Meet Akeem Edwards

Today we’d like to introduce you to Akeem Edwards.

Akeem, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I’m a 26-year-old Entrepreneur from Jacksonville, Fl.
I specialize in Performance Art (Dancer, Choreographer), Photography, Graphic Design/Videography.

Performance Art

I starting dancing at 16 years old at Jacksonville Centre of the Arts. I was trained in Ballet, Modern, Jazz, West-African, Contemporary, Tap, and Hip-Hop. After graduating from high school, I attended Florida Atlantic University for Psychology with a minor in Criminal Justice. My alma mater had a Theatre and Dance Department but no Dance minor or major. Under the advising of Clarence Brooks and others, I founded Pulse Dance Troupe, a dance organization focusing on keeping the art of dance alive on campus. We’re coming up on our 8th year now, and I am proud to have been able to influence so many generations of individuals throughout the organization.
After receiving my BA in Psychology in 2016, I moved to Atlanta to pursue a professional career in dance, performance art, and choreography/creative direction. These three years in Atlanta have been very beneficial in my growth as an entrepreneur and as an artist. I’ve been featured in music videos, Netflix films, and have gotten to network and gain information from notable professionals in the field. Currently, I am training with Garth Fagan Dance in Rochester, NY and Cleo Parker Robinson Dance in Denver, CO for the summer. My main goal for this year concerning my dance career is to perform internationally.

Choreographing and Creative Direction became a way to utilize my ideas to create a message. I choreographed my first work around 2007 in middle school for a talent competition, landing me 3rd place. From there, I went on to high school and then college to choreograph movement for student groups, fraternities/sororities, newlyweds as well as professional dancers in the South Florida area. Since moving to Atlanta, I have choreographed for the Dekalb County Dancing with the Stars, RAW Atlanta, Gotta Dance Contemporary, etc. More recently, I work full time as a Company Rehearsal Director/Ballet and Contemporary Instructor for two dance studios in Northeast Atlanta where I choreograph for the junior and senior company’s competitions and productions.

Photography

My interest in photography peeked around 15 years old when I joined the Devil’s Advocate, my high school’s newspaper club. I was chosen to shadow the Senior Photographer and ended up becoming the Senior photographer for the following three years. I had a natural eye for photographing action shots(probably due to my interest in dance), but could also capture a great portrait. This love for capturing moments in time has followed me all the way through college, where I developed my photography business, Akeem.jpg. More recently, I’ve decided to focus on natural light photography, capturing dance companies, weddings, portraits, commercial/concert headshots, etc.

Graphic Design/Videography

I began dabbling in graphic design while in college using Photoshop. I didn’t feel like paying for flyers to be made for my organization, so I decided to learn how to do it instead. From that moment on, I kept learning and building on my knowledge in order to develop another stream of income. I obtained my first ad campaign in 2016 for the European Wax Center. Since then, I’ve worked with Anthony Burrell, Eartha Robinson, Vernee Watson, Admix Dance Project, Gotta Dance Contemporary, etc.

For videography, I’m still learning as much as I can. I am ultimately sufficient in my knowledge to move to the next step of investing in an editing platform that will give me more options; however, I’m only concerned with documenting my artwork for now. Once I become efficient with editing and being able to creatively master the process, I will branch out more. For now, I’m learning as much as I can about how to capture a subject or subjects, in order to enhance personal perspective for my art.

The main goal is to be proficient and efficient enough to create content using all of these mediums of creativity for the benefit of influencing masses to come together and celebrate each other.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Everyone has bumps in the road, including me. However, I don’t let those things deter me from my purpose and goals. I’ve been homeless, slept in my car, had no money for food, had health scares, etc. All of these things made me stronger and taught me that in order to be great, you have to work hard. In order to know you’re working hard, you have to know how to bounce back from difficult situations. I’ve acquired an immense amount of knowledge during my hardest times and am thankful for the insight I’ve gained.

I found a quote in high school by an author named Zoe Skylar that I have always remembered and has helped me overcome many of my struggles. It says, “For a star to be born a gaseous nebula must collapse. So collapse, crumble. This is not your destruction, this is your birth.”

Please tell us more about your work, what do you specialize in and most proud of.
I specialize in Creative Direction, Choreography, Photography and Graphic Design.
When it comes to my photography, I am known for capturing action shots very quickly. I tend to capture dancer’s action shots so fast because being a dancer has enabled me to know enough information about the move, that I am able to understand when to capture the ‘perfect’ moment.

I am very proud that I am able to utilize so many of my talents as sources of income. This year, I am most proud that I have been able to work with notable dance and film figures, from Derek Blanks to Michael B. Jordan.

The thing that sets me apart from others is that every ounce of work that I put into my art is genuine. I want to present anyone I am working with my best at all times and I believe that quality speaks for itself.

You can follow my photography/graphic design on Instagram, @akeem.jpg, and my performance art on @akeemjedwards.

So, what’s next? Any big plans?
My main goal for this year is to secure a way to travel internationally while dancing. I am actively training with two companies this summer in order to progress toward that goal. There are some big changes on the horizon; however, I am not at liberty to discuss them yet, but stay tuned!

Contact Info:

• Email: akeem.j.edwards@gmail.com
• Instagram: @akeemjedwards , @akeem.jpg

Image Credit:
Keilan Scott, Richard Calmes

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