ABOUT               

Erica Rae Smith is the Founder and Artistic Director of Raediant Movement LLC. She  is a Philadelphia native who received her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Modern Dance from The University of the Arts in Philadelphia, PA. She has studied and trained in many dance styles, including traditional South African, Jamaican Dancehall, Caribbean Folk, Ballet, Modern, and Jazz dance genres. Erica has worked as a professional dancer with companies such as Mahogany Dance Theater, Tania Isaac Dance, Valerie Branch Dance Ensemble, and Lesole’s Dance Project.

As a performer and choreographer, she has presented work in St. George’s, Grenada, and is a 2018 recipient of The John F. Kennedy Center‘s Local Dance Commissioning Project.  Fueled with passion and curiosity around the uniting element of grounded polyrhythmic movements that flow from the body and its ability to enhance cultural pride, Erica began Raediant Movement in 2011, as a traveling dance workshop. Raediant Movement began with the intent to connect and advocate for the inclusion of Jamaican Dancehall and other dances of the African Diaspora in her local dance community by providing workshops, lectures, and classes in  the Philadelphia Tri-State and  DC Metro areas.

Since that time Raediant Movement, LLC has expanded its vision to highlight all dances of the African Diaspora through its performing company, GUEST-LED workshops,  community classes and events. She is a lifelong  student of dance and in 2022 she received the M’Singha Wuti - Licensed Teaching Certification for the Umfundalai contemporary African technique. As a teaching artist, she is entering her second year as a consultant, providing dance education classes and workshops to area schools for grades K-12.