Kesha McKey (she/her), Artistic Director of KMDP, is an African American female performing artist, choreographer and educator born and raised in New Orleans. After graduating from NOCCA she received her BS in Biology pre-med from Xavier University of LA and an MFA in Dance Performance from UW-Milwaukee. She is the founding Artistic Director KM Dance Project which she created to serve as a vehicle to establish her own choreographic voice. KMDP has now evolved into an essential platform providing opportunities for emerging Black choreographers in N.O. to realize artistic expressions that intersect art and social justice. KMDP gives agency to the voices of Black dancers and choreographers in New Orleans creating art that illuminates racial injustices, inequity, and celebrates the history, culture, and the untold stories of African American people.

Kesha’s work with KMDP includes self-produced concerts such as Journeys, Moving Through, Vessels, Taken and Distorted Images for which she received several Big Easy Classical Arts Awards and nominations. Her most recent work, Raw Fruit, has received a 2021 National Performance Network Creation Fund Award and a 2019 New England Foundation for the Arts National Dance Project Production Grant – being the first dance company in the state of Louisiana to receive this award. Raw Fruit will premiere at the Contemporary Arts Center, N.O. in December 2022 and will begin a national tour thereafter starting at BAAD! in the Bronx, N.Y. Kesha has also had the honor of presenting choreographic works for the 2019 National Performance Network Conference, 2018 Urban Bush Women Summer leadership Institute, 2018 Women in Dance Conference at New York University, the Packard Foundation 2018 Summit, Junebug Production’s Power of the Black Feminine, Alternate Roots’ 2016 Roots Week, the Peridance Capezio Center 2016 APAP Showcase, the Big Bang Educational Conference, the Courageous Conversations Summit, the Guantanamo Public Memory Project and the Dance for Social Change Festival.

Kesha is currently the Director of Arts and a Dance Instructor at the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts, a dance instructor for Team Pointe at Dancing Grounds and a UBW BOLD Facilitator. Her recent performance credits include: Urban Bush Women’s Hair and Other Stories tour, Junebug Productions Gomela:to return tour, Junebug Productions Homecoming Project and the Lula Elzy N.O. Dance Theatre. Her recent choreographic credits include: NPN Conference Showcase, UBW SLI Opening, Women in Dance Conference, Junebug Production’s Power of the Black Feminine, Alternate Roots Week, Peridance APAP Showcase. Her recent awards include: 2022 Dance/USA DFA Fellowship, 2022 UBW CCI 2.0 CCI Alum, 2021-22 NPN Creation & Development Fund, 2020 CAC N.O. SweetArts Award, 2019 NEFA NDP Production Grant, a 2018/19 CAC Southern Crossings Artist Residency, and a 2016 Dancing While Black Fellowship.

Catherine Caldwell (she/her), Associate Director of KMDP, was born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana. She is a performing artist, choreographer, dance educator and anti-racist organizer holding a Master of Arts Degree in Arts Administration from the University of New Orleans. Catherine also serves as a choreographer, rehearsal director and performer with KM Dance Project. She most recently received two 2020 Big Easy Awards in choreography and performance for her solo “IONO”. She has also been named a Lead Artist with Junebug Productions, Incorporated performing in such works as Power of the Black Feminine and Homecoming Project as well as rehearsal director and production assistant for their touring production, Gomela.

Catherine has spent over ten years in Dance Education, most recently as a member of the Dance Faculty at New Orleans Center for Creative Arts (NOCCA) teaching dance in both the Dance and Musical Theater Departments. She was selected as a Teacher Fellow with the Bates Dance Festival and has participated in the Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance Teacher Workshop, and the Ailey School Horton Teacher Workshop. In 2017, she completed a 200 hour yoga teacher training and is a certified yoga instructor through Yoga Alliance. Currently, Catherine serves as the Director of Member Services at Dance/USA. Her previous administrative roles include Managing Director for Dancing Grounds, Programs Logistics Coordinator for Urban Bush Women, Administrative Associate with Junebug Productions and Program Associate for the Kuumba Institute at Ashe Cultural Arts Center. Catherine was also the Line Producer for the 2020 “Inaugural Antonyo Awards”. While at NOCCA, Catherine held a deep investment in the campus culture and community, serving as a member of the Equity Committee and as the Arts Faculty Representative on the NOCCA Board. She currently enjoys co-facilitating the Race and Gender Equity group meetings for New Orleans’ Creative Response Network. In addition, Catherine is an anti-racist organizer and a part of PISAB’s (People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond) Anti-Racist Organizer Network.

