Jamal Kamau White (Birmingham, AL) was raised in Atlanta, GA and began his training at Dance Makers of Atlanta under the direction of Denise and Lynise Heard. He studied as a scholarship student at Ballethnic Dance Academy, Virginia School of the Arts and trained in intensive programs at Kirov Academy of Ballet, Nashville Ballet, Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance, Dance Theatre of Harlem, and London Contemporary Dance School.  Mr. White received a B.F.A. in Dance Performance from Southern Methodist University and M.F.A at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance. He has toured internationally in Rasta Thomas' Rock the Ballet, Missouri Ballet Theater, Lar Lubovitch Dance Company, Alvin Ailey II, Collage Dance Collective, and BODYTRAFFIC. In these companies he’s had the pleasure of performing works by choreographers such as Nicolo Fonte, George Balanchine, Dwight Rhoden, Alvin Ailey, Stijn Celis, Richard Siegal, Victor Quijada, Hofesh Shechter, Arthur Pita, Swan Pouffer Benoit, Robert Battle, Martha Graham, and John Alleyne. 

 

Jamal has served as a guest artist and faculty at several national and international dance festivals including The Ravello Festival in Ravello, Italy, Context Festival in Moscow and St. Petersburg, Russia, Lila Lopez International Contemporary Dance Festival in San Luis Potosí, Mexico, Holland Dance Festival in Den Haag, Holland, The International Modern Dance Festival in Algiers, Algeria, and Reframing the Narrative at The Kennedy Center 2022. He has also served on faculty at the Alabama Dance Festival 21’ and 22’, New York City Center Teach, Lincoln Center Young People Dance Series, Towson University, University of Akron , National (Little) Theater, Dean College, Ohio State University, New York City Dance Alliance, and Embody Dance Conference.

 

Choreographically Jamal has made several works for companies and university programs. These commissions have been established at Southern Methodist University, Kennesaw State University, London Contemporary Dance School, Troy University , BODYTRAFFIC, Deeply Rooted Youth Ensemble, LA Jewish Symphony Orchestra, and The Ailey School. He’s is also one of the first four choreographers to be selected to create at the Utah Ballet Choreographic Institute. Jamal’s creative work and contribution in film and theater inspired him to begin creating dance films such as Black Ass and Work 1 which was selected for the LA Dance Festival’s Short Film Festival in 2023. 

 

Following his creation, There’s God Where We Are, for Memphis based contemporary dance company for adults with down syndrome named Company D, Jamal established his commitment to community service through education and art diplomacy. In both Bad Boys of Ballet and BODYTRAFFIC Jamal served as ambassador to the United States in India, Armenia, and Algeria. His commitment to creating safe spaces for dance education has been acknowledged by several organizations including Learn 2 Group, Youth Protection Advocates in Dance Training, and the Dance Education Equity Association. Jamal is most proud to be one of the founding members and CEO of Creative Strategy and Community Engagement for The Black Artists Dance Collective, which is a community arts organization committed to providing resources and tuition-free programs for black dancers in the Atlanta metro area. 

 

Most recently Jamal serves as Artistic Fellow at BODYTRAFFIC and is now Assistant Professor of Dance at Marymount Manhattan College.