Alumni Profiles: Lalah Hazelwood — Professional Dance Artist

“How can I do my part in bringing joy to people’s lives during this uncertain time?”

2013 IU Contemporary Dance alumni Lalah Hazelwood took the time to talk to me the other day: reflecting on her life post-graduation and sharing her thoughts on how she can now continue to pass her beloved art form, dance, on to the next generation. As a performer, choreographer, and teacher, she has proved that if you work hard in following your passion, you can achieve personal fulfillment, as well as lift up others along beside you. 

Lalah jumped right into her performance career with an opportunity to work two seasons with Deeply Rooted Dance Theater in both Chicago and New York. After a brief pause in professional performance, she then hopped on a bus to attend a PHILADANCO audition in Philadelphia. “I was determined to go…so I went.” And that’s all one really needs in order to reach their goals: a leap of faith. It wasn’t long before she got a call; there was a spot in the company, and it was hers. With PHILADANCO, Lalah spent time in Germany on her first international tour and performed at SummerStage in New York City. Both these aforementioned companies celebrate and preserve African American dance in the U.S. and beyond.

While juggling quick moves across the country, injuries, and side jobs, Lalah has concurrently set aside time to be with and care for family in Indianapolis. While back in Indiana, she has joined her family in running their own business, Kenyettá Dance Company—the same company she grew up training with. Kenyettá is a diverse company of dancers who train and perform in the black dance aesthetic. They are now strong in their 15th year. 

And yet…this still isn’t the end of her journey. 

Along with working across Indiana, including in Bloomington as an adjunct instructor here at Indiana University, she has also created her own brand of heels dancing. She has personally traveled to study this commercial dance form, bringing it back to the Midwest in hopes to “give people an opportunity to train in this style and not feel like they have to travel to New York or LA or Atlanta to get that training.” 

Her love and commitment to teaching is not only what has shaped her as a professional artist these past few years, but it is also a way to give back to the community in this present moment—one in which we may need the strength that art can provide more than ever. She speaks of the necessity of being not just an artist, but an “artivist.” She says, “It is our job and our duty to use our platform…and use that for change.” 

Lalah expresses a wish for one day to begin her own dance academy: one that encourages dancers to be knowledgeable, as well as confident in who they are and what they stand for.

It is truly a gift to be able to listen to someone speak with so much love for what they do and investment in how they can spread it to others. Lalah has a spirit of strength and care that we can all be inspired to bring into our own pursuits—no matter what path we take in life.

She left me with three pieces of advice for burgeoning artists: 

1. Don’t be afraid to put yourself out into the world.
2. If you can’t find what you are looking for, create it yourself.
3. And always “Be patient…and in that patience, be kind.”