Company Members  

Chanice Holmes, (she/her) is a New Orleans native. She is an international choreographer, dancer, educator/coach and a mom. Chanice believes movement is at the core of who we are. She makes life her workout. Chanice received her Bachelor’s of Fine Arts in Dance from Hollins University in Roanoke, Virginia and her Masters of Science in Kinesiology from Louisiana State University. Chanice has studied and performed works by various notable artists/companies such as Urban Bush Women, Ballet Hispanico, Forsythe, Complexions, T. Lang Dance Company, Solange, Peaches, Megan the Stallion, Tank and the Bangas and more. When Chanice isn’t dancing she is a Program Manager with Dance For Social Change teen company at Dancing Grounds. The teens in this program use their artistry as a tool to address social change. Check out the youth’s festival, premiering at the Andre Callioux center April 20-22, 2023. Visit dancingrounds.org to stay updated.

free feral (they/them) works with sound, song and story to explore cultural technologies of survival and memory. In addition to their work as an audio producer, they have scored dance, theater, and film projects. In 2020 they cofounded Alphabet Sound Observatory, which offers free and affordable access to quality home recording equipment, mentorship, and training opportunities to BIPOC women and gender variant folk in New Orleans. They are currently pursuing an MFA in Documentary Expression from the University of Mississippi.

Jasmin Simmons-Edmond’s (she/her)formal dance training began in New Orleans at NOCCA and studied at The State University of New York at Purchase, where she received her Bachelor’s of Fine Arts in Dance. This New Orleans native has traveled the world performing aboard the Crown Princess Cruise ship and working with local dance companies such as Donna Crump of Good Dance Since 1984, Maya Taylor Dance, BUKU Dance Krew, and KM Dance Project. During her time in New York, Jasmin has worked with Christina Noel and the Creature, The Francesca Harper Project, Darrell Thorne and Company, The Coleman Collective and Jamal Jackson Dance Company. Jasmin has toured internationally assisting Artistic Director of Ailey 2 and world renewed choreographer, Francesca Harper at ImPulsTanz in Vienna and has been an artist in residence at THREAD, a cultural hub in Tombacounda, West Africa. Most recently, Jasmin appeared as a soloist in Tank and The Bangas music video “Strange Fruit” and she choreographed 2 episodes for AMC’s critically acclaimed remake of “Interview with a Vampire”. Jasmin is thrilled to be back on stage in New Orleans with this incredible group of artists!

Millenique Marie Brown (she/her) is a New Orleans native. Brown began her dance training under Kris Cangelosi at the Cangelosi Dance Project School where she trained in ballet, jazz, contemporary, and modern dance techniques. Brown went on to attend and graduate from Southeastern Louisiana University with a degree in General Studies with a minor in Dance. Throughout her college career, Brown participated in several performances and in her final semester produced a concert. Since college, Brown has had the privilege to work with various companies such as the KM Dance Project, Artivism, The Radical Buffoons, the Lula Elzy Dance Theatre, Zion Dance Project and De La Soul Dance Co. Brown has worked with dance education programs such as The Cocoon YEP, Dancing Grounds, and the BLOOM Experience. Other programs include the Dallas Conservatory, Fearless Dance Headquarters, and Art of VIII.

Collaborators

Sunni Patterson, New Orleans Native and Visionary, is an internationally acclaimed Poet, Performer, Workshop Facilitator, Certified Spiritual Life Coach/Consultant, and an Initiated Priestess and Minister. She began her career as a full-time high school Teacher, and much of her life since has been devoted to serving as a Cultural Worker and Activist. Sunni is a 2020/2021 John O’Neal Cultural Arts Fellow. She currently serves as a Resident Artist for both the City of New Orleans’ Claiborne Corridor Cultural Initiative and Junebug Productions. She also has the honor of serving as a Community Health Worker (CHW) through Ashe Cultural Arts Center’s Community Spread program. Sunni is also co-founder, along with Scientist and Atmospheric Chemist, Cherelle Blazer, of Environmental Arts and Public Health Organization, Breath is Lyfe.

