Quianna Simpson

Quianna began her dance studies of traditional West African dance, music, and culture with Thiossane Institute at the age of 7 under the tutelage of Suzan Bradford Kounta and Abdou Kounta. College represented a time of branching out into other dance forms. She invested in modern, jazz, hip-hop, and lyrical techniques and performed with NSU’s Dance Theater and “Hot Ice” Spartan Band dance line under director Inez Howard. She eagerly attended dance competitions and conferences, including the HBCU-dedicated Black College Dance Exchange conference. During and after college, she worked the dance audition circuit, auditioning, and was successfully selected to open for heavy hitters like P. Diddy, Usher, and Ludacris. She was then hired full-time to be a backup dancer for the R&B group Blackstreet. On tour, she learned the business and promotion side of the dance and music world and contributed to the stage choreography for the group. After her successful tour, she returned home to Columbus and the Thiossane Institute, where she took on various roles to support the company business. Recently, she was named Assistant Artistic Director of the company. Her passion for the traditions of Africa and the African American experience adds to her artistic values that she hopes to make more visible in the company’s repertoire. She has been able to further her research interest in the intersectionality of traditional African dance, the African American experience, and the social development of youth during her MFA journey at The Ohio State University. During her time at OSU, she has presented her research at conferences such as the Collegium of African Diaspora Dance and The Hayes Forum. She was also accepted to present her choreography at White Wave’s Solo/Duo Festival at Dixon Place in New York in 2022. Quianna’s wide swathes of experience in a myriad of dance forms have informed her teaching, and her technique is firmly rooted in the methods taught to her from a very early age. She is glad to be able to give back to her community and the Institute in the same ways it gave to her as a young girl, both in dance and social development. Quianna is widely known as a “community dancer,” participating in many local events, shows, education outreach, and mentor/mentee programming. For her continued work in the community, Quianna was nominated to compete for the Artist Elevated Award, a professional artist grant provided by the Greater Columbus Arts Council. In 2021 she was nominated to apply and won, becoming one of the inaugural recipients of this unprecedented award. She is a mother of two fun-loving teens and enjoys cultivating a nurturing and cultured environment for them to learn and grow.

Quianna began her dance studies of traditional West African dance, music, and culture with Thiossane Institute under the tutelage of Abdou and Suzan Bradford-Kounta. College represented a time of branching out into other dance forms. She invested in modern, jazz, hip-hop, and lyrical techniques. During and after college, she worked in the commercial sector and was successfully selected to open for heavy hitters like P. Diddy, and Usher, and was then hired full-time to be a backup dancer for the R&B group Blackstreet. After her successful tour, she returned to Columbus, where she took on various roles to support the dance company. Recently, she was named the first Assistant Artistic Director of Thiossane Institute. Her passion for the traditions of Africa and the African American experience adds to her artistic values that she hopes to make more visible in the company’s repertoire. She has been able to further her research interest in the intersectionality of traditional African dance, the African American experience, and the social development of youth during her MFA journey allowing her to present her research at conferences such as the Collegium of African Diaspora Dance and The Hayes Forum. She was also accepted to present her choreography at White Wave’s Solo/Duo Festival at Dixon Place in New York in 2022. Quianna is known as a “community dancer,” participating in many local events, education outreach, and mentor programming. For her continued work in the community, Quianna was nominated to compete for the Artist Elevated Award, a professional artist grant provided by the Greater Columbus Arts Council. In 2021 she was nominated to apply and won, becoming one of the inaugural recipients of this unprecedented award. She is a mother of two fun-loving teens and enjoys cultivating a nurturing and cultured environment for them to learn and grow. In 2023 Quianna graduated from The Ohio State University with an MFA in Dance with a specialization in Interdisciplinary Studies. She currently holds the position of Program Director at the Lincoln Theatre and Lectures at The Ohio State University.