Jarrell Hamilton is a mother, artistic director, choreographer, writer, creative altruist, entertainer, educator, and Founder of JHINC. Hamilton holds a Master’s in Fine Arts degree in Interdisciplinary Studies (Choreography and African American Studies from Tulane University with a specific focus on Afro-diasporic spiritual traditions) and a Bachelor in Fine Arts in Dance Performance from Southern Methodist University/ Meadows School of the Arts. Hamilton continued her performance and choreographic research at the American Dance Festival, Ashé Cultural Arts Center: Institute for Cultural Education, Evolve Diaspora (Cuba), Jacob’s Pillow Improv and Jazz traditions, Links Hall Residency (Chicago, IL), Movement of the People (NYC), and Urban Bush Women’s Choreographic Institute (Pilot) and Summer Leadership Institute for Undoing Racism.

Hamilton is a seven-time Big Easy Classical Arts Award nominee, 2018 Best Ensemble (Ain’t Misbehavin’), 2016 Best Modern Presentation, and 2013 Winner for Best Contemporary Choreographer. She is an honoree of the United States President’s Committee and Humanities Coming Up Taller Award, American College Dance Association for her titled choreographic work EPISODES, and Tulane’s School of Liberal Art’s Fellowship Award.

Hamilton’s “creative altruism” extends to that of organizing benefit concerts in New Orleans, a benefit concert for the Haiti victims affected by the 2009 Tsunami (in collaboration with NOCCA Riverfront), a Christmas benefit for New Orleans Covenant House, and Tulane Drop-In Center for the orphanage and homeless adolescents, Dance for Social Change (in collaboration with Dancing Grounds), campaigning with State Representative Royce Duplessis, self-care campaign for artists in New Orleans, which has birth forth SPARKNoLa–a grant initiative for emerging artist in the Gulf South.

Acclaimed organizations Jarrell Hamilton has had the honor to work and collaborate with include: Ashé Cultural Arts Center, Be/With, Crossroads Creative Forces, Metairie Park Country Day, D’Project: Southern Voices, Dancing Grounds, Exhibit Dance Collective, Evolve Diaspora, Institute for Cultural Education, Junebug Productions, Kumbuka African Drum and Dance Collective, Kwamé Prophecy Dance Works, KidSmart, KM Dance Project, NORD/NOBA, N.O.C.C.A. (New Orleans Center for Creative Arts), NOLA Project, Young Audience, Volunteers of America, YAYA: Silence is Violence, Radical Buffoons, Tulane University and Third Eye Theatre. Ms. Hamilton has worked professionally in the commercial, concert, and regional theatre industry with proclaimed artists such as Alicia Keys, Arcade Fire, Tank and the Bangaz, Robert Battle, Jacqulyn Buglisi, Rachel Berman, Ronald K. Brown, Jawole Willa Jo Zollar, Troy Powell, Gloria Van Scott, Arthur Mitchell, Elisa Monte, Tommye Myrick, Summer Lee Rhatigan, Ted Levy, Maurice Bejart, Bobbi Smith, Christopher Scott, and has been a featured dancer for Disney’s Imagination Movers, Essences Music Festival, Voodoo Music and Arts Festival, City of a Million Dreams Documentary and Alicia Keys, Fire We Make music video.

Currently, Hamilton is the Founder/ Artistic Director of Jarrell Hamilton Inc., a 501 c3 non-profit organization. Our mission is to create and produce original, interdisciplinary work in dance-theatre, film, performance, and conceptual art that seeks to elevate and make equitable the stories of Southern culture. In the Winter of 2021 Ms. Hamilton made her Directorial debut at Southern Rep Theater with the new musical Chemin’ Du Bayou. In spring 2021 Hamilton was in residency at the renowned Studio in the Woods residency in New Orleans, LA.

Hamilton’s mission is to help others create abundance, creativity, and an elevated sense of self, cultivated from within.