In conversation with Amar

Biography of Amar Smalls

Amar Smalls is a dynamic dancer, choreographer, and co-owner of SMALLSDANCE, whose professional journey spans some of the most prestigious names in dance. A former company member with Ailey II, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Dance Theater of Harlem, and Collage Dance Collective, Amar brings together classical technique and contemporary storytelling in powerful and original ways.

He received his training at The Ailey School, American Ballet Theatre’s Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School (JKO School), San Francisco Ballet School, and Harlem School of the Arts. Amar’s choreography has been featured nationally on major networks, including CBS and ABC. In 2025, he co-founded SMALLSDANCE, a bold new movement space dedicated to excellence, expression, and access in dance.

Transcription of Interview

Q: You’ve built a career in a space where Black men are still underrepresented. What has that experience taught you about resilience, identity, and artistry?
A: I think I had such a unique experience in dance because I feel like there's not that many of us [Black men] in the field, so it's very different from basketball, soccer, or rap — in the sense that your brain has to be on all the time, and there's like an extra threshold of being excellent. Because you're a guy and you're Black. People may say, “oh yeah, it's easier because you're a guy.” It is easier for a guy — a white guy. [laughs] But yeah, if you're Black, obviously it's like ten times harder for some reason, and that automatically makes you have this fear of wanting to be better in just every aspect of your life. You feel like you constantly have to prove yourself, and then you realize things like, “oh, I don't have to prove myself to anyone,” and that becomes your motivation.

I don't know, when you’re a kid you don't really think about these things how we think about them now. It’s like, oh [resilience] yeah, that’s a thing. I was kinda just chilling, and I noticed this later in life when I would look back at the way teachers would talk to me. As a kid you don't care, but now I'm like, damn, that was kind of racist, that was kind of sexist, that was kind of rude, you know. Ballet teaches you to take everything on the chin, especially as a guy. You have girls say to you, “you didn't work that hard to get in the same space as them,” and sure, I lowkey understand that, but you can’t say that I didn't work hard at all.

My thoughts: I like how you brought it back to self-motivation — the mindset of feeling like you constantly have something to prove, and I can only imagine the pressure you’d feel. Having that intrinsic motivation, you’re driven by your own individual improvement and the desire to be better.

Follow-up Q: In this space right now, do you feel like you have something to prove?
A: I think before I started posting videos, I was like, I’ll just coast, do my thing, continue to be the best dancer I can be. But then, when I started hearing people talk about their stories [in my comments], I felt like maybe what I'm saying is true. I didn't think it was a big deal, but maybe what I'm saying is true, and people feel this way on a global scale, and nobody is talking about it. Maybe I was chosen to talk about these things. I feel like my calling now is to create a community — like, not have everybody feel alone about how they feel.

My thoughts: Imagine if every talented dancer out there was given an opportunity — how amazing the arts would be. We're not excluding people based on their height, weight, or gender — on things they cannot control. Because if you’re a talented dancer, that’s essentially the whole point: for you to be exceptional and perform with passion. Adding all these limitations and restrictions will not dictate the ability to perform better or worse.

Q: There’s often a stereotype about masculinity in ballet — how have you navigated that space and redefined what strength looks like on stage?
A: I think just in general, we’ve obviously made up this idea that if you’re a dude who does ballet, obviously you’re gay. Once again, I literally don’t understand how this is even a thing. [laughs] But I think the way masculinity has changed in my head isn’t particularly “muscle, muscle”; it's like, yo, if this person is really talented at this thing as a man and he likes to bask in it — especially in something that takes so much discipline — I think that’s the true definition of masculinity. I think it's based on the guy. It’s based on your tenacity, talent, and training. I don't think there’s one perfect form of masculinity.

Q: Who or what has inspired you the most — not just in dance, but in how you carry yourself and move through the world?
A: The most inspiration that anyone could have is their old former self, especially in your twenties. I think I look back at myself a couple of years ago when I really didn't know what I was doing. [In hindsight] back then I could see myself now and be like, I could be inspired by that person and continue to go forward. I feel like everyone’s inspiration should be themself, because nobody else knows more than what you know about yourself. You know the best that you can do yourself, so go do it.

The other answer would be my parents. I love my parents — they're very supportive.

Follow-up Q: Do you feel like you’re more motivated by your past self or your future self?
A: Um... I think my future self, always. I think that there’s no such thing as the past, only the future. [we both laugh]

Q: When you’re performing, when do you feel most alive? What is it about ballet that connects you to something deeper?
A: Honestly, I think it’s just that — when I’m on stage. For some reason, I have this weird calling to perform in general. I think it's outside of dance and entertainment, and it's just having a voice inside that has to be showcased to give someone a different perspective on things. It’s always been like that since I was a kid. Back then, I thought I was a contrarian, but it’s what everybody is thinking, and I was such a shy kid back then I didn’t want to say anything because I felt like nobody would understand. Now with dance, and having the technique — because technique is just the tool to show the story — I can show the story, give people a little bit of themselves on stage, and that’s when I feel, okay, yeah, I fulfilled my purpose.

