Daniel Phoenix Singh

🪔 About

Daniel Phoenix Singh is a distinguished choreographer and cultural leader known for his innovative work that bridges Indian traditional dance, particularly Bharatanatyam, with modern dance. Born in India, he moved to the U.S. at the age of 17 in 1990. He began his formal dance training in his early 20s, a somewhat unorthodox path that followed his early love for Bollywood movies and professional experiences in computer science. Singh holds a bachelor's degree in dance from the University of Maryland Baltimore County, a master's in dance from the University of Maryland College Park, and a master's in business administration from Georgetown University. In 2003, he founded the Dakshina/Daniel Phoenix Singh Dance Company in Washington, D.C., where he serves as the Founding Artistic Director. The company's name, "Dakshina," means "offering" in Sanskrit, reflecting its guiding principles of giving and giving back to the community. His choreography is characterized by a hybrid movement style that borrows from both Indian traditional dance and modern dance, often layering collages of text and images and sourcing narratives from communities. He aims to create new identities and build connections through dance, rooted in anti-racist and anti-oppression frameworks. Beyond his choreographic work, Singh is a cultural leader who curates DC's Fall Festival of South Asian Arts, an annual event that brings together dancers, actors, and musicians to the nation's capital. He is also instrumental in preserving the works of modern dance choreographer Anna Sokolow through a multi-year partnership that reconstructs and tours her repertoire internationally. His contributions to the arts have been recognized with numerous accolades, including nine grants from the National Endowment for the Arts for his company's projects, the 2013 Pola Nirenska Award for Leadership in Dance, and the 2015 Innovate Arts Award by the Mayor of Washington, D.C. He also received the Founders' Award for Innovation in Dance from Dance/MetroDC. Awards & Honours: Art Works grant (2012), Pola Nirenska Award for Leadership in Dance (2013), Innovate Arts Award (2015), Founders' Award for Innovation in Dance, Grants for dance company's projects.