Meet Alana Hawkins | Founder & Artistic Director

We had the good fortune of connecting with Alana Hawkins and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Alana, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
1st thought… I don’t want to work for anyone any more…. 2nd thought I want to be what I love for a living and not do what I got to do…….. last thought someone needs to bridge this gap.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I choreograph dance and artistic visions. I also assist in building strong and creative dancers.
What sets me a part is my ability to create a space safe enough that the most non dancer can feel confident, thrive and grow. I also pride myself in being one of the only people from my generation building spaces that created technical dance.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I love the bars in the Gold Coast. I would probably take them to a dance class depending on who it was. Hyde Park is my stomping grounds so daisys for a drink, Akira for shopping, silverroom for browsing maybe chant for lunch. I’m a Hyde Parker that lives in south shore.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I want to recognize the melanated dance pioneers that paved the way directly and indirectly, Debbie Allen is my biggest inspiration and I’m so grateful for the blueprint that she has laid but I’d also be nothing without my Duke Ellington dance instructors Charles augins, Saundra fortune green, Katherine smith and Alexander green. I’m more recently very thankful for the embrace I’ve received from the Chicago dance community from amazing artists such a Joshua Ishmon and Dominque Attwood not to mention the greats Florence Harris Walker and Joel Hall who have both taken me under their wings to show me the way. Last but certainly not least my partner and co artistic Director Samuel Kirkwood who is standing with me to build my most precious mission the HHOH Dance organization and my mama duh!

Website: https://hhofh.org

Instagram: hhohdance

Youtube: Hawkinshouseofhorton

Image Credits
Samuel Kirkwood