MFA Student

Overview

As a Dancer, Entrepreneur, and Community Activator, Alyah Baker leads a multifaceted life that exists at the intersection of art, activism, and social justice. In 2003 she received a B.A. in Sociology with a Dance Minor from Duke University. After graduation, she relocated to the Bay Area where she has performed with Oakland Ballet, Dance Through Time, and ABD productions among others. Over the last 8 years she has built and managed her two social enterprises, Show & Tell Concept Shop and Qulture Collective. Additionally, she works as a freelance performer and teacher, taking her educational series Ballet for Black and Brown Bodies to studios throughout Northern California. While at Duke, Baker is interested in developing an alternative pedagogical approach to ballet technique that honors the embodied knowledge of “othered bodies”: specifically that of black, queer, and gender-fluid folks. Her research will explore paths to move the form away from the social constructs of race, gender expression, and sexual orientation.