We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Iyun Ashani Harrison a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Iyun Ashani , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

During the COVID-19 pandemic and Black Lives Matter social unrest of 2020, I experienced an artistic crisis where I had difficulty reconciling my desire to activate through my art: ballet choreography. My challenge was making socially relevant art in a medium celebrated for upholding Europeanist traditions and providing spectacle and escapism from everyday life. I wondered about the stories we tell in ballet – fairytales and narratives that honor European monarchs. I contemplated whether I could carve out space for Black, Brown, and queer folks in the ballet tradition. This query led me to create a contemporary ballet adaptation of James Baldwin’s novel Giovanni’s Room, which allowed me to explore and construct a complex world where the layered characters represented in Baldwin’s novel could live. Through a profoundly gratifying collaboration with several artists, we created new and dynamic archetypes of the queer folks and people of color we know exist in a world that often silences and erases them from the ballet stage.

Iyun Ashani , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Iyun Ashani Harrison (artistic director & choreographer) is a dance maker, educator, and director of Ballet Ashani. Born in Saint Andrew, Jamaica, he first trained in acting, classical ballet, modern technique, and Jamaican folk dance. Iyun graduated from The Juilliard School (BFA) and Hollins University (MFA). He danced with the Dance Theatre of Harlem under the artistic direction of Arthur Mitchell, Ballet Hispanico, Buglisi Dance Theatre, Ailey II, National Dance Theatre Company of Jamaica, and guest appearances with Connecticut Ballet, Flint Institute of Music, Collage Dance Collective, Seattle Dance Project, and St. Louis Black Repertory Theater. Iyun’s television credits include PBS’ Setting the Stage 2007, NBC’s 20th Hispanic Heritage Awards, PBS’ Who’s Dancin’ Now? – Arts Education in Your Community and The South Bank Show in England.

Iyun’s choreography has been commissioned by the Juilliard Dance Ensemble, Ailey School, Boston Conservatory at Berklee, Collage Dance Collective, Men in Dance, American Dance Festival, Boost Dance Festival, University of Florida, Henderson State University, Pomona College, Goucher College, Webster University, Cornish College of the Arts, Jamaica School of Dance, and University of the West Indies at Cave Hill, Barbados.

Iyun has held several academic positions, including professorships with Cornish College of the Arts, Goucher College, Webster University, and Pomona College. In addition, he has taught on the faculties of Pacific Northwest Ballet, Peabody Conservatory, The Ailey School, and Maryland Youth Ballet. Iyun co-edited and co-authored Antiracism in Ballet Teaching, a forthcoming text for Routledge Taylor & Francis Group. He is a doctoral candidate in Educational Leadership and Organizational Innovation at Marymount University.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

I completed my undergraduate studies at a prestigious institution, and many of my peers shot to stardom immediately after graduation. Though some might describe my path as similar to theirs, but I had to learn not to become consumed by the noise of other’s success. My journey was mine, and I could only focus on what I could contribute to the world. I learned to be radically committed to the moment – not spending time ruminating about the past or predicting the future. I learned to remain present and sincerely experience the now.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

Mediation, I swear by it! I use an app called Waking Up and try to complete a ten-minute daily meditation. Becoming aware of the state of my mind and my attachment to the past and future significantly shifted my experience. Its Buddhist teachings of Dharma (phenomena) have been liberating and life-changing.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.balletashani.org
• Instagram: @iyunashani
• Facebook: @iyunashani
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/iyun-ashani-harrison
• Youtube: @balletashani

Image Credits
The photo credits are in the titles of the images.