Aniyah Victoria-Jean Wilkinson (she/her/hers) is a 22-year-old movement artist originally hailing from the island of Tortola found within the British Virgin Islands. She is currently attending the University of North Carolina School of the Arts pursuing a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, majoring in Contemporary Dance and minoring in Arts Entrepreneurship.
In high school she developed a passion for dance quickly through her after-school dance training at her local studio, BVI Dance School. Her classes included various styles, including Modern, Jazz, and Ballet techniques through the teachings of Miss Amanda Georges, Miss Jo-Anne Downing and Miss Sandy Lyons. After graduating high school, she joined the “Elivated Dance Company”, which is directed by Shemar Trim and UNCSA alumni and long time friend Sara Smith. It was through the recommendation of Sara that brought her to UNCSA.
During her time at UNCSA, Aniyah has trained in the techniques of Cunningham, Límon, Countertechnique, Trisha Brown movement, West African, Horton, Acrobatics and floor-work. It was also through her training at UNCSA in which gave her the opportunity to work with and train with many notable choreographers such as Abdur Rahim-Jackson, Darrell Grand Moultrie, Kevin Lee-Y Green, Jaka Pearl Porter, Ashley Lindsey, Brenda Daniels, Trey McIntyre, Catherine Meredith, and Juel D. Lane. During her summers, Aniyah was able to attend the UNCSA Professional Studies Program, the BODYTRAFFIC Summer Dance Program and the Ailey School Professional Division Summer Intensive. During her time at these programs she was able to work with Tamisha Guy, Grady Bowman, Martha Nicole, Aliya Janell, Dexter Carr, Kai Jmari, Madison Hicks, Norbert De La Cruz III and Brice Mousset.
After graduating Aniyah intends to have an extensive performance career through joining a contemporary dance company and strives to continue to be a representative of her culture and heritage in this industry.