Derrick Gichaba

I am a multidisciplinary artist, born in Kenya and based in Minnesota, who has found passion for dance, photography, film, and fashion!

As a kid, I always found myself dancing for fun with my family and friends, but I've been researching and teaching myself to be a professional dancer since 2014. Growing up in an African American culture, I picked up Breakdancing for my style of dance and eventually ventured off into Hip Hop freestyling.

During my journey through high school, I had the privilege of connecting with others who also enjoyed dancing! We spent a lot of time creating spaces together to express ourselves through movement. As time moved on, we continued developing our skills as dancers, and eventually became colleagues by creating a crew known as Squad 7.

This community of dancers has connected me with a monumental amount of artists, not only within the Twin Cities, but across the nation and overseas! Ironically, this led me to pursue photography and videography professionally. At the age of 16, I was able to save up money in high school to buy my first camera—that is when the journey of this art discipline began. Seeing different movement artists expressing themselves from a plethora of backgrounds gave me the desire to capture art digitally. 

So far in my career as a dancer, I became a member of a dance crew that trains and performs together. I also teach Hip Hop at an up and coming dance studio called Hothouse Mpls, and I host sessions where people of all dance backgrounds can come learn and express themselves! 

In regards to my career as a photographer and videographer, I’ve had the pleasure of working with multiple local artists of all disciplines, while also taking advantage of the opportunity to shoot big name artists like: Ari Lennox, Noname, Mereba to name a few. 

During the pandemic, I picked up the art of fashion styling and design. I’ve been successful in creating customized clothing and designing items of my own. I’m in the process of creating a brand where I’ll be able to create clothing for myself and for others to enjoy!