Artist Bios

Johnnie Cruise Mercer Choreographer
Johnnie Mercer Jr, a 2022 Dance Magazine Harkness Promise Award Recipient, and a 2021 Princess Grace Award Recipient (Choreography), is a queer-black think-maker; a choreographer, an educator, and producer based in Brooklyn, New York. A native of Richmond, VA, Johnnie holds a BFA in Dance and Choreography from Virginia Commonwealth University.
 
“My work focuses on movement’s ability to take action communally through the acknowledgement and active use of history, memory, spirit, and space. My making practices are interdisciplinary in nature, working with the choreographic process as a “tool” to amplify and offer structured ways to find freedom, and hidden subconscious truths. I believe in working with movement, from music, and into archival study to release into the present. My work is not only for the sake of presentation. To me, making is about embracing reality, listening, and preparing for a communal, meta-physical, revolution.”
 
Johnnie’s choreographic work has been seen and/or shared by 92Y Harkness Dance Center, The Dixon Place, Danspace Project Inc, The Fusebox Festival, BAAD!, Abrons Arts Center, La Mama Experimental Theater, Tariq ‘Meally’s BlackLight Summit, and at The American Dance Festival. Johnnie has had the honor of being a 2019-2021 Artist in Residence at Brooklyn Arts Exchange, a 2020-2021 Ping Chong and Company Creative Fellow, a 2020-2021 AIR through New Dance Alliance’s Black Artists Space to Create Residency, and a 2022 Artist in Residence at Center for Performance Research. Johnnie is currently a NYSCA supported 2024-2026 AIR at Movement Research, a 2024-2026 Pioneers Go East Fellow, and was recently a 2025-2026 CUNY Dance Initiative AIR at Queensborough Community College.

As an educator, Johnnie specializes in K-12 and pre-collegiate development focusing on performance’s use towards building collaborative work and communities. Johnnie has facilitated/taught within the New York Public School system through The Leadership Program, Movement Research’s Dance Maker’s Program, and through Ping Chong and Company’s Secret Histories Educational Program. Mercer has also been on teaching faculty/a guest educator at The American Dance Festival, Bates Dance Festival, PRATT Institute, NYU Tisch, Gibney, University of Massachusetts Amherst, DeSales University, Muhlenberg College, The University of Texas at Austin, Goucher College, Sarah Lawrence College, The University of Maryland, Dancewave, Harlem School of the Arts, and The Dance Institute of Washington. 

Johnnie is a curriculum writer; being the Co-Creator/Curriculum Writer for both Martha Graham’s Our Own American Document Curriculum, and Queen’s College’s Kupheburg Center for the Arts Jazz and Justice Curriculum. He is currently a professor at NYU Tisch (within their High School Dance Program), and a full time Performing Arts curriculum writer/instructor at Brooklyn Prospect High School.

Johnnie is the founding producer, and director of TheREDprojectNYC (TRPNYC), a company dedicated to philosophy, and its use towards building communal spaces for black/other process, documentation, and investigation. In the past ten years Johnnie has led, and curated numerous community events; including TRPNYC’s Communion (a salon/mixer providing space for black artists to share, and make in community), Revival (an annual youth-centered concert in partnership with various educational institutions), and Baptism (a process orientated ritual/residency period curated specifically for black/brown artists). He is also the founding curator/event director of RVA Homecoming, an annual weekend of educational workshops, professional performances, and community gatherings for Richmond, VA native/based makers.

Learn more about upcoming projects Johnnie’s cooking up with his production company TRPNYC: www.theredprojectnyc.org or at IG@redprojectnyc or him personally on IG@johnniecruisemercer

Paris Jones, Movement Artist
Paris Jones began her dance training with the City Dance Theatre of Richmond, VA, the School of Richmond Ballet, and the Appomattox Regional Governor’s School for the Arts and Technology. She graduated from Howard University with a BFA in Dance and completed The Ailey School’s Independent Study program. Paris also holds a Masters in Exercise Physiology from Teacher’s College, Columbia University. Paris has worked with choreographers such as Ronald K. Brown, Dianne McIntyre, Sheryl Thomas, Francesca Harper, Bill T Jones, Jason Herbert, and more. In addition to working with TheREDprojectNYC, Paris has been a company member with Forces of Nature Dance Theatre for 9 years and currently serves as rehearsal director of the contemporary unit. Paris also has 10+ years of teaching experience in various styles. She is a teaching artist at Harlem School of the Arts and The Misty Copeland Foundation’s BE BOLD program. Paris is also certified in the American Ballet Theatre National Training Curriculum.

