Raphael Xavier

Viazeen Ill Freeze
Born
Raphael Xavier
Occupation(s)Dancer, Rapper, Photographer/visual artist, Musician

Raphael Xavier Williams (born December 7, 1970) is known as an Inmoc-ographer (innovative movement conceptualist). He is a professional breaker/dancer, rapper, music producer, comedian, photographer, author and multifaceted artist. He is known for re-invigorating the B-boying community in Philadelphia. He started choreographing dance with the Brandywine School of Ballet in 1995. He then became recognized as a theatre artist when he joined Rennie Harris Puremovement, the longest running Hip-Hop dance company, in their production of Rome & Jewels in 1997. He moved to the role of Tybalt shortly after.[1] He would continue on to become a core member of the RHPM company and is now an alumnus. He has received many awards and recognition for his choreographic work from 1999 to the present and for various projects he has worked on including: music recordings and compositions, film, and photography. Raphael gives lectures and dance classes internationally on Hip-Hop and its history. In 2013, Raphael was honored with a Pew Fellowships in the Arts award. He is a 2016 Guggenheim fellow and a 2016 United States Artist Knight fellow. He is also An appointed professor at Princeton University teaching special topics in hip hop dance with a focus on Breaking.

  1. ^ Segal, Lewis. "Talk Burdens 'Rome and Jewels'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2 October 2012.