Kiana Pilson’s passion for dance arose from her connections to the communities around her. Growing up in a military family, Kiana was often introduced to cultures other than her own. These experiences helped develop her love for dance outside of a traditional European context, as she discovered that dance varied between different communities but could also communicate across cultural and societal barriers. In 2016, she began to pursue dance as a means of communication while co-directing a miniseries of short films, featuring choreography from various dance styles. This miniseries focused on social issues that teenagers from Kiana’s community struggled with, such as mental health and bullying, and strove to promote discussion around the factors impacting the well-being of local youth. At the University of Virginia, Kiana has danced within multiple student organizations and productions including Mahogany Hip-Hop Dance Troupe her first year and Shakespeare on the Lawn’s Romeo and Juliet: A Story of Interracial Love her second year. Kiana has also danced in UVA Drama’s spring dance concerts of 2018 and 2019. As a Miller Arts Scholar, Kiana hopes to further explore the ways in which dance is a cultural, spiritual, and relational experience, using dance as a means of telling the stories of those within and outside of her own communities.