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A headshot of a Black and Indigenous person who has almond-shaped eyes with long lashes, dark brown skin, full beard, and long black locs tied in a low braid. The individual is wearing a brown shawl and smiling.

Photo by Mark Kitaoka.

Artists

Antoine Hunter, Purple Fire Crow

Purple Fire Crow

Choreographer and Humanity Advocate

Oakland, California

Oakland native Antoine Hunter, aka Purple Fire Crow, is an award-winning, internationally known Black, Indigenous, Deaf, and Disabled choreographer, dancer, actor, instructor, speaker, producer, and Deaf advocate. Hunter creates opportunities for Disabled, Deaf, and hearing artists; produces Deaf-friendly events; and founded the Urban Jazz Dance Company in 2007 and the Bay Area International Deaf Dance Festival (BAIDDF) in 2013. Awards include the 2022 Disability Futures Fellowship, 2021 Dance Teacher Award, 2019 National Dance/USA Fellowship recognized by the Mayor of Oakland, 2018 inaugural Jeanette Lomujo Bremond Humanity Arts Award, and the 2017 Isadora Duncan (Izzie) for BAIDDF. In response to COVID-19 in July 2020, Hunter founded #DeafWoke, an online talk show that amplifies BIPOC Deaf and Disabled stories as a force for cultural change.

Donor -This award was generously supported by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation.

This artist page was last updated on: 07.11.2024

Dance
A group of dancers are dramatically lit on a stage. They wear matching dark blue scrubs and imitate the motions of the man standing in front of them. He faces the dancers, away from the camera, with his arms and hands shielding his face.

Deaf’s IMPRISONED. Choreographed and performed by Urban Jazz Dance Company and directed by Antoine Hunter.

Photo by Robbie Sweeny.

How Dancing Saved a Black Deaf Dancer's Life.