Porshia Derival
Ms. Derival is the Executive Director of H+ | The Hip-Hop Dance Conservatory. Growing up in Long Island, her journey in Hip-Hop dance started as a teenager at her local dance studio. Given the tremendous potential her dance instructor saw in her, she was single-handedly chosen out of her class to further her education and build her skill sets in leadership at H+ | The Hip-Hop Dance Conservatory®. Porshia started at H+ in the SOUL SCIENCE® Summer Intensive 2011, where she trained in the foundations of Hip-Hop dance (Party/ Social Dance, Popping, Boogaloo, Locking, Rocking, and Breaking), and studied cultural & social anthropology, critical thinking, biomechanics, and more. In addition to her extensive training at H+, she has also learned and trained with Hip-Hop leaders Excel Garner, Robin Dunn, Kim Holmes, Lisette Bustamante & Chonique Sneed, Akira Armstrong, Mr. Wiggles, Spex, A-lexx Benard, Tweetie, Elite Force Crew, and more.
After demonstrating a unique contribution to the H+, she was offered a H+ | Thomas Fellowship to continue her training, and became a Demi-Soloist in the repertory company, H+ | Theatre of the Mind® {TOTEM®}. Under the mentorship of H+ | Founder Artistic Director Safi A. Thomas, H+ | Associate Artistic Director Yasmine Fequiere, and H+ | Director of Operations Yvonne H. Chow, Porshia has toured internationally, performing works from TOTEM®’s repertoire, which includes her iconic character, Black Barbie, in TOTEM®’s Black Barbie: A Nation Reborn.
Just two years into her training, Porshia was appointed to the esteemed position of Executive Director at H+, and within the same year, ushered in a new era of Dance Sustainability for H+ at the historic You Belong Here® Launch Party at the adidas originals store, where she was the voice behind H+’s next 20-year prospectus for the global arts community. As the Executive Director, Porshia is the keeper of the Kindness Capital Champions®, the elite chamber of donors and sponsors that graciously fuel the pro-bono services H+ offers to dancers to date: DanceMart®, SPA®, MEDIC®, and Pimp My Style®.
