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, Misty Copeland, BalletNext, Nimbus Dance Works, Dance Theatre of Harlem and more. She’s currently a freelance dance artist and model in NYC and LA, movement collaborator and assistant within nia love’s UNDERcurrents Project of over 10 years, Exc. Assistant for Raja Feather Kelly/The Feath3r Theory and the Producer & Co-Host of New York Times’ featured Black Dance Stories. Makeda has been featured in The New Yorker, Cake and Whiskey Magazine, A Ballerina’s Body Book, KT-LA Debbie Allen’s Hot Chocolate Nutcracker Excerpt, Ritual: Short Film, and more. Makeda's heart-lead purpose and passion is rooted in translating ethereal/metaphysical matter, intelligence and inspiration into creations and languages of dance/movement, muse sharing, poetic writing, photography content & collaborating, and any other language creations her soul is called to channel and express such deep beauty, love, inner power, vibrancy and cosmic, earthly & soul remembering/connecting. As a freelance dancer she’s worked and studied with Liz Lerman, Debbie Allen, nia love, Jennifer Nugent, Misty Copeland and Marjorie Liebert. Over the past decade, Makeda remains nia love’s teaching/choreographic assistant and online presence manager. Makeda has been featured in The New Yorker, Cake and Whiskey Magazine, A Ballerina’s Body Book, KT-LA Debbie Allen’s Hot Chocolate Nutcracker Live Excerpt, Ritual: Short Film, Rah Dance Works - ‘What Moves you?’ and The Whole Dancer. This is Makeda’s first season with BDS as the Producer and is honored to be apart of the BDS team.