DAVID J AMADO
BIOGRAPHY
2020 Portuguese Ministry of Culture Grant Recipient, David J. Amado is a Jamaican-American Filmmaker-Choreographer, and a graduate of Columbia University in the City of New York (B.A. in Music).
David began his training with Donlin Foreman in Graham Technique, and shortly thereafter became an apprentice with Alpha Omega Theatrical Dance Company (AOTD) under the direction of Enrique Cruz de Jesus in New York. Since then he has danced for Ballet des Amériques in New York City, Corpo Cidadão in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, as well as, Chapitô in Lisbon, Portugal .
To complement his experience as a performer, David is studying the pedagogy of classical dance with The Classical Dance Alliance in partnership with the International Dance Counsel of UNESCO. He is currently certified in the teaching of the first 4 years of the Vaganova syllabus.
David also directs, His film "Velveteen" debuted at Lisbon Fashion Week 2021, was a part of the Festival Politica and was the topic of a published article in PARQMag (Portugal).
As a choreographer, his mission is to use ballet to tell the stories of black queer people. As a filmmaker, David is deeply influenced by the structure of the old 1970s and 1980s musical films, the aesthetics of 1990s American hip hop culture, as well as the writing of queer Black pioneers like James Baldwin. His work lies at the intersection of high culture, intellectual queer, and ghetto. With a multicultural heritage and a career spanning three continents, David J. Amado approaches choreography and film with a nuanced, inclusive mindset where audiences are given the opportunity to expand their paradigm as it relates to the versatility of the Black body, as well as what is ballet.
HIGHLIGHTS
Portuguese Ministry of Culture creative grant recipient.
Facilitated workshops at Escola Superior de Dança and Forum Dança, the two leading dance colleges in Portugal.
Works presented in Lisbon Fashion Week, Parq Magazine and Festival Política. (Portugal)
Member of The Classical Dance Alliance, Inc. and of The International Dance Counsel of UNESCO. Certified in the first 3 years of the Vaganova Classical Dance syllabus. (USA/ Russia)
Teacher Training workshops with The National Dance Institute-NDI in NYC (USA), Director Jacques D’Amboise.
Rookie of the Year Teacher in 2019 at Jazzy Dance Studios. (Portugal)