Malik Gomes Cruz

Malik Gomes Cruz (they/he) is a performing arts advocate and dance scholar utilizing rhythm and ritual to imagine textured futures for Black and Queer communities. Hailing from Boston, Massachusetts, Malik found their way to D.C., graduating from American University with an interdisciplinary B.A. in Dance and African Diaspora Studies. He is a recipient of the Frederick Douglass Distinguished Scholar Award ‘19 and the American University Summer Scholars and Artists Research Grant ‘22. Malik worked alongside the Social Impact Programming team at the Kennedy Center to fulfill its mission of building community, centering joy, inspiring action, and driving meaningful change. As a dance artist, they performed in works by Britta Joy Peterson, Chitra Subramanian, and Ronya Lee Anderson. Their own choreography, Soul Grove, premiered in 2022 at INTERVAL: AN INVITATION TO PAUSE in the Katzen Art Gallery at American University. Malik is excited to work with Dance Place as a Presentation Administrative Assistant to uplift the dreams of dance artists and community members in the DMV and beyond.

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