Anthony “Kashim” Turpin Biography: Black Male Ballet Principal Dancer Breaking Philadelphia and New York Stage and Floor With Fashion and Beauty by Van Stone frontpagenews1@yaho.com (267) 293-9201
Anthony K. Turpin, aka Kashim Turpin, a native Philadelphian, born May 13, 1987, is one of few male dancers coping with the Black Ballet dilemmas which is basically far from having changed over the past 20 decades in North America and Europe.
And Kashim is doing much ado about something Ballet Blackness!
AKAstudios, the youth dance program started by Kashim Turpin with a mission to provide dancers and students to use dance to further better their lives, education and families, is his way of helping others to be taken seriously in performance fashion, movement and music.
Turpin, a Black male, has been the principal dancer or star dancer in most professional dance companies.
Wearing the traditional ballet flat shoe –the traditional ballet pointe shoe is worn by women- the Black Man, Kashim, can awe the audience quickly when seen bending his legs while leaping or bending over without bending leg.
Anthony studied classical ballet at the University of The Arts Philadelphia and is a graduate of U of The Arts 2010. He has a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in Ballet Dance Performance and Concentration in Choreography.
Having been educating the youth through dance for the past 7 years, in school settings, various organizations, and professional dance companies, Turpin is trained in many styles of dance, such as; (Ballet, Contemporary, Jazz, Modern, Hip-Hop, Ballroom, Lyrical, African, etc.) which was taught by his first professional company Messiah DanceWorks from 2006-2009.
Kashim, a professional dancer turned fashion model, has fused the two arts into one blend labeling his personal style of dance as Ballet Hip-Hop.
Ballet Hip-Hop dance can be the inclusion of Contemporary, Hip-Hop, African Dance, Tap, and more.
The Ballet Hip-Hop can be done with or without the sound of music.
In 2010, as Creative Director and Dance Specialist of AKAstudios, Turpin has moved his youth program classes and rehearsals to middle and high schools in New York City.
Philadelphia dance classes and rehearsals will follow in the near future.
And this year, April 2016, Turpin and his AKAstudios was recognized by the magazine Philadelphia Front Page News-Ballet Black was for outstanding becoming a fashion icon on the dance stage and floor.
Over the last 6 years, Kashim’s dance youth program has grown from fifteen to twenty five dancers, a ballet after school program with 30 pupils, and competing dance programs in both New York and Philly interested in performance competition.
The youth program will soon have instruction for pupils as young as age four to twelve as well.
Anthony has been recognized in the city of Philadelphia for his senior thesis at U of Arts called Obtainable Freedom. Set to the framed of 1963 speech of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, which was performed for the 18th Equality Forum of Philadelphia, and posted in the Philadelphia Inquirer in 2010.
Here in NYC Turpin also worked with an agency called MSA, which opened doors for him to work with R&B music artist Ne-Yo and UK artist Lady Sovereign.
At 28-years-old, Anthony K. Turpin has come a long way from several of the sports he participated in at age 6 and 10.
He played both football and basketball in organized youth sports programs, winning his first widely recognized basketball championship as a player on a now defunct Young West Park Basketball Players Team during the Mayor W. Wilson Good Youth Program in Philadelphia, PA.
That was a time when former Mayor Good held several positions in the United States Department of Education.
Turpin, an athletic champion already at a very young age, before he realized it he enjoyed performing impressive jump, toe curls, toe walking, splits, booty shaking, toe tapping, leg lifting, rhythm matching, sequence stepping, walking and running made for ballet fitness and his Ballet Hip-Hop life.
Turpin embraces dance, teaches youth that dance should be fulfilling and an enriching experience.
He seeks to bring a high level of energy, passion, and education about dance to other organizations in the community.
As a community activist for better recreation and education, particularly within the urban and inner city communities, he has and will continually expand his knowledge to use all necessary tools to better youth organization and youth empowerment.
Anthony K. Turpin, aka Kashim Turpin, a native Philadelphian, born May 13, 1987, is one of few male dancers coping with the Black Ballet dilemmas which is basically far from having changed over the past 20 decades in North America and Europe.
And Kashim is doing much ado about something Ballet Blackness!
AKAstudios, the youth dance program started by Kashim Turpin with a mission to provide dancers and students to use dance to further better their lives, education and families, is his way of helping others to be taken seriously in performance fashion, movement and music.
Turpin, a Black male, has been the principal dancer or star dancer in most professional dance companies.
Wearing the traditional ballet flat shoe –the traditional ballet pointe shoe is worn by women- the Black Man, Kashim, can awe the audience quickly when seen bending his legs while leaping or bending over without bending leg.
Anthony studied classical ballet at the University of The Arts Philadelphia and is a graduate of U of The Arts 2010. He has a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in Ballet Dance Performance and Concentration in Choreography.
Having been educating the youth through dance for the past 7 years, in school settings, various organizations, and professional dance companies, Turpin is trained in many styles of dance, such as; (Ballet, Contemporary, Jazz, Modern, Hip-Hop, Ballroom, Lyrical, African, etc.) which was taught by his first professional company Messiah DanceWorks from 2006-2009.
Kashim, a professional dancer turned fashion model, has fused the two arts into one blend labeling his personal style of dance as Ballet Hip-Hop.
Ballet Hip-Hop dance can be the inclusion of Contemporary, Hip-Hop, African Dance, Tap, and more.
The Ballet Hip-Hop can be done with or without the sound of music.
In 2010, as Creative Director and Dance Specialist of AKAstudios, Turpin has moved his youth program classes and rehearsals to middle and high schools in New York City.
Philadelphia dance classes and rehearsals will follow in the near future.
And this year, April 2016, Turpin and his AKAstudios was recognized by the magazine Philadelphia Front Page News-Ballet Black was for outstanding becoming a fashion icon on the dance stage and floor.
Over the last 6 years, Kashim’s dance youth program has grown from fifteen to twenty five dancers, a ballet after school program with 30 pupils, and competing dance programs in both New York and Philly interested in performance competition.
The youth program will soon have instruction for pupils as young as age four to twelve as well.
Anthony has been recognized in the city of Philadelphia for his senior thesis at U of Arts called Obtainable Freedom. Set to the framed of 1963 speech of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, which was performed for the 18th Equality Forum of Philadelphia, and posted in the Philadelphia Inquirer in 2010.
Here in NYC Turpin also worked with an agency called MSA, which opened doors for him to work with R&B music artist Ne-Yo and UK artist Lady Sovereign.
At 28-years-old, Anthony K. Turpin has come a long way from several of the sports he participated in at age 6 and 10.
He played both football and basketball in organized youth sports programs, winning his first widely recognized basketball championship as a player on a now defunct Young West Park Basketball Players Team during the Mayor W. Wilson Good Youth Program in Philadelphia, PA.
That was a time when former Mayor Good held several positions in the United States Department of Education.
Turpin, an athletic champion already at a very young age, before he realized it he enjoyed performing impressive jump, toe curls, toe walking, splits, booty shaking, toe tapping, leg lifting, rhythm matching, sequence stepping, walking and running made for ballet fitness and his Ballet Hip-Hop life.
Turpin embraces dance, teaches youth that dance should be fulfilling and an enriching experience.
He seeks to bring a high level of energy, passion, and education about dance to other organizations in the community.
As a community activist for better recreation and education, particularly within the urban and inner city communities, he has and will continually expand his knowledge to use all necessary tools to better youth organization and youth empowerment.
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