Teranga Conference – Presenters

Dr. Andrea K. Markus

Dr. Andrea K. Markus is a dance artist, educator, and scholar working at the intersection of Afrofuturism and dance education. She holds faculty appointments at NYU, Marymount Manhattan College, and Bronx Community College. She earned her Ed.D. from Teachers College, Columbia University in 2024. Dr. Markus is the founder of Performance, Pedagogy, Futurity™, an Afrofuturist framework for dance education. Her teaching artist work includes collaborations with Alvin Ailey Arts in Education, Dancewave, and the Misty Copeland Foundation. Her scholarship centers joy, identity, and liberatory pedagogy. She is committed to building dance spaces that affirm and empower Black communities.

Stephen Hill

Stephen Hill is a choreographer, educator, and Founding Artistic Director of The ChoreoJoey Project, an arts collective dedicated to jazz and West African dance traditions. Based in Harlem, he earned his BA in Dance from Lehman College and trained at Peridance, Ailey, and Cumbe. His performance credits include work with Forces of Nature Dance Theatre, ModArts Dance Collective, and Sesame Flyers. Through The ChoreoJoey Project, he creates work that blends dance, poetry, and storytelling. His choreography has been presented at festivals across the United States. He has also served as a guest choreographer and lecturer at institutions such as Barry University and Lehman College. His work centers community, history, and cultural memory through movement.

Dominique M. Fontenot

Dominique M. Fontenot is an educator, choreographer, and artistic director whose work centers cultural legacy and community empowerment. She holds a BFA from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and an MA in Dance Education from NYU in partnership with American Ballet Theatre. Dominique is an ABT® Certified Teacher and currently serves as a Performing Arts Teacher at Unity Preparatory High School. She is the Founder and Artistic Director of The R.E.A.C.H. Collective, a nonprofit supporting Black and Brown artists through performance and education. Her work has been presented at venues including El Museo del Barrio and the Jamaica Performing Arts Center. She has spent over a decade building impactful youth arts programs. Her practice emphasizes dance as a living archive and tool for transformation.

Ilana “ILLY” Warner

Ilana “ILLY” Warner is a dance artist, educator, and cultural ambassador rooted in African Diasporic movement traditions. Trained in West African, Afro-street, Caribbean, and liturgical dance, she is the founder of ILLY’s Dance CLASH. She is a longtime instructor at Fit4Dance and a member of Lavish Luxe Ladies, bringing Caribbean culture into community spaces. Her performance credits include work with leading soca artists such as Machel Montano and Nadia Batson, as well as appearances in major productions and media. As an educator, she integrates Carnival traditions and cultural history into her teaching. A Bronx native of Kittitian heritage, she fosters connections across diasporic communities. Her work celebrates joy, identity, and cultural exchange through movement.

Hazel M. Avila

Hazel M. Avila is a dance artist, educator, and student at Lehman College studying Multimedia Performing Arts with a concentration in dance. She began her formal training in 2021 and has quickly developed into a multifaceted performer and leader. Hazel is a certified barre instructor who teaches Pilates and barre, blending fitness and dance accessibility. She performs with the Herbert H. Dance Company and serves as founder and president of the Lehman Dance Ensemble. Her research explores dance as an embodied form of physical fitness and somatic practice. Through her work, she bridges movement, wellness, and artistic expression. Hazel is committed to expanding how dance is understood as both discipline and holistic practice.

Maxine Montilus

Maxine Montilus is a Haitian-American choreographer, educator, and founder of MV Dance Project. Her work blends contemporary and Haitian folkloric dance to explore cultural identity and spirituality. She has presented work at venues including La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club and Ailey Citigroup Theater. A former artist-in-residence with Haiti Cultural Exchange, her choreography centers Haitian history and Vodou traditions. Through MV Dance Project, she creates performance and education opportunities rooted in service and cultural storytelling. Her recent works have been featured in festivals across New York City. Maxine’s work uplifts Haitian heritage and diasporic connections through movement.

