Kar’mel Antonyo Wade Small, raised in the South Bronx, began his dance journey with American and International Dancesport Ballroom, learning from Pierre Dulaine, Alee Reed, Rodney Lopez, Tatiana Keegan, Rainer Trubere, Pasha Pashkov, and Danielle Karagach Pashkov. He later trained at Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School and earned a BFA in Dance Performance and Composition from SUNY Purchase under the direction of Michelle Mathesius and Nelly van Bommel respectively. Kar’mel has performed works by Kevin Wynn, Damani Pompey, Kayla Farrish, Roderick George, Martha Graham, Sidra Bell, Merce Cunningham, Keerati Jinakunwiphat, Jerome Robbins, Eleo Pomare, Faizah Grootens, and many more notable choreographers and collaborators. Kar’mel toured both nationally and internationally with A.I.M. by Kyle Abraham from 2022 to 2024, then joined Battery Dance Company in 2025.
Photo by Mike Esperanza
Photo by Alice Wu
As a freelancer, Kar’mel has been on set for HBO’s Random Acts of Flyness, TELFARTV, and UNIVISION. He is also featured in KAYE's music video "Neon God". In 2022, he was recognized as an Chez Bushwick Artist in Residency award recipient through the Jonah Boaker Arts Foundation to aid his artistic research with his passion project, project:MEMORABILIA. During this time, Kar’mel taught contemporary and floorwork classes at Gibney and Modega, and assisted at Princeton University, Slippery Rock University, USC, and CSULB. In June of 2025, Kar’mel received the Bronx Recognizes Its Own (BRIO) Award, supported by the Bronx Council of the Arts, for Choreography in Performing Arts.
Kar’mel’s interdisciplinary skills have been witnessed on stage and in museums. The solo titled la manta de reina, choreographed for Charrie Burke, made its NYC debut for Battery Dance Festival in August 2025 after being performed in the PepsiCo Theater for Purchase Dance Company’s 2024 Spring Concert, LEGACY. The show included works by George Balanchine, Cain Coleman, Doug Varone, and Kevin Wynn. The collaboration with Kayla Farrish for her work A Beast was performed in the Museum of Modern Art for the Artist Party in dedication to Jack Whitten in May 2025 included a text-based vocal performance along with dance. He is also credited for musically composing Damani Pompey’s Empty Hand, a piece choreographed with the support of the NYSCA Support for Artists grant to choreograph new work with Battery Dance Company during a residency at Vassar College in March 2025.
Photo by Alice Chacon