Dance Performance & Choreography
“Off the Grid” Movement Workshop
Choreography by KHILA LLC.
Performance by Spelman Dance Theatre Students
“An experiential dance workshop that explored the relationship between sound and movement by manipulating choreographic material. This workshop was designed to help enhance students' performance quality and deepen their skills which primarily include musicality, improvisation, and character development.”
The Flowers that Grew from Our Tears
Choreography and Dance Performance by KHILA LLC.
“The second installation of an experimental work that examines and confronts transgenerational identity/trauma of Black women following the African Diaspora. It questions the possibility to overcome stigmas and redefine the perception of ourselves. It is a visually engaging investigation that utilizes dance, fashion, visual arts, instrumentation, and more to unfold a troubling and distorted narrative of struggle, hurt, and freedom.
{ Previously known as “DIAMANTE” }
Commissioned at HEREafter’s HomeTraining: An Experiential Gallery Show in June 2021
Testimonials
“This was a poignant tribute, hallmark, and capstone to the internal narrative and exclamation of the black woman’s lamentation for her multiple roles as mother/healer; worker/ caregiver; widow/grandmother...This needs to be shown to multiple audiences. I thought this was a professional, exceptional work of art that pushes the envelope.”
-Ruka White, Assistant Professor of Dance at the Boston Conservatory at Berklee
“Clever use of cohesive gestural layered movement vocabulary laced with ancestral soul movement…{the film} merges styles to generate a new genre. The vocabulary was carefully explored, as a result, the invention revealed a level of deep sophistication.”
-T.Lang, Founder of T.Lang Dance Company and the Movement Lab ATL
Invincible
Dance Performance and Choreography by KHILA LLC.
Excerpt from “The Flowers that Grew from Our Tears”
Caged Bird
Dance Performance and Choreography by KHILA LLC.
Excerpt from “The Flowers that Grew from Our Tears”
Excerpt selected and featured in SZA’s “Good Days” (Fan Video Pt. 1)
WHO’S GOT NEXT?
Virtual Dance Experience
Artistic Direction and Dance Instruction by KHILA LLC.
“An 8-hour virtual dance community service event via Zoom for aspiring movement artists nationwide with a line-up of professional artists. Offered intensive classes: Navigating the Business of Dance, Contemporary, Acting for Dancers, Hip-Hop, Commercial Dance Industry Q&A, Locking, Afrobeats and Heels Dance. Under KHILA’s direction, she secured numerous sponsors and raised $1,000 to sponsor dancers to participate.”
Testimonials
“I had a wonderful experience at The Who’s Got Next Dance Intensive. This intensive brought me a whole new level of confidence, fun, and new lessons learned. I love that each of the teachers gave challenging choreography, and gave great advice on how to have a professional career in the dance world.”
- Jaya Carter, Howard University
“My time at the intensive was nothing short of refreshing. Aquilah cleverly used the digital space to bring expert artists from across the country to my home, and I'm extremely thankful. This was such a meaningful experience where I got to try a number of different dance styles within a day! It was well-paced and extremely informational, in a setting of support and grace for mistakes. I would recommend this experience to anyone who’s interested in growing as a movement artist.”
- Christiana McLeod Horn, Spelman College
“This dance intensive was exciting, inspiring, and fun! It exposed me to different dance styles that I never really had the courage to participate in before. It made me reflect on “What’s next?” in my own dance training. I really enjoyed Aquilah’s incorporation of important aspects such as The Business of Dance and Acting for Dancers that often gets overlooked in pursuit of a professional career in the arts. I hope there’s another dance intensive in the near future!”
-Kiara Greene, Temple University
“I had a great time! The class was lit and full of energy. The choreography was very fun to learn. I would do this again if the opportunity presented itself.”
- Taylor Cobin, Morehouse College
“I enjoyed The Who Got Next event very much. In those six hours that I joined in on classes, my passion and love for dance was reignited. I appreciated the intimate and non-judgmental environment to dance in. I absolutely loved the variety of techniques that were taught as well as the necessary talks that encouraged me to think more about my dance career. Most of all, I appreciated Aquliah’s consistent energy that kept me excited to go just one more hour (even though my thighs were on fire)!”
- Armani Morris, Spelman College
Creative Direction
WCL House Concerts: Emmanuel Ohemeng III & Perpetual Motion
Creative Direction and Movement Coaching by KHILA LLC.
“World Cafe Live House Concerts featured a number of live streams by Philly-area musicians through a virtual platform on YouTube.”
FASHION KHILA.
Creative Direction and Styling by KHILA LLC.
FASHION KHILA. is a continuous project series curating various looks drafted by KHILA herself. In this first installation, the theme is “Identity,” which stems from KHILA’s own experiences of being a Philadelphia native, Spelman alumna as well as an African American woman of faith who loves action-thriller cinema.
Art Design
Songs Made In Quarantine: THE EP
Art Design and Creative Direction by KHILA LLC.
Featured Artist: EKO3
“SHOOTAS” Single
Art Design and Creative Direction by KHILA LLC.
Featured Artist: EKO3
Jazz Fusion Band Logo
Concept and Logo Design by KHILA LLC.
Featured Artist: Emmanuel Ohemeng III and Perpetual Motion Band
The Georgia Incarceration Performance Project (2019 - 2020)
The Georgia Incarceration Performance Project (GAIPP), a first of its kind archives-to-performance collaboration between Spelman College and The University of Georgia. GAIPP brought together students and faculty, artists and designers, archivists and librarians, and incarcerated students enrolled in college courses at Georgia-area prisons. Throughout this year-long endeavor, Ohemeng engaged deeply in a creative devising process driven by archival research (material and embodied) on the history of incarceration and convict labor in Georgia.
In Phase I of the project, she participated in a remote exchange with incarcerated collaborators to draft choreographic material generated from improvisational explorations in response to readings and choreographic prompts.
In Phase II, she served as a student research intern at an intensive workshop in residence at The University of Georgia, conducting archival and embodied research at UGA’s Special Collections Library.
Her deep commitment and profound contributions to this project led to her appointment as the Student Assistant Choreographer and Dance Captain for Phase III, the project’s culminating production titled “By Our Hands.”
Zanele Muholi: Somnyama Ngonyama, Hail the Dark Lioness (2019)
Aquilah Ohemeng, Featured Performer and Choreographer
“The residency culminated in a public performance choreographed by the Spelman dancers in the Somnyama Ngonyama exhibition space at the Colby Museum. Prior to its presentation at the Colby Museum, the exhibition appeared at the Spelman College Museum of Fine Art in Atlanta,” (colby.edu).
