About
Our Manifesto
Our dance world was pummeled by COVID-19 and Black dance artists are finding ways to talk about life during this time. Our world was further turned upside down after horrible events ensued nationally and globally, bringing attention, yet again, to the need for the Black Lives Matter movement. Black dance artists have not been quiet since. Black dance artists have been doing the work. Black dance artists continue to make work. To stay involved, we will hold weekly impromptu discussions and tell stories – Black Dance Stories. This is one action – we will stay involved.
Our Team
Charmaine Warren
Artistic Director & Founder
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...
MoreChloé LaBorde
Creative Administrator
Chloé LaBorde is an artist, arts administrator, and cultural worker. She holds a B.A. in Theatre and Performance with a concentration in directing and a minor in Film/Video Production from SUNY Purchase College. Chloé's experience includes roles in education and community at Brooklyn Academy of Music, creative operations at New Federal...
MoreCynthia Tate
Publicist and Creative Strategist
Cynthia Tate is a dedicated arts professional and advocate focused on elevating Black narratives in the arts. With over a decade of experience, she has worked with iconic institutions like The Apollo Theater and emerging platforms such as Black Dance Stories and The Black Orchestral Network. As the creative strategist for Black Dance...
MoreFanta Bello
Communications Coordinator
Fanta Ballo is a senior at the University at Albany currently majoring in Economics with a minor in Theatre. Fanta is a poet, artist and activist and uses spoken word to advocate for issues Fanta feels passionate about. Fanta is the email communications intern and I work closely with Kimani Fowlin.
MoreJacquelyn Batten
Marketing Manager
Jacquelyn Batten (she/they) is a Bed-Stuy based movement artist with NC roots. They are currently a performer with DanceBoissiere, exploring and maintaining their own creative process through their own movement platform (soul)lection, and participating in the ballroom scene as a women’s performer in the House of Prodigy, among various...
MoreKimani Fowlin
Director of Education, Archives & Program Manager
Kimani is a dancer, choreographer, and educator. She has been awarded the New York State Dance Education Association’s Outstanding Dance Educator Award. Fowlin is an Associate Professor of Dance and Chair of the Theatre & Dance Department at Drew University. Her work abroad includes performing and teaching in Russia as part of the...
MoreMakeda-Lily Love-Roney
Associate Producer & Stage Manager
Makeda-Lily Love-Roney (she/her/we) is a fourth generation indigenous American Indian artist from unseated Lenape Nation land, known as New York. She’s a life, body, & energy alchemist, creative, dance artist, model and Body Alignment/Pilates coach. Makeda has worked/performed with nia love, Urban Bush Women, Liz Lerman, Debbie Allen,...
MoreRenee Redding Jones
Director of Finance
Renee Redding Jones, Director of Development, received her Bachelor of Science degree from Morgan State University as a Physical Education major, minoring in Dance. She continued her studies in dance at Sarah Lawrence College where she received the degree of Master of Fine Arts. As a professional dancer Renee performed nationally and...
MoreTony Turner
Photographer & Graphic Designer
Tony Turner comes from a family of artists, Influenced by his father Juanca Turner, a graphic artist and photographer. As a teen he purchased his first camera and started exploring 35mm photography and was later trained in photography, graphic design and computer graphics. Tony has taught photography to students in Newark and Paterson,...
MorePast Team Members
Antonio Burkett
ASL Interpreter
Antonio Burkett, by way of Pine Bluff, Arkanasas, is an American Sign Language <> English interpreter in the District of Columbia metropolitan area, including Maryland / Southern Maryland, and Virginia. He is also a trained Video Relay Service interpreter, as required by the Federal Communications Commission. He is also the first, Black...
MoreAriana Speight
Freelance Dancer & Yogi
Ariana Speight (she/her/hers), a graduate of Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University with a BFA in Dance and a minor in Africana Studies, is a contemporary artist invested in researching the curiosities of life through various mediums. Originally from Los Angeles, she had the opportunity to dance abroad at the Jerusalem...
MoreJarry Fall
Intern
Jarry Fall is a sophomore at Drew University majoring in computer science and minoring in dance! Jarry Fall has been dancing for sixteen years and is happy to be continuing a different learning experience with Black Dance Stories. Jarry's main focus in dance has mostly been ballet, contemporary, musical theatre and jazz, so it has been...
MoreKaitlyn Chandler
Video Editor
Kaitlyn Chandler is an all-around creative and technical video troubleshooter working with BDS to produce and stream each episode. She graduated from Memphis College of Art with a BFA in Digital Cinema, and now works full time at BAM as a Video Editor and Motion Designer. When not streaming episodes of Black Dance Stories, she uses her...
MoreMakeda Smith
Director of Digital Media
Born in Los Angeles, CA, and raised in Richmond, VA, Makeda Smith received her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance from Temple University in 2013. Combining her passion for dance/performing and visual art, and years of experience in fashion retail management and merchandising, Makeda took a leap of faith to move on from Corporate America in...
MoreNicholas Xavier Hall
Dancer
was born in Brooklyn, NY and grew up in Montclair, NJ where he received his dance training from the Sharron Miller Academy of the Performing Arts and the New Jersey Dance Theater Ensemble. As a student at Rutgers University’s Mason Gross School of the Arts, Hall performed Miki Orihara and Tadej Brdnik’s restaging of Martha Graham’s...
MoreTravone Evans
Producer | Social Media Specialist | Live Stream Manager
Travone Evans is a Content Creator and Editor from Los Angeles, CA. He graduated with a BA in Theater Arts from Alabama State University. He now operates a boutique multi-media production company creating content and managing live streams for companies, particularly in the African diaspora. In his spare time, you can find Travone...
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