mentor bios

CATHERINE FOSTER

From Washington, DC, Catherine received her training from the DC Youth Ensemble (DCYE), Baltimore School for the Arts (BSA) and at the Alvin Ailey American Dance Center. She was a finalist and 2nd place winner in the National Arts Recognition, in Miami, Fla. and a recipient of the Astaire Award for Best Broadway Female Ensemble. She has worked with and performed the works of noted choreographers including Kevin “Iega” Jeff, Donald Bryd, Hinton Battle. The Fred Benjamin Dance Company (artistic director Fred Benja¬min),Forces of Nature (artistic director, Abdel Salaam), Darrel grand Moultrie, and Camille A. Brown and dancers ( artistic director, Camille Brown). Catherine made her Broadway debut in the original cast of the hit musical FELA! produced by Jay-Z and Will Smith in 2009 and went on to tour internationally with the production until 2011. Catherine has performed throughout North America to as far as Central and South America, Europe, and Africa. She is a certified dance/fitness instructor and teaches regularly in after school programs. She gives thanks to all of her ancestors and loved ones for her success and guidance.

MAYTE NATALIO

Mayte Natalio is from Queens, New York. She went to the LaGuardia High School for the Performing Arts and SUNY Purchase (BFA). She has performed with the Parsons Dance Company, Nathan Trice Rituals, Roger C. Jeffrey, Darrell Grand Moultrie, Kyle Abraham and Camille A. Brown. She has performed with French pop singer, Mylene Farmer as well as Kanye West. Regional musical theater credits include the Ogunquit Playhouse, Dallas Theater Center and Pregones Theater in New York. New York theater credits include City Center Encores, the original cast of immersive production Queen of the Night and Third Rail Productions, The Grand Paradise.

TIM EDWARDS

Dancer, Choreographer and Teacher Timothy Edwards, a Hawai¹i native, began his journey into dance at the age of fourteen when he stepped in his first dance class, African dance. From that day on his teacher, Desiree Kramer, would give him the tools and inspiration to pursue his new found dance dream. After receiving his B.A. in Dance at Hunter College, Timothy now works with David Dorfman Dance Company, Camille A. Brown & Dancers, Eva Dean Dance as well as other NYC companies and choreographers. He has had the honor of teaching nationally and internationally Hip Hop, Breaking and other street styles. Timothy is dedicated and is passionate about imparting the knowledge he has to the students at Soul Arts Academy and is honored to be a part of such a distinguished faculty.

JUEL D. LANE

Juel D. Lane has been noted as one of the most gifted dance talents in the country, and his awe-inspiring work today still yields this title. An Atlanta native, he received his early training from Tri-Cities High School and The Youth Ensemble of Atlanta. Lane was recently selected to participate in the 2015-2016 Alvin Ailey Dance Foundation New Directions Choreography Lab, and is a company member of Bessie Award winning Camille A. Brown & Dancers. Prior to that, he was a dancer with Ron K. Brown/EVIDENCE, Carolyn Dorfman Dance Company,Axam DTE, Andrea E. Woods Souloworks & Dancers, and Helen Simoneau Danse. Alliance Theatre Credits: C.A. Lyons Project, I DREAM (Assistant Choreographer). Regional: SPUNK (True Colors Theatre- Choreographer), Rob Jackson’s, Rebirth (The Fox Theater, Atlanta-Choreographer), STAGGER LEE, Dallas Theater Center, Associate-Choreographer) He was featured on the Cover of the May/June 2015 issue of Dance Studio Magazine, and in 2013 was named one of Dance Magazine’s “25 to Watch.” In 2012, Lane made history as the first local independent Black choreographer to have his work commissioned by the Atlanta Ballet. A graduate of the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, he is heavily involved in dance on film and has released three dance-film projects: “Just Another Day,” “How to Kill a Ghost,” and “When The Beat Drops.” www.jueldlane.com

QUILAN 'CUE' ARNOLD

Quilan “Cue” Arnold (MFA) is a dance professional in Brooklyn, New York. He dances with Camille A. Brown & Dancers (NY), Rennie Harris Puremovement (PA), and Abby Z and the New Utility (NY). Quilan's art was presented in 2019 at Hunter College and the American Dance Festival, amongst others. Quilan is producer of street dance products: The Good Foot Podcast, Get Groovy (online Hip-hop class), and Build’N Shop (documentary), which is partially funded by the 2018 Ohio State Dance Preservation Grant. Quilan serves as faculty at Hunter College, Peridance Capezio Center, and Gibney Dance Center in New York City.

