About Solita 

Solita (aka Danah) is the founder + principal of Studio Solita. Solita began as a childhood nickname bestowed upon Danah by their father, an homage to the bright and bilingüe energy of their essence. 

Solita was nurtured by social workers, sanctuaries, and stages throughout mishigami (aka Michigan), which offered them ways of being that were complex, nuanced, and rooted in care. Early life experiences as a Black, queer, creative kid growing up in the church and around a lot of evangelical whiteness offered them a healthy dose of trauma, some wild travel stories (eeeek mission trips), and really amazing pitch. These experiences, coupled with the lessons from both her maternal and paternal grandmothers who consistently showed up for their communities, seeded a passion for art, activism + liberation. 

Danah went on to study social work, Spanish, and music at a small, Christian, liberal arts college in West Michigan. There, they continued to travel the world, create and perform, work with youth, experience systemic and interpersonal violence, and expand their worldview and perspectives. 

After college, Danah kept working at non-profits and social organizations: at urban farms and food justice programs, in healthcare systems, youth programs, housing and homelessness, and philanthropy. During this time, Danah found their voice as an activist and organizer and spearheaded several movements including a children’s literacy drive, a youth organizing camp called ARYV (Always Raise Youth Voices), mutual aid and reparations campaigns that raised over $150,000, and a community-owned safety campaign and storytelling initiative that promoted abolition and alternatives to the police. Amidst that work, Danah also became a certified community-based doula, where they provided birth, postpartum, and abortion support to birthing folx in their community. In these experiences, Danah built a deep community with all kinds of folx all over the world: from babies in remote villages, to youth actively experiencing homelessness, to government officials and funders, to artists and creatives. 

As Danah moved through it all, they bore witness to how state violence and the non-profit industrial complex destroys communities and eventually, their sense of self. Everything was burning and Danah was just burnt out. Danah longed to just be Solita again. To nurture their inner child, to create without shame, to support others creation, and to just be. 

This next chapter was about saying yes to creation. Instead of making art + creativity an after-thought, it became the common thread in everything they did. They took dance classes, and started teaching dance. And at their dance studio, they spearheaded community initiatives to make movement more accessible. They kept doing theatre productions, and offered community care facilitation for cast + crews. They created new poetry and performances, where they told stories about their organizing with themes of justice and liberation. They became Solita again.

Thus Studio Solita was born. Because out of the ashes, el sol rises again and there is newness to create and build. Studio Solita is a creative healing practice done in community.