2022 Princess Grace Award
Nominated by: A.I.M by Kyle Abraham
Maleek Washington is from the Bronx, New York. An alumni of the Boston Conservatory, where he studied on full scholarship, he began his dance training at Harlem School of the Arts, Broadway Dance Center, and LaGuardia High School for the Performing Arts. He has danced with CityDance Ensemble (Washington DC), Montreal’s SpringBoard Danse (working with Jose Navas & RUBBERBAND), and Kyle Abraham’s A.I.M for four seasons, before becoming the first African-American male to perform in Sleep No More. He has also performed for celebrity artists Sia, Phish, and Rihanna, and ASAP Rocky. Maleek was part of NBC’s Jesus Christ Superstar Live and performed with Camille A. Brown and Dancers in the 2018 Ted Talk Conference in Vancouver. Maleek has been a member of Camille A. Brown and Dancers for 7 seasons.
Maleek‘s choreographic portfolio highlights include, assistant choreographer for Camille A. Brown’s Grammy-winning “Porgy and Bess” and “Fire Shut Up In My Bones” at the Metropolitan Opera, making history as the first Opera composed by an African American man named Terrance Blanchard; and associate choreographer to Camille A. Brown’s “For Colored Girls.” Other notable choreographic credits include, Camille A. Brown’s Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater piece entitled “City of Rain,” Rashaad Newsome’s “Assembly” at Park Avenue Armory, rapper Nas’ “Master Class” music video, Spike Lee’s Mont Blanc Commerical, and MOVE|NYC|’s Scottish Youth Exchange collaborative work that premiered at the U.Dance Festival in England.
Proudly, in 2021, Maleek was named a New York Live Arts Fresh Track grantee and was also nominated for a Bessie as an “Outstanding Breakout Choreographer.”
Images by Laura Fuchs and Whitney Browne