Kar'mel Antonyo Wade Small

Biography

Kar’mel Antonyo Wade Small, a South Bronx native, began his dance training in American and International Dancesport Ballroom before studying at Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School and earning his BFA in Dance from SUNY Purchase. He has performed works by renowned choreographers such as Kevin Wynn, Martha Graham, Merce Cunningham, Sidra Bell, Keerati Jinakunwiphat, Jerome Robbins, and Eleo Pomare. From 2022 to 2024, Kar’mel toured nationally and internationally with A.I.M. by Kyle Abraham, joining Battery Dance Company in 2025. His freelance work includes appearances in HBO’s Random Acts of Flyness, TELFARTV, and UNIVISION. In 2022, he received support from the Jonah Bokaer Arts Foundation for his project project:MEMORABILIA. He has taught contemporary and floorwork at Gibney and Modega and assisted at universities including Princeton, USC, CSULB, and Slippery Rock. In June 2025, Kar’mel was awarded the Bronx Recognizes Its Own (BRIO) Award for Choreography by the Bronx Council on the Arts. His interdisciplinary work spans stage and museum spaces, including ‘la manta de reina’, set to premiere at the 2025 Battery Dance Festival after its debut at Purchase College’s LEGACY concert. In May 2025, Kayla Farrish’s latest work– ‘A Beast’- a duet, was performed at MoMA in tribute to Jack Whitten, incorporating text-based vocal performance. Additionally, he composed the score for Damani Pompey’s 'Empty Hand', created during a 2025 Vassar College residency supported by a NYSCA grant.