Staff + Board

Founding Company Member in 2005
Artistic Director in 2021

Jamila Glass is the Artistic Director of LA Contemporary Dance Company and joined the company in 2005 as a founding member.  Her choreography work includes Netflix's Dear White People as series choreographer for their final musical season, a Prada campaign creative directed by Vogue Italia’s Ferdinando Verderi, Hulu's feature film Bad Hair directed by Justin Simien, BET's TV series "Twenties" created by Emmy award-winning Lena Waithe, Vitamin String Quartet's "The Box" and "Blinding Lights" Music Videos, Caught a Ghost's "Get Your Life" Music Video featuring Tessa Thompson (from the Dear White People film soundtrack), Brooke Fraser's "Kings & Queens" Music Video, and multiple works for LACDC.  She recently choreographed a Sephora-produced documentary feature film on the iconic Black beauty brand Fashion Fair.

Glass began her formal training as a nine-year-old scholarship student at The Discovery Dance Group in Houston, Texas. She continued dancing in her spare time as a vocal music major at the multi-Grammy award-winning High School for the Performing and Visual Arts. Jamila graduated from the University of Southern California with a B.A. in Cinema-Television (Film & Video Production) and a Minor in Advertising.  

As a performer, she has worked with Ryan Heffington, Galen Hooks, Nina McNeely, Kathryn Burns, David Dorfman, Adam Parson, and Mecca Vazie Andrews.  Other credits include Netflix Original film Mascots from Christopher Guest, American Horror Story, Paul McCartney, Colbie Caillat, Foster the People tour, American Apparel, Samsung, & the NY Times Best Selling photography book Dancers Among Us.

Beyond the stage, Jamila, a director/screenwriter, is currently producing films through her production company The Cutting Room where she has directed over 15 critically-acclaimed short dance films, a television pilot, and 2 music videos that have garnered international praise, including film screenings in London, Paris and Lebanon.  Her previous work as a freelance editor includes documentary shorts, national radio commercials, and an award-winning independent television network. (www.jamilaglass.com/links).

Glass recently directed the dance film SUMMON for LACDC.  With four new dance films directed so far in 2021, she is currently in pre-production to produce and direct her 20th dance film, featuring the choreography of world renowned Spanish Choreographer Chey Jurado & the members of L.A. Contemporary Dance Company.  She previously served as LACDC's Media Director & Summer/Winter Intensive Director. 

She has taught classes at UCLA, Cal State Long Beach, and Hussian College Los Angeles, and created works for L.A. Contemporary Dance Company, University of Illinois Edwardsville, and Co/Motion Creation Intensive (Boston).

Jamila is represented by Movement Talent Agency and is a member of the Television Academy.
Instagram: @jamilaglass

Napoleon W. Gladney has a diverse performance and arts management background which spans seasons and international tours with dance companies including Odyssey Dance Theatre, The Dance Cartel and Backhausdance. National Broadway Tour credits include Wicked The Musical, most recently as Dance Captain/Swing/Chistery Understudy.

As an arts administrator, Napoleon has stage managed the mobile opera Hopscotch by Los Angeles’ The Industry and created positions for non-profits at the Theater at the 14th Street Y and LABA: A Laboratory for Jewish Culture in New York City, MUSE/IQUE in Los Angeles, and Greenway Court Theater in Los Angeles. He is currently the Audience Development Coordinator for the Musco Center for the Arts.

Company Member since 2019
Community Action Manager since 2021

Originally from Rancho Santa Margarita, California, Nicole Hagen began training at South County Dance under the direction of Clarisse Takemoto at the age of nine. Here she fostered her undeniable passion, curiosity, and enthusiasm for dance, which led her to Chapman University where she graduated with a BFA in Dance Performance magna cum laude and a minor in Business Administration. She is grateful to have received the Fannie Kalis and Donna Cucunato awards and scholarships in recognition for her outstanding contribution and achievement in dance as a junior and senior at Chapman. Nicole has furthered her training with companies such as Complexions Contemporary Ballet, Alonzo King Lines Ballet, BodyTraffic, Rockettes, Gaga Los Angeles and Entity Contemporary Dance among others.

In addition to her passion to perform, Nicole has enjoyed diving into the world of choreography. While at Chapman, she began exercising her choreographic voice and received the Nancy-Dickson Lewis Excellence in Choreography award. Since then, she has been featured as a two-time finalist at the McCallum Choreography festival in Palm Desert and recently, set her work at Mt. San Antonio College for their Fall Repertory Concert. She also loves sharing her knowledge with her students at her home studio, South County Dance.

Since moving to Los Angeles, Nicole is currently a member of LA Contemporary Dance Company and MashUp Contemporary Dance Company and has had the privilege of dancing alongside Paramore at the Teen Choice Awards, in episodes of NBC’s This Is Us, a Banks Music Video, with Anaheim Ballet, and the LA Follies. As a long-time resident of Southern California, she has been exposed to a wide variety of artists who have helped shape her own distinct and expansive artistic vocabulary. She is excited to continue this journey with LACDC!

Instagram: @nicole_hagen

Danielle King was born and raised in Northern California and has since relocated to Los Angeles to pursue her career in the entertainment industry. She attended Loyola Marymount University, where she received her Bachelor of Arts in Dance, Minor in Graphic Design and Emphasis in Public Relations. Danielle is a multi-medium artist and creative, currently represented as a professional dancer, choreographer, model and actress. She has worked with brands and artists, such as Doja Cat, Dillion Francis, SZA, Ariana Grande, Kelly Clarkson, Tyga, Wiz Khalifa, Karol G, Loren Gray, Isabela Merced, Disney, Ford, Geico and more. Her most recent television work, Dear White People and her first musical film, A Week Away, will be released on Netflix this year (2021).

King also freelances for major companies, artists and brands as a producer, director, writer, designer, event coordinator, media manager, video editor, videographer and digital entrepreneur. There are no limitations on who and what you can be in Danielle’s eyes, and she prides herself on pushing herself and others past their perceived limits. Danielle is actively pursuing a long-term career in creative direction/directing to share her visions with the world in hopes to expand and shift perspectives.

Instagram: @d_kingggg