Biography

Aquilah Ohemeng, professionally known as KHILA, is an assiduous choreographer, visual storyteller, and educator based in Washington, D.C. Her multidisciplinary work uses an experiential and a multicultural lens rooted in the African Diaspora and its movement aesthetics, Black Studies, Womanist theology, and social justice to investigate historical narratives, contemporary culture, identity, and modes of resistance. Informed by her Philadelphia roots, Ohemeng’s artmaking merges the cultural histories and raw physicality of hip-hop/street dance forms, with contemporary, ballet, and improvisational movement. Her choreographic practice continues to garner recognition for performances that are technically rigorous, boundary-pushing, and evocative.

Her original works have been selected, featured, and/or commissioned within spaces such as Colby College’s Museum of Art, Spelman College’s Forty Years of Black Feminist Fire celebration, UCLA’s 2022 International New Wight Biennial, the Philadelphia Film Society, the Rialto Center for the Arts, Spelman Dance Theatre, among others. Recently, Dance Canvas, Inc. selected her as a 2025–2026 Choreographer for its Choreographic Development Initiative, where she premiered the first iteration of her latest project, ODE(2)PAC/Ode to Pac, in March 2026. Honoring rapper Tupac Shakur's humanity—his resilience, sociopolitical legacy, and the burden of being misunderstood—the project premiered to widespread acclaim and continues to evolve through Ohemeng's ongoing creative inquiry. Additionally, she has been featured in works by the renowned Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company and SZA. 

UCLA’s Black Women & Femmes Research Initiative and the UCLA Chancellor’s Council on the Arts recognized Ohemeng for her arresting creativity and scholarship. She received her formal dance education from Spelman College, earning a BA degree in Dance Performance & Choreography with a Spanish minor and an MFA degree in Choreographic Inquiry from UCLA. Passionate about educating youth, Ohemeng continues to help aspiring creatives foster their craft through thoughtful mentorship and personalized instruction. She has previously held dance faculty positions at Syracuse University and Spelman College, and has taught dance technique and theory at prominent institutions including the Boston Conservatory at Berklee and UCLA, to name a few. Currently, she serves as a Lecturer in Dance at Howard University and leads KHILA LLC; a multidisciplinary company that houses her creative expertises across stage, screen, and academia. | BYKHILA.COM