MALEEK WASHINGTON

Maleek Washington is a native New Yorker from the Bronx. He began his studies at Harlem School of The Arts, Broadway Dance Center and LaGuardia High School for Performing Arts. He received a full scholarship to continue his education at The Boston Conservatory, and soon after he began dancing professionally. First he danced for CityDance Ensemble (Washington DC), where he worked with Paul Taylor, Kate Weare, and Alex Neoral. He's performed in over 10 countries worldwide and performed at notorious national locations including The White House, the John F. Kennedy Center and Jacob's Pillow. Maleek later moved back to New York City to collaborate with McArthur Genius awardee, Kyle Abraham, and his company Abraham.in.Motion (A.I.M.) for four seasons. Presently, Maleek is the first African American male performing in the immersive show Sleep No More. After signing to CESD talent agency, Maleek has performed for musical sensation Sia on Good Morning America, and for Rhianna for an immersive experience for her AntiDiary Campaign. Maleek is proud to be on faculty at the Joffrey Ballet School's Jazz and Contemporary program, and is a guest teacher at Broadway Dance Center, Gibney Dance, Peridance, New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, and CityDance Conservatory (Bethesda, MD). "Dancers are athletes of gods" - Albert Einstein

WINSTON DYNAMITE BROWN

A native of Kansas City Missouri, Winston began his dance journey at The Smith Sisters Dance Studio which lead him to the Missouri State ballet and The University of Missouri Kansas City. As a professional, Dynamite has had the pleasure working with companies such as Wylliams/Henry Contemporary Dance Co., Deeply Rooted Productions, Albany Berkshire Ballet, The Metropolitan Opera, TU Dance ,CorbinDances, Irish modern Dance Theatre, Ben Munisteri Dance projects, Taylor 2, Dance Heginbotham, Owen/Cox Dance Group, Pilobolus, Sean CurranCo., Opera Theater St. Louis, Kyle Abraham/ A.I.M, Stephanie Batten Bland Co. Dynamite has taught for Joffrey Ballet and The Ailey School. Dynamite is grateful for his journey thus far and recognizes he would not be where and who he is without the continued and generous support of Friends and Family. “ Nothing to prove only to share”.

CHLOE DAVIS

A proud St. Louis native, Chloe O. Davis received her BA from Hampton University and MTHM from Temple University. Currently, she is working with Broadway choreographer Josh Prince (Beautiful) and his Broadway Dance Lab, Cycle 4. During this lab, she has also worked with choreographers, JoAnn Hunter (School of Rock), Lorin Latarro (Waitress), Larry Keigwin (Keigwin + Company), and Al Blackstone (So You Think You Can Dance). Other credits include: Cistamúsica (Alcobaça, Portugal), Cabin In The Sky (Encores); Hello Dolly (Riverside Theatre); Philadanco!; The Addams Family (Tour); Sid The Science Kid Live (Tour). Chloé started a service program called DANCE FOR ALL: Creative Expressions For The Disabled to give people with a range of disabilities the opportunity to experience the joy of dance and artistic expression. Special thanks to her agency Lucille DiCampli Artist Representation for being amazing rock stars!

WILLIE 'TRE' SMITH

WILLIE “TRE” SMITH III is a native of Charlotte, NC and began his training at the age of ten at Weir Dancing, Inc. and numerous other intensives such as Debbie Allen Dance Academy, Philadanco, and International Ballet Clas-sique. After graduating with honors from Northwest School of the Arts he continued his education and training at The University of the Arts. Willie graduated in 2009 with a BFA in Ballet Performance. Willie was a member of Eleone Dance Theatre, Complexions Contemporary Ballet, and is currently a member of Camille A. Brown & Dancers. Willie has performed with Penn-sylvania Ballet, Ballet Noir, Waheed Works, Ballet Folkloric Di’Haiti, Collage Dance collective, and on Americas Got Talent.

BEATRICE CAPOTE

Beatrice Capote is a dancer, choreographer, and teacher. She began her dance training at Amaryllis Dance Academy in West New York, NJ. She attended Professional Performing Arts High school and studied as a scholarship student at Alvin Ailey American Dance Center. At Alvin Ailey, she was featured in the book “Attitude, eight young dancers come of age at the Ailey school” by Katherine Davis Fishman. She then graduated from the University Of North Carolina School of the Arts and at Montclair State University with a Dance Education Degree. Ms. Capote has worked and/ or continues to work with INSPIRIT, a dance company, Mavericks dance company, The Wells Performance Project, Areytos Performance Works, Kyle Abraham/ Abraham. In. Motion, Antonio Brown, Darrell Grand Moultrie, Christal Brown, Frederick Earl Mosley, Matthew Rushing, and Camille A. Brown and Dancers. She is currently faculty at Alvin Ailey American Dance Center, Adjunct Professor at Montclair State University, and Joffrey Ballet School. She joined the company in August 2014.

