Biography
Jillian Amadi Roberts is a certified dance educator, choreographer, and coach from Washington, DC with a decade of experience teaching, creating, and performing in New York City. She holds a Bachelor of Arts from Wesleyan University and a Masters of Science from Touro College Graduate School of Education.
Jillian's choreographic work and curricula reflect her 27 years of training and research in various street, club, and concert dance forms. She teaches dances of the African Diaspora, primarily American street and club dance forms, with a focus on Hip Hop social dances and body percussion. After 10 years of teaching in NYC's public and charter schools, and nearly 15 years of teaching dancers of all ages in studios across the tri-state area, Jillian holds a wealth of knowledge about dance pedagogy for a diverse array of students.
Jillian taught on faculty at Mark Morris Dance Center, Modega, NXGN West New York, House of Movement, PMT, and Peridance, and was commissioned to create work for Applause Dance Theater, Lakeside Academy of Dance, RAW Artists, Our Canvas, and MOPTOP Crew's 35th Anniversary Showcase throughout her decade in New York City. Jillian served as Managing Director of Mint Dance Company for 7 years, and recently returned to the competitive circuit to serve as Foundations Judge for this year's Prelude New York in both the Junior and Adult Divisions. Jillian's groovy choreography has been included in multiple of Mint's award-winning sets, music videos by The Gregory Brothers, Garth, and Tropic, and the off-Broadway musical "The Salem Bitch Trials" featuring RuPaul's Drag Race alum Brita Filter, Monét X Change, Miz Cracker, and Dusty Ray Bottoms.
Jillian's freelance coaching and mentorship engages dancers in critical analysis of Hip Hop's cultural history, and her content creation for the Freedom Movement Collective has supported an international audience in developing a more authentic and unbiased Hip Hop dance praxis. This mission of empowering dancers to participate respectfully in Hip Hop culture has also allowed Jillian to teach lectures, speak on panels, and lead workshops at Dartmouth College, Cornell University, Princeton University, Northeastern University, University of Colorado Boulder, University of California Riverside, Prelude Dance Competition, Billie, and Netflix.