Serraya Milland

Serraya Milland is a dance artist and movement therapist-in-training whose work bridges dance and trauma-informed care. She earned her BFA in Dance from the University of the Arts and holds an MS in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Thomas Jefferson University. Her work integrates somatic practice, psychological frameworks, and culturally responsive approaches. She has conducted international research in Uganda, studying cultural embodiment and movement traditions. Serraya currently works as a therapist in community-based settings. Her research explores how dance culture shapes identity and emotional well-being. She is dedicated to advancing healing-centered approaches to movement.

Quilan “Cue” Arnold

Quilan “Cue” Arnold is a choreographer, filmmaker, and cultural architect blending Hip-Hop, House, and Krump with cinematic storytelling. He has performed with The Metropolitan Opera, Camille A. Brown & Dancers, and Rennie Harris Puremovement. His choreographic work has been commissioned by universities and international festivals. He is the creator of the Lowelyfe Kinematic Universe, a multimedia storytelling platform rooted in dance. His film work has received international recognition, including awards at Dance Camera West. Arnold’s practice centers transformation, identity, and diasporic storytelling. He continues to expand his work through film, performance, and community engagement.

Persephone Dacosta

Persephone DaCosta is a multidisciplinary artist, educator, and cultural leader of Trinidadian descent who uses dance as a vehicle for community empowerment and change. She trained under renowned Ivorian master Vado Diomande and became a principal dancer with Kotchegna, later performing with Bambara Dance and Drum Company and Mikerline’s Haitian Folklore Dance Company. She is the Founder and Artistic Director of Batingua Dance & Drums Productions LLC, where her work centers on traditional West African and Afro-Caribbean dance forms. Through her organization, she provides free and low-cost arts education to youth, creating safe and expressive spaces for growth. Her choreography has been featured in major events including the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, performances at Madison Square Garden, and the West Indian Labor Day Parade. A recipient of multiple grants and the 2022 FLAG Award for Teaching Excellence in Dance, she has also trained internationally in Côte d’Ivoire, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa. Dedicated to both preservation and innovation, Ms. DaCosta continues to uplift cultural traditions while inspiring future generations through the arts.

Katherine Jiménez

Katherine Jiménez is a New York City–based educator, performer, choreographer, and community advocate known for blending Afro-Latin roots with classical and contemporary dance styles. She began her training at The Ailey School and later graduated from the Professional Performing Arts High School and NYU’s Steinhardt School in Dance Education. With over two decades of experience, she has studied under leading NY Style Mambo masters and across diverse techniques, developing a voice that honors culture while embracing innovation. A pioneer in her field, she became the first NY Style Mambo Instructor at the Ailey Institution and currently teaches at NYU, focusing on Afro-Latin and Afro-Caribbean dance, history, and culture. Her performance career includes international stages and renowned venues such as City Center, Radio City Music Hall, and Lincoln Center, alongside artists such as Johnny Pacheco, Willie Colón, and Andy Montañez. She is the founder of KJon2.com, a virtual platform offering live and on-demand dance training worldwide. Committed to accessibility and cultural advocacy, Katherine uses dance to promote wellness, empowerment, and community connection.

Makayla Monét Peterson

Makayla Monét Peterson is a Brooklyn-based dancer, choreographer, scholar, and cultural worker. A graduate of Temple University, she is the Founder of Monét Movement Productions: The Collective, where artistry meets activism. Her work explores ancestral memory, diasporic identity, and embodied resistance rooted in her Trinidadian heritage. She has received support from organizations such as Gibney Dance, New Dance Alliance, and the COCO Dance Festival. Her choreography has been presented nationally, and her research has been featured at major conferences including CADD and the Caribbean Studies Association. Makayla also leads arts programming in NYC public schools, centering empowerment and storytelling. She continues to build platforms that amplify culture, movement, and community.

