When Omari Carter moved from London to Madison, he brought more than expertise in hip hop dance and filmmaking—he brought a global perspective on how movement can connect people, cultures, and communities.
Carter, an assistant professor in UW–Madison’s Department of Dance, first came to campus during an International Visiting Artist Residency in 2022, where he participated in a screendance symposium and shared his knowledge in dance-film. A few months later, he joined the faculty, where he now teaches courses in hip hop dance, screendance, and body percussion.
Learning Beyond the Classroom
Growing up in London, Carter’s greatest education in hip hop dance happened outside the classroom. Influenced by his family’s love of music and dance, he learned through community gatherings and dance jams, where dancers exchanged ideas, asked questions, and learned directly from one another rather than through formal classes.
At the time, hip hop dance and many other culturally rooted dance forms were largely absent from higher education. Today, Carter is part of a broader shift that recognizes those forms as valuable areas of academic study.
“I get to be the teacher I’ve always wanted,” he said.
Bringing a Global Perspective
While many students are familiar with hip hop dance through social media, Carter encourages them to explore the deeper stories, traditions, and communities behind the movement. Learning hip hop means more than mastering choreography—it means understanding the culture, history, and people that shaped it.
“It is so important to know where things are coming from, to know where they’re going,” he said.
His international perspective also plays an important role in the classroom. Drawing on experiences from London and years of international touring, Carter encourages students to see hip hop dance as a living culture that evolves as it moves across communities and countries.
“I love bringing my Black British perspective on what hip hop is for us,” Carter said. “Hip hop culture molds itself and assimilates itself to the socio-political and economic contexts it encompasses.“
Creating Spaces for Connection
That same spirit carries into his work outside of the classroom.
He recently launched the Open Hip Hop Jam at Lathrop Hall that welcomes both students and community members, creating spaces for people to learn, practice, and share movement together. Inspired by the collaborative jam sessions where he first learned hip hop, the gatherings are designed to bring together dancers of all experience levels while strengthening connections between the university and the broader Madison community.
He also hopes to establish more opportunities for dance-film screenings in Madison, creating space for local artists to share their work and introduce more people to the art form.
Expanding Access Through Education
Carter’s interest in building connections also extends into his research. Much of his work focuses on making dance more accessible, inviting audiences who may not have traditionally seen themselves reflected in—or able to fully experience—the art form.
For Carter, his projects and research reflect the collaborative spirit that drew him to UW–Madison. By partnering with colleagues in engineering and other disciplines, he has found new ways to combine technology, movement, and storytelling.
One of his current projects, developed in collaboration with UW–Madison engineers, explores that idea through a vibrating viewing platform that allows audience members to physically feel music and movement while watching a dance-film.
To demonstrate the technology, Carter created a dance-film in which a couple communicates entirely through body percussion. Every clap, snap, and stomp is translated into vibrations beneath the audience’s feet, creating a more immersive experience while expanding accessibility for deaf and hard-of-hearing audiences and people with different sensory preferences.
“We can now invite hearing-impaired audiences or maybe audiences with neurodiversities who want a tactile experience,” he said.
Whether he is introducing students to the history of hip hop, collaborating across disciplines, or expanding access to the arts, Carter sees dance as a way to bring people together. Each project is part of the same mission. As UW–Madison’s dance program continues to grow, he hopes to create even more occasions for connection—between cultures, communities, disciplines, and new ways of experiencing the arts.
Interested in seeing the vibrating floor installation? Check out Interconnected: A Dance Festival of Bodies, Technology, and Shared Space. To learn more or attend a dance jam, follow the Dance Department on Instagram.