Episode 34: A Conversation On Dance, Diversity And Bringing The Arts To Brooklyn - Dwana Smallwood Talks The Journey To Professional Dance And Building Legacy Through Her Performing Arts Center

Dwana Smallwood

Dwana Smallwood

International Dance Icon, Founder and Executive Director, The Dwana Smallwood Performing Arts Center


This week’s episode features Dwana Smallwood, International Dance Icon and Founder and Executive Director of the Dwana Smallwood Performing Arts Center in Brooklyn, New York. Dwana spent more than a decade as the Principal Dancer of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and founded the dance program for the prestigious Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa.

Listen as we discuss her journey into the world of dance at the professional level, her perspective on race, diversity and inclusion in the dance and entertainment industry as a whole, the importance of the arts and artistic expression in the development of young Black girls, and her commitment to bringing dance back to her community in Brooklyn amid the pandemic.


Connect with Dwana Smallwood and The Dwana Smallwood School of Performing Arts

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Myriha Burce