Takela King is a dancer and choreographer based in Phoenix, Arizona. Her background in liturgical dance ignited an interest in movement used as a form of activism and fellowship. Her creative work combines research, written text, improvisational tools, contemporary choreography, and production elements to understand the human condition. In May of 2022, she graduated from Arizona State University, where she pursued and obtained a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance and a Certificate in Ethics from the Herberger Institute of Design and the Arts as a Barrett Honors student. 

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Takela is currently a Permanent Artist in Residence with Nuebox, a Phoenix based non-profit and rehearsal space for BIPOC and  LGBTQIA+ artists. During her time as a resident she has choreographed several works including her most current work,  Before the Sigh After the Scream, a piece about ending, starting again, and crashing out in the process. Though humanly impossible to avoid the cyclical nature of existing, it is absolutely possible, and necessary, to give yourself and others the space to scream, sigh, and feel all the emotions that exist in between.

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In addition to her dancing work, Takela is active in dance production and scholarship. She has stage-managed, designed lighting, and operated sound for numerous dance productions, including SpringDanceFest, Breaking Ground Dance Festival, Crying Over Spilled Onions, and Our Truth with the Pachanga Collective. She also served as a research aide for Karen Schupp and Liz Lerman, where she can apply her writing knowledge to assist in research about dance in higher education for Schupp's most recent publication, Futures of Performance, and Liz's Shape and Momentum: An Insomniac's Guide to a World in Motion. She is currently a member of THE BE KIND CREW, a dance crew in partnership with The Be Kind People Project, a nonprofit organization who delivers character education curriculum and resources to Kindergarten through 8th-grade students across the United States.

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Prior to graduation , Takela premiered her work entitled "Possessions with a Capital People," an excerpt of her thesis project, Defendit Numerus, for Barrett, the Honors College, in February of 2022. Defendit Numerus, which premiered on March 30, 2022, explored community as a means to self-preservation through movement under the direction of choreographer, Liz Lerman and Carolyn Koch. This work has continued to inspire her creative projects and how she values community.

 

Takela continues to find ways to build community and create access to dance and culture in the Phoenix area. In September of 2023, along with Xochilt Huitzil, Sahvanna Thompson, and Coley Curry, The first annual Blending the Moves Dance Festival was presented in downtown Phoenix and has since held numerous events providing opportunities to access dance and community.