Yeah, ironically, when I was a kid, I didn’t think I was going to be a dancer, but this is just a medium to tell stories.

Follow-up Q: So did you always see yourself as a storyteller?
A: Yeah, always. I used to draw a lot — a lot of graffiti. That’s the reason I dance; my mom didn’t want me to do graffiti. But it was just always imagination, head in the clouds — the immediate world is not real, that type of thing. I remember when I was little, you can create whatever you want — that’s what my parents instilled in me since I was born. [His parents said] “You are the God of your own life; you create what you want.” They never told me what to create; if this is your idea, you have to see it through. I was called to tell stories, and that’s what it is.

Follow-up Q: So do you feel more fulfilled based on the reaction of what people are gaining, or simply the act of you being able to tell that story?
A: I think just being able to tell it, because I know I can't control how people think or how people feel. I just want them to feel something. I just feel like when you’re being lied to 100% of the time in life and somebody comes and gives you the truth on stage, then that should either be a cure for whatever you’re doing or a cancer to whatever you’re going through. I think I'm just here to tell it, and they are here to interpret it. I’m like that painting on the wall.

Q: What’s your favorite style of dance?
A: Ballet, always. Ballet is the greatest. I don't care about anything else. And that was one way that I felt almost exiled from the dance world, because I was Black and they expected me to be good at hip-hop [like have you ever seen me do hip-hop? I’m terrible]. I don't know why I like it so much, because it's structured and I'm not really a structured person.

Q: For the next generation of dancers — especially young Black artists stepping into classical spaces — what message do you want to leave them with?
A: I think, in general, don’t be afraid to be wrong. I think just disrupt the system as much as you can. Don’t ever go with the system, or you will fail. [Take that in whichever way you will.] I’ve felt like I was being alienated in school and when I got in a company — actually, more so when I got into a company — because I wasn't subscribed to the ideas that the dance world had for me already. I wasn’t afraid to be like, “I don’t agree,” which dancers — you’re trained to sit there and nod your head when the teacher says something. Even when you finish a performance, you stand there and bow as a form of gratitude; like, don’t be afraid to be a little bit confident. The whole world — not even just ballet, but all the art forms — the whole system is designed for you to be obedient to whatever the audience or whoever hired you tells you to do. Have your own voice. Say something. We have social media. If they fire you — create your own. It's not that hard.

My thoughts: But… honestly, it is hard. We live in a world currently where so much of the norm is defined by social constructs, and people who step outside the norm and pave their own path — much of which seems unattainable. We idolize these philosophies of doing our own thing and being one of one, but realistically no one does it. It's rare. It's bold. Why would I disrupt the norm and go be so different?

Q: For you, what has been the hardest challenge you’ve gone through just by following your own path?
A: The first challenge, which became somewhat of a benefit, was seeing a lot of people talk about me and try to leave my life. In fact, they did leave my life and expected me to be upset about it. Yes, I was upset about it, because people are like, “what are you doing, get with the program,” but now I'm like, I needed to do that because I can't be afraid of what other people are going to think of me. You lose out on so much.

So I think maybe the hardest thing is losing people, because we're conditioned to think that we need a whole community when community is a lie. You have your real community and then the community who doesn’t actually accept you.

Q: Discussing confidence and having that confidence within yourself — what do you think is the most important skill to have within this journey of life?
A: I think confidence is the most important. Going back to dance, you need mental strength ahead of everything else. It's like, if your brain is not telling you to lift your leg up or you can lift your leg above 90 degrees, then it won't go up there. It's literally all confidence. And having the confidence to go out there on stage and be your most vulnerable self — to tell these stories to twenty thousand people in the audience — that requires a lot of confidence. Even when you get inside of a ballet class, you’re in front of a lot of mirrors, and it's like you’re seeing yourself inside out. You’re so exposed — it requires a lot of confidence.

Q: How do you personally define success — as a dancer, as a person, as an artist — and what moment so far has made you most proud of that definition?
A: I think the more you grow, success gets bigger and bigger. The bucket is never really full — it’s just raindrops falling into the bucket. Because I feel like as a human, you should never feel super fulfilled to the point where you’re like, okay, I’m done, I’ll chill. Especially as an artist. [References a quote from Nina Simone] There’s this video going around saying, “art is a mirror to the world,” and I thought that was complete crap, but it’s facts. Every time I try to not make something, it just feels like things in my personal life and globally make me want to share. So as humans, I think the most success we can get is just by sharing. I think it’s just not being content with yourself — that’s what true success is.