Bronx-based creative Kayla Hamilton has launched a new cultural organization called Circle O , which provides performances featuring Black disabled bodies, as well education and consulting for organizations looking to become more inclusive. As a Black sight-impaired artist, “My love for dance is what drives me,” Hamilton told the Bronx Times. Born and raised in Texarkana, Texas, Hamilton also has family roots in the Arkansas farmland.
Her grandfather Oscar, a principal of an all-Black school, was known as “Big O” and father Gene was known as “Little O.” The family farm became known as “Circle O,” the name Hamilton later adopted for her nonprofit. Growing up, her parents wanted her to be involved in a structured physical activity, but sports didn’t seem practical with her vision impairment.
So Hamilton turned to dance, starting in ballet, tap and jazz. She took to dance immediately — perhaps because it was in her blood. Her uncle had been a Broadway tap dancer and singer, and she aspired to be like him.
From the start, Hamilton was driven to succeed in the competitive field of dance — and make it her own. “No one’s gonna deny me of the things I love to do,” she said. ‘A feeling of home’ Over the years, Hamilton studied more types of dance, including modern and West African traditional dance, which she considers a favorite.
She left Texas after college to intern at Dance Place in Washington D.C., then moved to New York in 2008.
After living in ev.