We’re proud to present work by the following producing artists:
Nieya Amezquita | Dance Film
Nieya Amezquita is a professional dancer with Threads Dance Project and Rhythmically Speaking. Amezquita earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance from the University of Georgia. During her time at UGA, Amezquita practiced ballet, contemporary, different branches of African movement and debuted as a contemporary choreographer. She also had the opportunity to perform nationally and internationally with founding company CADE:NCE. Most recently, Amezquita was selected to choreograph a piece for Ballet Co.Laboratory’s Laboratory II virtual event, which premiered March 22–23, 2021.
Ricardo Beaird | Play
Ricardo Beaird is a theater practitioner and artist educator originally from Nashville, Tennessee. Their work is informed by the pursuit of healing through storytelling, the unfinished business of ghosts, connection through the internet, and Beyoncé. In addition to performing with Pangea World Theater, Park Square Theatre, Red Eye Theater and Ten Thousand Things Theater, Beaird is an advisory council member with the queer-led theater collective Lightning Rod and an artist council member for the 2021 Northern Spark arts festival.
Denzel Belin | Monologue
Denzel Belin is a Minneapolis-based writer, director, actor, producer and improviser. Belin is a longstanding cast member and writer at Brave New Workshop and a staff writer for Awf Magazine and The Nordly. He serves as the Artistic Director of Threshold Theater, whose mission is to “produce fresh LGBTQ works.”
Tiffany Cooper | Multimedia Theater
Tiffany Cooper is a professional actress, singer, dancer, voiceover artist and arts educator. She has appeared on Broadway, national and international Broadway tours, film, television, commercials, regional theaters, voiceovers, CD recordings, concerts, and cruise ships. Cooper has also appeared on NBC, the Hallmark Channel and ABC. Film credits include Emma Was Here and Shampoo. Cooper holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Speech Communications and Theater and Dance from Murray State University.
Ashley DuBose | Music (R&B)
Ashley DuBose is a Minneapolis-based singer, songwriter and actress. She was a Top 32 contestant on NBC’s “The Voice” and voted Best Female R&B Singer by City Pages in their 2015 “Best of the Twin Cities” issue. She has traveled the country performing at special occasions, local community events, corporate galas and concerts all while balancing the responsibilities of motherhood and entrepreneurship. DuBose holds a degree in Mathematics from St. Catherine University and was a first generation college graduate. She is on track to be the first person in her family to own a home and trying to show her daughter that dreams do come true with faith, perseverance and integrity.
Stephanie Henry | Music (Piano)
Stephanie Henry is a classically trained pianist and composer who has performed with classical and theatrical ensembles as well as rock bands. Henry has also composed original works for film, musical theater, orchestras, quartets, and solo piano. She studied music at St. Olaf College and received her master’s degree from Hamline University. Henry owns a piano studio, where she teaches music to people of all ages.
Tolu Kehinde | Poetry
Tolu Kehinde is a Nigerian writer who loves words and their ability to be both mirror and voice. Her work has been published in JAMA, Annals of Internal Medicine, KevinMD, and Thrive Global. Her debut anthology titled Human: Voices of Tomorrow’s Doctors was published by Dartmouth College Press in fall 2019. Kehinde earned her B.A. from Mount Holyoke College and M.D./M.B.A. from Dartmouth’s Geisel School of Medicine and Tuck School of Business.
Averie Mitchell-Brown | Dance Film
Averie Mitchell-Brown is a dancer engaged in multiple disciplines, including ballroom, West African, break dancing, jazz and contemporary, with a primary focus on hip hop and urban styles. A graduate of the University of Minnesota, she aspires to touch as many lives as possible with her love, light, and talent. Mitchell-Brown has worked with well-known artists such as Al Taw’am (“The Twins”), S.H.E. (She Who Holds Everything), Kenna Cottman of Voice of Culture Drum + Dance, Aneka McMullen of Epitome No Question, B-Boy J-Sun, Leah Nelson and more.
Mohammed Ali Ojarigi | Play
Mohammed Ali Ojarigi is a Nigerian-American actor, writer, director, producer and acting coach. He is Founder/Artistic Director of the former MOments Playhouse Theatre in Hollywood California. Ojarigi earned his bachelor’s degree in Theater Performing Arts at the University of Nevada Las Vegas, graduating with honors. Ojarigi has been seen in several television commercials, including General Hospital, Hertz, AT&T, Long John Silver’s, Sears, Verizon, Capital One, Xfinity and Nationwide Insurance. He has won multiple awards for his own theatrical works. Learn more about Ojarigi at www.ojarigi.art.
Tearra Oso | Dance/Music (Bomba)
Tearra Oso is a singer, drummer, dancer, healer, and storyteller of many forms. Since childhood, she has learned and performed traditional Afro Puerto Rican music called Bomba, which gave her an understanding of her Afro Latinx identity and the resilience of her incredible ancestors. As a musician, Oso has performed nationally and internationally, and released two EPs (Art Projects, Vol. 1 and 2). As an actor, she has worked on projects with Halle Berry (Extant) and Zoe Saldana (Live by Night). As a health and wellness facilitator, she has worked with youth, teachers, social workers, law enforcement, and community members to teach the biology of stress and the power of breath to regulate the nervous system. In her newest project, Griot Del Rio, Oso has combined her ancestral genre of music with the R&B, funk, hip-hop and pop music she grew up with to present a body of work intended to be an act of self-preservation for listeners, in English and Spanish.
Deneane Richburg | Collection of excerpts (short film)
Deneane Richburg is the founder and Artistic Director of Brownbody. A modern dance choreographer and former competitive figure skater, Richburg is interested in pushing the boundaries of creative expression on the ice. She blends different movement, worlds, and creates work for both the ice and the stage. Richburg earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and African American Studies from Carleton College, a Master of Arts degree in Afro American Studies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and a Master of Fine Arts degree in Dance and Choreography from Temple University.
Miko S. Simmons | (Visual Jazz Collaboration and Improvisation)
Blurring the lines between art and technology, theater and cinema, and music and art, Miko Simmons is an international, award-winning multimedia artist and projection designer. Simmons has spent the past fifteen years innovating in the convergence of Film/Animation and Theatrical Production, with numerous credits.
ZEN IS: Charity Paye (Purple Queen) & Ameen Taahir | Music (Hip-Hop)
Charity Paye is a hip-hop artist and the founder of Zen Is In, a Twin Cities music collective and movement that uses purpose and music to spread light, love, and positivity to a world in chaos. Paye’s goal is to reach as many beings as possible, unite one another and uplift Black voices through good vibes and good music.