Amara Elizabeth Skinner (She/They) is a New Orleans born sound designer, production manager, and music producer. She nurtured her talents at Loyola University of New Orleans by obtaining her bachelors degree in Music Industry Studies in 2019. Since then, Amara built her own recording studio and began freelance sound design with companies such as New York Stage and Film, The Movement Theatre of Harlem, The NOLA Project, The Radical Buffoons, Jefferson Performing Arts Society, and Crescent City Stage. Amara started her role as production manager for No Dream Deferred NOLA 2021. Amara’s ultimate goal is to inspire young, Black, and queer technical artists. Recent Sound Design Credits include: CRAIGSLISTED and SCHOOL GIRLS: OR AFRICAN MEAN GIRLS- The Nola Project, PANTOMIME- Crescent City Stage, SWEET POTATO QUEENS and INTO THE WOODS JR.- Jefferson Performing Arts Society, DEMONS and SWEET CHARIOT- New York Stage and Film

John D. Alexander (Lighting Design) Recent designs include: Detroit 67 (TheatreSquared); The House of the Negro Insane (Contemporary American Theatre Festival); Crying on Television (Everyman Theatre); Daphne’s Dive (Signature Theatre); The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity (Theatre Squared); Quamino's Map (Chicago Opera Theatre); Mary’s Seacole (Mosaic Theatre Co.); B.R.O.K.E.N. Code B.I.R.D. Switching (Berkshire Theatre Group). OFF-BROADWAY: Lambs 2 Slaughter (Cherry Lane Theatre); Migration: Reflections on Jacob Lawrence (New Victory Theater). Upcoming designs include: One in Two (Mosaic Theatre Co.) Italian Girl (Tulsa Opera) and Hula Hoopin’ Queen (Imagination Stage / Childsplay Theatre Company).

Milan Daemgen is a New Orleans based filmmaker and media artist. He is a co-owner of the award-winning production company, The Greenhouse Collective, and has produced and directed award-winning short films, documentaries and commercials working with the likes of Mavis Staples, Big Freedia, Arcade Fire, Google, Rakuten, and Polaroid. His work has been shown in art galleries such as THE FRONT, OCHI, VYES, and MAY. He is currently in post-production with his ITVS documentary series exploring New Orleans criminal justice system. He has been awarded grants from the Southern Documentary Fund, Redbull Arts, NPN Southern Artists for Social Change, and Emerging Voices. He served on the board for New Orleans Public Access TV and is the founder of the New Orleans Film Collective.

Prinsey Walker, a native of New Orleans, LA, is a recent Film M.F.A. Graduate student from the University of New Orleans. Upon entering her undergraduate studies at Xavier University of Louisiana, she found a desire to tell stories through journalism. Walker, through her collegiate career, grew to love and support her community by documenting history via radio, podcast, television, and newspaper. Now, Prinsey Walker is taking her passions and introducing audiences to new stories through documentary and narrative films, as an independent filmmaker.

Aminisha Ferdinand is an educator, performing artist and child of New Orleans. For two decades, she taught children and adults how to access their inherent creativity within the confines of public school systems. In her ongoing work as an educator, she facilitates learning within and beyond school walls to develop critical, creative thinkers who value their contribution to the community. Before entering the field of arts education, she performed in theater and film in New York, Los Angeles and New Orleans. In New Orleans, she has performed with Goat in the Road, Tulane Shakespeare and KM Dance Project. In this current leg of life’s journey, Aminisha is working to excavate her artist identity from beneath layers of schooling.

Cheri L. Stokes (Bed-Stuy Brooklyn, NY) received her M.F.A. in Choreography and Performance from The Florida State University (2017) and a B.A. in Dance Studies from The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (2005). Her choreographic research examines the ways in which facets of social vernacular dance forms, specifically Hip-Hop and Dancehall, have influenced her contemporary practice and art-making. An excerpt of her latest work, "Da Block" was featured in the MODarts Collective Thread Festival in March (2021), STooPs Bed-Stuy Arts Crawl in July (2021) and Summerstage at Crotona Park (2022) . In March of 2021, she received the Stephen Petronio Retreat and Restore dance residency. Additionally, Cheri’s expertise includes over ten years of dance education and over five years of arts administration. In 2022, she received a producing fellowship under the Urban Bush Women (UBW) Choreographic Center Producing Initiative. Cheri is part of the UBW family serving as the Associate Producer of Special Projects. www.cherilstokes.com