Artistic Director & Founder
Charmaine Warren
I am a performer, historian, consultant and dance writer. I began the online series "Black Dance Stories" in June 2020. I am the Producer of DanceAfrica at BAM. For 10 years, I was the founder/producer and artistic director for "Dance on the Lawn:" Montclair's Dance Festival, co-curator for Harlem Stage's dance series, EMoves for 11 years, and the lead curator for Dance @ Wassaic Project Festival for nine years. I currently write on dance for The New York Amsterdam News, sometimes Dance Magazine, The New York Times and other magazines and journals. I am a 2017 Bessie Award Recipient for "Outstanding Performance" as a member of Skeleton Architecture Collective, and a Bessies Angel Award recipient . I was a a faculty member at Empire State College's online program Center for Distance Learning, Hunter College, The Ailey School and the Alvin Ailey/Fordham University dance major program, Sarah Lawrence College (Guest), Kean University, and The Joffrey Ballet School's Jazz and Contemporary Trainee Program. I hold a Ph.D. in History from Howard University, a Masters Degree in Dance Research, Reconstruction and Choreography from CUNY - City College, and two Bachelor’s Degrees: one in Speech & Theatre/Dance, and the other in English from Montclair State College. After performing for many years with major New York dance companies, I joined the internationally known, New York-based, dance/theater company david rousseve/REALITY in 1989 - 2000. I currently dance with Jasmine Hearn and the collective, Skeleton Architecture. I teach a movement class based on a melding of modern dance, contemporary styles and yoga. I also teach private yoga classes. I began teaching Ashtanga-based yoga classes in 1998, and today Ashtanga yoga remains an integral part of all my movement classes. I have lectured and taught movement and yoga classes nationally and internationally. I was a member of the New York Dance and Performance Awards Committee (BESSIES) for more than ten years. I am also a faculty member at Empire State College's online program Center for Distance Learning. I am a former faculty member at Hunter College, The Ailey School and the Alvin Ailey/Fordham University dance major program, Sarah Lawrence College (Guest), Kean University, and The Joffrey Ballet School's Jazz and Contemporary Trainee Program. I hold a Ph.D. in History from Howard University, a Masters Degree in Dance Research, Reconstruction and Choreography from CUNY - City College, and two Bachelor’s Degrees: one in Speech & Theatre/Dance, and the other in English from Montclair State College. I generally lecture on western dance history, the Black tradition in American dance and Jamaican dance. After performing for many years with major New York dance companies, I joined the internationally known, New York-based, dance/theater company david rousseve/REALITY in 1989 - 2000. I teach a movement class based on a melding of modern dance, contemporary styles and yoga. I am a yoga teacher in Montclair, New Jersey. I began teaching Ashtanga-based yoga classes in 1998, and today Ashtanga yoga remains an integral part of all my movement classes. I have lectured and taught movement and yoga classes nationally and internationally. I was a member of the New York Dance and Performance Awards Committee (BESSIES) for more than ten years.