معرفی
Amy O'Neal is a Lecturer in Dance History, Hip-Hop, and Composition at the University of Southern California's Glorya Kaufman School of Dance since 2018, with over 20 years of professional experience as a dancer, choreographer, educator, and curator. Previously based in Seattle for two decades, she developed hip-hop curriculum for the University of Washington and co-directed the experimental company locust (2000-2010) with Zeke Keeble.
Education:
- Cornish College of the Arts: BFA
Her research centers at the intersection of hip-hop, house, and contemporary dance communities, exploring hybridized movement vocabularies through the lens of race, gender, and cultural innovation. She investigates nuanced differences within Black social dance practices while creating spaces for experimentation and improvisation across dance forms, particularly through platforms like The Hybrid Lab.
O'Neal's choreographic works critically examine societal structures through dance innovation, with recent projects like Runnin' (2019) extending into virtual reality collaborations and How it Feels (2019) documenting the gender explorations in Opposing Forces (2014-2017). Her artistic trajectory consistently bridges historical dance forms with contemporary technological and social contexts.
Notable awards and recognitions:
- Creative Capital grantee
- National Performance Network grantee
- National Dance Project grantee
- Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation grantee
- Foundation for Contemporary Art grantee
- 4 Culture grantee
- Artist Trust Fellow (two-time)
- DanceWEB Vienna scholar
- Herb Alpert Award nominee
- Cornish College of the Arts Distinguished Alumni Award (2014)
Grant Support:
- Creative Capital
- National Performance Network
- National Dance Project
- Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation
- Foundation for Contemporary Art
- 4 Culture
Residencies:
- Bates Dance Festival
- Headlands Center for the Arts
- US/Japan Choreographer’s Exchange
- Velocity Dance Center
- The Kennedy Center/The Reach Social Impact Residency
- Harvard University Visiting Dance Innovators program
O'Neal founded and curates The Hybrid Lab: Conversations in Merging Dance Cultures, a platform for Black social dance practitioners to experiment within contemporary performance contexts. She organizes Cypher Celebration emphasizing cross-dance-form improvisation and curates Kaufman Converge at USC, profiling professional artists navigating diverse dance ecologies while fostering community-centered artistic development.
