Adesola Osakalumi

Adesola Osakalumi is an American actor, choreographer, singer, and dancer born in the Bronx, New York, whose career has spanned Broadway, film, television, and commercial work. His artistic foundation was shaped from childhood by his family's deep involvement in African performance traditions. His mother danced as a principal performer with Africa I Dance Theater, a touring company founded by his uncles and later joined by his father, whose mission centered on preserving and spreading African dance and culture across the United States and internationally. Osakalumi also studied on scholarship at the Dance Theater of Harlem, where he developed technical discipline alongside his natural abilities and expanded his command of multiple dance vocabularies.

As a young performer, Osakalumi pursued mastery of popping and locking, street dance forms rooted in hip hop culture with African origins. That pursuit led him to join Rhythm Technicians, a dance crew composed of prominent B-Boys who built a following through regular performances across New York City. The crew eventually evolved into GhettOriginals Productions Dance Company, or GPDC, of which Osakalumi was a co-founder. GPDC became a pioneering force in hip hop theater and was the first hip hop dance group to perform at the Colorado Dance Festival. The company created Jam on the Groove, a production that premiered Off-Broadway at the Minetta Lane Theatre in November 1995, earned a Drama Desk Award nomination for Best Choreography, and subsequently toured the United States, Europe, South America, and Asia.

Osakalumi's Broadway career ran from 2008 to 2022 and included appearances in Equus, Skeleton Crew, and the musical Fela!, the production for which he is most widely recognized. Fela! received Tony Awards for Best Choreography, Best Costume Design, and Best Sound Design. Osakalumi joined the cast in 2009, performing in the ensemble as an Area Boy while also serving as understudy for the title role of Fela Kuti. In 2010, he performed the role of Fela Kuti four times on Broadway. During the 2011 national tour, he was elevated to alternate lead, taking on the role on weekends and select evenings. When Fela! returned to Broadway in July 2012 for a limited engagement, Osakalumi became the production's principal lead, a position he carried into the 2013 national tour as well.

Beyond performing, Osakalumi has worked extensively as a choreographer for theater and commercial clients. His choreographic theater credits include Eyewitness Blues for New York Theatre Workshop, Mister at the New York Fringe Festival and New York Theatre Workshop, Hip Hop Wonderland with Bill Irwin at The New Victory Theatre, and Centrifugal Force at Lincoln Center's Out of Doors, for which he served as Artistic Director and Co-Choreographer. He has also choreographed and performed in commercial campaigns for companies including Target, American Express, Panasonic, PBS Kids, Old Navy, ESPN, Fox TV, Advil, Levi 501 Jeans, Halifax Bank, Merck, NV Energy, and SAP, among others. In a leadership capacity, he served as artistic director for Hip Hop Kung Fu at The Asia Society, a program featuring hip hop artists from Japan, China, and the United States, and has held positions as a board member of Dancing in the Streets and a choreographic mentor for Pentacle.