Zakiya Atkinson
Zakiya Atkinson is the Coordinator/ Advisor for the Single Subject Credential Program in Dance offered through the College of Education and teaches courses in dance composition and pedagogy at CSULB Dance.
Atkinson holds a BA in Communications and Theatre from Temple University, an MA in Dance Education from New York University, and a certificate in Holocaust & Genocide Education from Saint Elizabeth University. She is a certified K-12 Dance Educator and holds a Supervisory Certification. Atkinson is a doctoral candidate in the Ed.D. Dance Education program at Teachers College, Columbia University.
Atkinson is currently conducting a research study, Towards Community Dance Educator Preparedness: Facilitating Experiences that are Inclusive, Culturally Responsive, and Transformative for Diverse Communities and Groups. Atkinson’s research interests also include critical and transformative pedagogies, arts integration, and the impact of sociocultural factors on arts education and community practice.
Zakiya Atkinson is an educator, artist, and administrator committed to cultivating arts literacy and social change. She is the director of Zaman Dance Theatre Collective and for three years served as the Supervisor of Fine and Performing Arts for Cranford Public School District. Prior to that post, she spent ten years as a dance educator at Memorial High School in West New York, NJ. During her tenure there, Atkinson collaborated to develop a Performing Arts Academy while creating and implementing a dance arts curriculum and program. Atkinson’s professional credits include stage, television, print, and live events. She has also toured school districts as an arts education performer and was a Philadelphia Eagles Cheerleader (NFL) for four years.
Atkinson founded the Essex County MetroWest Dance Festival and Modern Renaissance X—events merging student and professional artists throughout New Jersey and surrounding areas. She employs the arts in community spaces as a tool for transformation and has facilitated community-based programs locally and internationally. Atkinson has been the recipient of an NEA Learning Leadership grant and fellowships with Body Politic Laboratory at Gibney (NYC), Bates Dance Festival, and the National Endowment for the Humanities.
