Department of Theater and Dance
Hettie Barnhill Visiting Professor, Theater and Dance is an Educator, Filmmaker, Director, Choreographer, and the founder of Create A Space NOW, an interactive platform dedicated to using art to challenge bias, racism, and systemic oppression. She also produces the Activated Artist Fest in the Capital Region.
Hettie has been nominated for the New York Innovative Theater Award for Outstanding Choreography, and her contributions to communities through the intersection of art and social justice have earned her numerous accolades. These include the NAACP’s "Top 21 Leaders 40 & Under Award" in Arts & Culture, the Shirley Chisholm "Women of Excellence" Award, recognition as a “Rising Star” by the Young & Powerful for Obama Group, and most recently, an honor from the California Senate for “Using Film as a Vehicle for Community Engagement and Education.” Her film, A Love Letter to Brian, Lesley, and Michelle, has won awards at multiple national and international festivals.
As a performer, Hettie has over 20 years of professional experience in television, film, and theater, including Broadway performances in acclaimed productions such as Spider-Man Turn Off The Dark, FELA! (original cast), and Leap Of Faith (original cast). She has performed with multiple theater and dance companies, such as Face Off Unlimited, Second City Chicago, and Urban Bush Women to name a few.
Her recent directing and choreography work includes productions such as Handle With Care, Conversations Embodied: Nina Simone and James Baldwin, Woke-Ness In The Body & Freedom Dance Floors, Skin|Disordered, LGB (Create A Space NOW), No God In These Streets, Skeleton Crew (Black Theater Troupe, Upstate New York), She Kills Monsters (Cap Rep, Albany, NY), and This Is Me (Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival). In addition, Hettie has directed music videos like Danielle Ponder’s Roll The Credits and has worked internationally with La Mama Umbria International in Spoleto, Italy.
As a sought-after interdisciplinary presenter and speaker, Hettie has shared her work on art and activism with organizations such as the New York State Office of Children and Family Services, the Office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Accessibility, MLK Saratoga, One Billion Rising, the National Dance Education Organization (NDEO), SUNY Potsdam's Center for Diversity, and In Our Own Voices, Inc. She has also contributed to panels for the New York State Council on the Arts and worked with A Long Walk Home Inc., using art therapy to raise awareness and provide healing for survivors of rape and violence.
Off stage, Hettie has taught at multiple universities, emphasizing the importance of creating learning environments where technique, history, culture, and perspective are integrated. A graduate of Columbia College Chicago, she holds an MFA in Interdisciplinary Arts with a concentration in Performance Creation and Art Activism from Goddard College. Hettie’s next project is directing Once On This Island, set for 2025. For more information, visit HettieBarnhill.com.
