ABOUT US
Dance Arts Academy is the brainchild of Artist, Author and Social Entrepreneur Sakina Ibrahim. Sakina spent over a decade doing research and field work on dance and youth empowerment, traveling throughout the African/Latin diaspora to research how does dance empower and transform us? This field work supported by the Medici Foundation helped to develop her teaching philosophy and approach of connecting with her students based on culture, creativity, and Afro centered values which reach beyond race, gender, and class. Dance Arts Academy programs create space for the individual to discover themselves and begin to envision who they want to be in this world. In partnerships with schools, families, and corporations we collectively are transforming the limitations our students face by helping them to have resilience, showmanship, discipline and strong values. With that in place there is nothing one can not overcome in life.
Sakina Ibrahim
Founder/Artistic Director - www.sakinaibrahim.com
Sakina, Artist, Author, and Social Entrepreneur has spent over a decade studying and teaching dance all over the world. She has unparalleled experience in the arts and entertainment industry, working with many legends such as Donald McKayle, Anthony Burrell, Shelly Garrett, and More. She has worked with the Essence Festival, Jill Scott's Blues Babe Foundation, Boston Women's Conference, The Trayvon Martin Foundation, and many international educational institutions. Her performance credits include Jill Scott, Rennie Harris RHAW, Beauty Shop starring Tiffany Haddish, Bayside the Musical, The Harlem Arts Festival, Creed 2, Silver linings Playbook and more. Sakina was the choreographer for the two-time Rose d'Or award-winning film Young@Heart, which was listed as a Top 50 documentary and streamed on Netflix and PBS. Sakina has studied with Dance Masters at Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance, Bates Dance Festival, Broadway Dance Center, and the Dagbe Cultural Arts Center in Ghana. She has worked for institutions such as The Dance Theater of Harlem, Mark Morris Dance Center, Segerstrom Center for the Arts, Cal State Long Beach and more.
As an author she has earned an NAACP Image Award nomination for writing "Big Words To Little Me." Her work in arts and wellness has commanded the attention of Black Enterprise Magazine, Google Corporate Offices, Taurus Pharmaceuticals, Nextwave Octane and more. Sakina received her BFA from the University of the Arts and her MFA from UC Irvine, later joining faculty at Cal State Long Beach and Cypress College as a Professor of Dance. Through classes, workshops, speaking engagements, and film, Sakina expands her passion for the arts, creativity, and healing internationally. As a social entrepreneur, Sakina is raising the next generation of creative artists with Dance Arts Academy.
Meet the Team
Meet our friendly and talented instructors.
