Davian Robinson, born in Hickory, NC, is a dancer, choreographer, Paralympic athlete, and motivational speaker. Currently living in Charlotte, NC, Davian graduated from UNC Charlotte in 2020 with his Bachelor of Science in Exercise Science and a Bachelor of Arts in Dance Performance, Choreography, and Theory. He attended Governor Morehead School for the Blind in Raleigh, NC from 2004 - 2011. While there he found his love and passion for athletics and dance. He later attended Wake Tech Community College from 2011 - 2015 where he obtained his associate’s degree in arts. While attending Wake Tech he started his journey towards becoming a US paracyclist, while at the same time navigating decreased vision. He did not let that moment defeat him, but rather used it to fuel his success as a US paracyclist.
Davian finished his massage therapy degree in 2022 and currently works at Massage Envy and freelance. When he is away from the studio, he enjoys running races and hanging with his wife and close friends, as well as his lovely guide dog of 6-years, Charlie.
ATHLETICS
As a US Paracyclist from 2013-2018, he appeared in 10 national championships. He appeared at the 2016 Rio Paralympic Trials in Charlotte, NC, alone, with two world championship appearances, finishing in the top 3. He has collected 6 national medals, including a national championship Gold medal in 2017 in the 1-kilometer time trial on the track at the Olympic Velodrome in Colorado Springs, CO.
DANCE
Davian has performed at Orsolina 28 and The Palace of Venaria in Italy, and in Charlotte, NC in UNC Charlotte Dance Concerts, MOVE Dance Alliance Concerts, Loose Leaves Showcase, and Reactions of Resistance. Davian has performed works by Marcus White, Tamara Williams, Matilde Demarchi, and Lillian Willis.
Notably, he was selected to perform in Adidas “Impossible is Nothing” spec commercial, pro-
duced by Sugar Pop Productions and directed by Meg Gamez in 2018. Davian has been featured in the Charlotte Observer, Inside UNC Charlotte, Charlotte Magazine, and on UNC-TV’s My Home, NC feature, Davian Robinson: Fearless.
What is your why?
Listen to the video below to learn about Davian Robinson's why.
Instrumental credit to www.bensound.com
Who Am I
A poem by Davian Robinson
Who am I to be blind by the shadow
of my mind
Never fully understanding the
ramifications of the time
Memories of my youthful mind
Awake to a startling mistake
A mistake that oppression could not bring
But a loss of sight into a darkened reality
A darkened reality into lost hopes
and dreams of
Wanting to break free,
break through, and become
Become the man I ought to be
Without the darkened veil that pursues me
I was caught in a reality of hope,
loss, and broken dreams
Wanting to understand my identity
apart from my loss of sight
Am I blind from my reality?
Reality of who I am
Not color not race not ethnicity
But simply
A simple man rooted
Rooted in integrity beneath the feet
of those before me
Their bloodshed, the tears,
the agony, the pain
Not a moment I can stand.
Davian Robinson: FEARLESS
When he was born premature, doctors told his mom he wouldn’t make it through the night. But Davian Robinson has been defying the odds ever since. Because of a condition, Davian gradually lost his sight during childhood, but it did not stop him from becoming a national champion Paralympic cyclist, being a dance major at UNC-Charlotte and taking up sky diving as his new hobby.
Davian founded and leads Sensory Beyond Sight dance workshops which invite participants to experience movement without the use of their sight. In 2019 Davian was invited to present Sensory Beyond Sight at the Alexander Technique national conference at Columbia University in New York, NY and perform original choreography at the historic Alhambra Ballroom. He also presented a modified version of his workshop Healing Beyond Sight to non-dancers and dancers at a Charlotte Rxse day of healing with a dance-based organization out of Charlotte, North Carolina.
Currently, Davian is working with Camryn Watson and Inspire Inclusion Dance as a dance teacher. Additionally, Davian is collaborating with ShaLeigh Dance Works to co-direct an immersive and inclusive performance form which does not solicit the viewer’s sight, but rather all their other senses. This project is enVISION: Sensory Beyond Sight.