FRANCINE OTT

Francine Ott, a native of New Orleans, received her B.F.A in Dance from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. She has had the opportunity to work with many amazing artists and choreographers---teaching many workshops, classes, and residencies, as well as showcase her choreography. Ms. Ott has been featured in the July 2011 issue of Dance Magazine in the article, “When Words Hurt,” and the February 2011 issue of SHAPE Magazine, in “Confidence Queens.” Francine has received her Masters degree in Mental Health Counseling at Nyack College, and was the Interim Administrative Assistant at Nyack College's Manhattan Campus for the Alliance Graduate School of Counseling. She is currently a dance lecturer and director of Panoramic Dance Project at North Carolina State University. Ms. Ott also has her own company, Francine E. Ott/The Walk, where she is able to integrate the mental health field with the arts, which allows one to further their creativity through a unique therapeutic process---providing a space for growth, change, and transformation in one's life.

JAY STATEN

Jay Staten is a Washington DC native who began his training at Duke Ellington School of the Arts and has a BFA from Marymount Manhattan College. Broadway: AfterMidnight. NYC: Cabin in the Sky (Encores! New York City Center). Dance Companies: Philadanco!; Donald Byrd’s Spectrum Dance Theatre. TV: NBC’s Smash, Amici (Italian TV), PBS’s A Capital Forth. Regional Theatre: Dreamgirls, Stagger Lee (Dallas Theatre Center). Workshops and Developmental Labs; Shuffle Along with Dir. George C. Wolfe and choreography by Savion Glover, Radio City New York Spring Spectacular, Superfly The Musical with Dir./Choreographer Bill T. Jones.

MORA-AMINA PARKER

Born in St. Louis Missouri, and raised in San Francisco, California. A child athlete, she began to train as a dancer at age 15 at the San Francisco Highschool of the Arts under the tutelage of Reginald Ray Savage. Upon graduation she was a newly minted member of the Savage Jazz Dance Company in Oakland, California and went on to work with Robert Moses’ Kin, Philadanco II, Dallas Black Dance Theater, Jeanne Ruddy, Reflections Dance Company, and Philadanco. While a member of Philadanco, Ms. Parker trained and received her classical Pilates certification and has been an instructor for 10 years. She is a founding member of Camille A. Brown and Dancers and in 2014, as a member of Camille A. Brown and Dancers the company was awarded a Bessie—New York Dance and Performance Award for outstanding production for Mr. Tol E. RanCE. In addition to performing Ms. Parker was also a collaborator on this two-year project. In May of 2019, Ms. Parker received her MFA from Pratt Institute with a degree in Performance and Performance studies, she is diligently working towards becoming a PhD candidate in dance with a specific focus on Black dance aesthetics. Presently Ms. Parker has choreographed a one-woman performance work, Coryphee and is in the process of showing it throughout New York City.

WALDEAN NELSON

Waldean Nelson, originally from Brooklyn, New York, received his training from the Dance Theater of Harlem, The Ailey School, Bryn Mawr College, Jacob's Pillow, Philadanco and Springboard Danse Montreal. Waldean received his B.A. in Growth and Structure of Cities (conc. Architecture) and a minor in Dance from Haverford College in 2009.

Waldean has had the pleasure of working with Ronald K. Brown/Evidence, Jose Navas, Camille A. Brown & Dancers, The 605 Collective, Kate Wallich/The YC, & Stijn Celis.

Waldean is honoured to have been involved in the original creation of ‘Mr. Tol E. Rance’ by Camille A. Brown which won the 2014 New York Dance and Performance Award (also known as a “Bessie”) for Outstanding Production.

Waldean joined GöteborgsOperans Danskompani in 2015 under the direction of Adolphe Binder. Since joining he has created many original works and roles with choreographers such as Marina Mascarell, Alan Lucien Oyen, Saburo Teshigawara, Marcos Morau & Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui.

Outside of his work at the opera, Waldean has also had the opportunity to be featured in various commercial campaigns such as Kronaby and Decent Bangla. He also was a featured dancer in the music video ‘Lakan’ by New Kid

CLARICE YOUNG

Clarice Young is an artist, teacher, choreographer and performer who researches the intersection of African diasporic dance and contemporary modern dance. Melding elements of Afro-Caribbean, modern and West African styles, she uses fundamentals from each to uncover ways to stabilize and release the body. A Louisiana native, Young was an original member of Camille A. Brown & Dancers and served as an assistant to the director until 2012. She also performed with Ronald K. Brown’s Evidence, A Dance Company from 2007-2017, acting as the rehearsal director from 2011. Her own choreographic work has been presented on her alma maters, the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and Hollins University, where she received her BFA and MFA in Dance respectively. Her most recent work is a collaboration with artist Francine E. Ott, Outta the Box, showcased in 2017 at Dixon Place in New York. Presently, Young is creating a full-length piece celebrating women of color and is also writing about the language of the movement style of Ronald K. Brown.