Raphael Xavier

Raphael Xavier Williams (born December 7, 1970) is a performance based artist. He is a professional breaker/dancer, rapper, music producer, photographer, author and multifaceted artist. He is known for re-invigorating the B-boying community in Philadelphia in the late 90's. He then became recognized as a theatre artist when he joined Rennie Harris Puremovement, one of the longest running Hip-Hop dance companies and their production of Rome & Jewels in 1997. He moved to the role of Tybalt shortly after. He would continue on to become a core member of the RHPM company and is now an alumnus. He has received many awards and recognition for his choreographic work from 1999 to present day and for various projects he has worked on. They include: music recordings and compositions, film, and photography. Raphael gives lectures and dance classes internationally on Hip-Hop, Breaking and its history. In 2013, Raphael was honored with a Pew Fellowships in the Arts award. He is a 2016 Guggenheim fellow and a 2016 United States Artist Knight fellow. Since 2014 he has been appointed lecturer at Princeton University teaching special topics in hip hop dance with a focus on Breaking and Comparative Hip-Hop Dance Practice and Aesthetics.