Toddja Thornhill​

 Artistic Director/International Dancer

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Since she was seven years of age, Toddja Thornhill has been shaping the lives of children and even adults through dance. A native of Pittsburgh, PA, Toddja grew up like most girls with the troubles of trying to find herself, but fortunately the troublesome journey was short as she found herself in dance. She began her dancing career at age three at the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre and continued ballet for two years at the Kelly Strayhorn Theater Alloy Studios. Realizing the lack of diverse dance forms Toddja’s grandmother, Dessie Bey, convinced her to learn other genres of dance. Toddja was then enrolled in HDAT (Hill Dance Academy Theatre), there in addition to ballet she was taught tap, hip-hop, contemporary, Senegalese African dance, and more. Toddja excelled in all the genres of dance and found a love for African rhythms. While continuing ballet and tap at Visionary Performing Arts Studio, she was also being taught West African Drumming by Baba Shabaka Perkins. She focused more on drumming and became more involved in school activities including running track. However, in the meantime she researched African cultured and studied West African dance videos.

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Toddja and Baba Shabaka formed such a tight bond that he became her surrogate granddad. Eventually he, Darrell Baldwin, and Abdul Glover opened Sankofa Village for the Arts, a space for drumming, dancing, and martial arts. Here is where Toddja blossomed. Under the tutelage of Erin Perry, Ebony Naimah Zanuwa, and the legendary Mama Kadiatou Conte-Forté, Toddja’s energy and passion for dance reached higher heights. Her dedication entitled her to become the dance instructor for Sankofa Village for the Arts. She has been teaching for 12 years. Her phenomenal work with her students has granted her the opportunity to travel the world to teach and perform. Her itinerary includes Guinea, West Africa, Jamaica, Florida, North Carolina, New York, Philadelphia, and other cities in the U.S. The Sankofa Village Dancers auditioned and received a scholarship to attend a workshop with West African Dance Group Ayodele in Chicago, IL and Toddja is also looking forward to a dance tour in Sweden this year. Toddja has hosted classes with master drummers and dancers while teaching dance at Imani Christian Academy, Arsenal Middle School, and Penn Hills High School; she expresses the importance of how dance can cure mental health issues as part of her classes. Toddja has worked with several organizations and done many things to improve the community. She is currently the Artistic Director for Sankofa Village for the Arts. “I hope that little girls will look at me and be inspired; I want to teach the youth there are endless possibilities and to work hard for what they want.”

Contact Toddja via email at toddjathornhill@gmail.com.