Imani Massicot

Imani Massicot is a dance educator and cultural arts practitioner working in NYC public schools and African diasporic performance spaces. She studied Dance and Anthropology at CUNY Hunter College and is currently pursuing graduate studies at NYU. Her work centers dance as a tool for identity development and culturally responsive education. She draws from her upbringing in Southeast Queens and her family’s legacy of activism and education. Her teaching integrates African diasporic traditions with student-centered pedagogy. Imani is committed to creating affirming spaces for Black and Brown youth. Her work bridges movement, history, and community empowerment.

Shawn Short

Shawn Short is a multifaceted arts leader who masterfully balances roles as an administrator, creative director, educator, and consultant with over 20 years of experience transforming dance organizations and mentoring emerging artists. His distinctive expertise spans building the nationally-recognized Dissonance Dance Theatre as its Founding Artistic Director, teaching in prestigious institutions like Catholic University of America, producing award-winning creative work across multiple media platforms, and providing strategic consulting that has helped numerous arts organizations achieve sustainable growth and impact.

Chanon Judson

Chanon Judson is an investigative innovator who uses performance to unmask history, foster healing, and explore liberation. Through a multidisciplinary approach, she blends dance-theatre, performance, visual design, and communal art practices rooted in play, reflection, and jazz as an organizing aesthetic. She is an Associate Professor at the University at Buffalo, where she teaches Rooted Jazz, Embodied Research, and Collaborative Art-Making. Chanon previously served as Co-Artistic Director and ensemble member with Urban Bush Women. Her choreographic credits include the Bessie-nominated Haint Blu, The Priestess of Twerk, The Hang, and Cannabis! A Viper Vaudeville. As a performer and collaborator, she has contributed to works such as Dancing with Glass, Snake Hips in Our DNA, A 24-Decade History of Popular Music, and the Tony Award–winning musical Fela!. Her work centers creative inquiry, cultural engagement, and collective transformation through the arts.

Susan Pope, Ed.D

Susan Pope, Ed.D. is a dance educator with over 30 years of experience in K–12 and higher education. She has taught in the Newark Board of Education and the New York City Department of Education, where she also directed the SUMA/Children’s Aid Society Dance Company. She is currently the Coordinator of the Dance Education BA program at Montclair State University and a member of the Transformative Education Network (TEN) University Mentor Team. Susan has performed with the Rod Rodgers Dance Company and the Hudson City Repertory Dance Company. She earned her doctorate in Dance Education from Teachers College, Columbia University, and her research focuses on embodied pedagogy, arts-based research, and multimodal representation. Her international teaching experience includes work in Accra, Ghana, and Panama City, Panama. She is also a certified trauma-informed yoga and meditation instructor and curator of NJPAC’s Elder Stories intergenerational performance project.

Shaahida Samuel

Shaahida Samuel is a dance educator at Achievement First Brooklyn High School, where she teaches grades 9–12 and cultivates culturally responsive dance education. She is a member of the CarNYval Dancers and an alumna of New York University, where she earned her Master’s degree in Dance Education with K–12 certification. She is currently pursuing a PhD in Dance at Temple University, focusing on traditional Grenadian dance styles. In 2021, she founded Soul Fusion Dance Company to create a rigorous and exploratory space for African Diaspora dance practices within the public charter school sector. Shaahida also serves as Assistant Director of NYU’s annual Sankofa Black History Month event. Additionally, she curates the annual Enrichment and Dance showcases at Achievement First Brooklyn High School. Her work centers cultural preservation, education, and expanding access to diasporic dance traditions.

Joe Longomo

Joe Longomo is a hip-hop dancer, educator, and creative whose work blends groove, emotional depth, and cultural authenticity. Known for his powerful presence, he builds connections between movement, meaning, and personal expression. He is the co-founder of ITEP – Ici Tout Est Possible, a training program designed to help dancers develop their foundations, musicality, mindset, and human connection. Joe is also the creator of Behind The Character, a project that explores the emotional layers of choreography through guided exercises and film. In 2024, he launched Groove with Joe Longomo, an initiative focused on reconnecting dancers to the essence of hip-hop through rhythm and flow. His approach emphasizes feeling before performance, encouraging dancers to embody music authentically. Through his work, he continues to inspire artists to deepen both their craft and their voice.