personal story, artistic medium or practice, and long-term aspirations for their work.

Aesthetic Excellence - Artistic work and/or examples of cultural practice demonstrate strong alignment with the components of the Attributes of Excellence in Arts for Change , including commitment, communal meaning, disruption, cultural integrity, risk taking, sensory experience, emotional experience, openness, coherence, resourcefulness, and stickiness.

Community Engagement and Social Impact - Artist effectively communicates their engagement with their community(ies) and the positive social impact their work has had locally, regionally, and/or statewide, addressing themes including but not limited to race, diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility.

Our team will be hosting in-person and virtual information sessions in April to review the guidelines and criteria for the program.

PROGRAM TIMELINE AND INFORMATION SESSIONS

We are excited to offer both in-person and virtual information sessions to assist applicants across the county. All times Pacific. Click or tap on dates + times to register for virtual sessions, see below for the locations of in-person sessions.

This activity is funded by the California Arts Council, a state agency.

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California Arts Council's Individual Artist Fellowships - Los Angeles County

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In partnership with California Arts Council (CAC), Los Angeles Performance Practice is thrilled to serve as the Administering Organization for the Individual Artist Fellowships in Los Angeles County. Applications are closed as of June 2nd, 2023, at 11:59 PM Pacific Time.

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This class debuted at the Long Beach Contact improv festival hosted by Bag Goat Dance at CSULB. It was then hosted at Pieter Performance space. The class was created to assist participants in finding their voice within a partnering structure. I guide partners through exercises to increase vulnerability, honesty, and openness to play while considering capacity and addressing the level of intimacy needed to sustain a connection. Email me if you'd like me to host this at your event, festival, or studio!

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Release technique draws from an amalgamation of somatic forms (Alexander, Skinner, Feldenkrais, Pilates, Yoga) and fuses contemporary and modern dance to increase the strength and flexibility of the dancer and ease the transitions of the dance. Participants can expect to gain strength, flexibility, and increase their technique and performance skill.

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Dancing Through Prison Walls Announcement

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Dancing Through Prison Walls Announcement

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I proudly accepted a position as Administrative Facilitator for Dance Through Prison Walls - a California-based dance and performance project whose mission is to dance with, choreograph with, and tell stories within embodied carceral landscapes and beyond, amplifying voices of incarcerated folks, and addressing mass incarceration.

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Neurodivergent Black Femme Queer (NBFQ) is the identity with which I interact with this world and how I engage in all areas of life. I have taken all of the things that make me a marginalized human and I have found strength and success because of these qualities not in spite of. This umbrella phrase lives as an active LLC and encapsulates my life's work as an individual artist and community organizer. The hope is for my work to grow into a community practice whether in person or virtual! Learn, grow, heal, play, and all of the things with me.

It's still in the baby stages so don't come for me!

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If you are taking a class, reading my work, or just feeling generous feel free to donate here!  Being a community artist is my life's work and the smallest contribution matters.