Tj Jacobs, Movement Artist
Thomas “TJ” Jacobs is a New York City–based movement artist, educator, and choreographer originally from Northern Virginia. His foundation in dance culture began training with Culture Shock DC and Freestyle, launching a career rooted in performance, mentorship, and artistic collaboration. Jacobs is a TEDx speaker and founder of Pace Setters Dance Company. His work has taken him from concert stages to commercial platforms, collaborating with artists such as Crystal Waters, Betty Who, and Wyclef Jean, and appearing with organizations including BMW, World of Dance, and the Washington Wizards, with recent residencies through Ladies of Hip Hop, Dance Lab NYC and ADF at Duke University.

Trained in House, Hip Hop, Contemporary, Afro Dance, Capoeira, Waacking, Popping, and Locking, Jacobs has studied with many pioneers of street and club dance culture.

Paulina Meneses, Movement Artist & Process Manager
Paulina Meneses (she/they) is a Filipino-American dancer, choreographer’s assistant, and arts administrator based in New York City. She grew up in Las Vegas, NV, and graduated from SUNY Purchase with a BFA in Dance and minor in Arts Management. She has worked with esteemed artists including Donna Uchizono, Doug Varone and Dancers, Marta Renzi, Dylan Crossman, Hannah Garner’s 2nd Best Dance Company, and Kyle Abraham on his New York City Ballet premiere, “The Runaway.” Paulina has been working with Johnnie Cruise Mercer since 2022. In addition to Johnnie, they currently collaborate and dance for MeenMoves, Marie Lloyd Paspe, Peter Statha, Blaze Ferrer, and Julia Antinozzi. Paulina also works administratively for Suzzanne Ponomarenko Dance and is the Classes and Workshops Associate at Movement Research.

Demetrius Burns, Movement Artist
Demetrius, born in Anniston, AL and raised in Boston, MA, holds an MFA in dance from Hollins University and a BFA in Choreography from Boston Conservatory, where he performed works by Karole Armitage, Mark Morris, Darrell Moultrie, and others, and choreographed “Urinetown” for the musical theatre department. He trained at the Earl Mosley Institute of the Arts, Bates Dance Festival, and Sidra Bell Modules, and attended Jacob’s Pillow’s Social Dance program under Camille A. Brown and Moncell Durden, and Jacob’s Pillow’s Improvisation, Traditions and Innovation program under Jawole Willa Jo Zollar. Demetrius joined EVIDENCE as a company member in 2016 and later became the company’s Rehearsal Director. He currently performs with Johnnie Cruise Mercer/The Red Project and works as a freelance artist focused on creating and teaching.

Jaida Foreman, Vocal Artist
Jaida Leilani Foreman, also known artistically as LeilaniDaDivine, is a multidisciplinary artist, poet, performer, and storyteller whose work explores the sacred intersections of identity, grief, community, and becoming. Through poetry, visual art, music, and immersive experiences, Jaida creates deeply personal works that invite audiences to examine the stories they inherit, the selves they outgrow, and the futures they dare to imagine. You can find out more about Jaida on their website| jaidaleilaniforeman.com.

Jermey Taylor, Usher
Jermey Taylor is a wellness leader and artist. Art has always been a way to connect with himself, with others, and with something even greater than himself. His creative journey began with music, growing up playing cello and bass in orchestra before finding his voice through choir and photography. Dance eventually became another language of expression, adding movement to the ways he connects, communicates, and creates.

That love of music, visual art, and movement has continued to evolve throughout his life. Jermey danced with the University of Kentucky Dance Ensemble and now continues to dance and sing at his church, while also sharing his love of movement with others as a Salsa and Zumba instructor.

As someone deeply passionate about wellness and the arts, Jermey sees the two as naturally intertwined. Music, movement, photography, and wellness all create opportunities to be present, express what words sometimes cannot, and experience connection and joy.

Kelly Watson, Usher
Born in Baltimore, MD, Kelly got an early start to her performing career through singing, acting, and dancing in church plays and musicals and under the tutelage of Stephanie Powell and Magira Ross at The Morton Street Dance Center, inspiring a life-long love of dance. She would go on to attend Carver Center for Arts & Technology in Towson, MD, matriculating through their Dance program before transferring to Tucson High Magnet School in southern Arizona, where she would be invited to perform in the University of Arizona’s production of Dido and Aeneas before graduating.

Kelly returned to Baltimore to find stage and screen work while continuing her training and performing but would ultimately realize a childhood dream of moving to New York City, where she would immerse herself in the local theater and film industries while still making time for movement in her free time. Kelly continues her movement journey, now working with a cadre of new choreographers and teachers, while at times choreographing herself, as she seeks to spread her love of movement to the world.

Shanice Mason, Producer
Shanice Mason is a dance artist, educator, and arts administrator based in the DC-metropolitan area. She’s held faculty positions at George Mason University, VIVA School of Dance, and the Madeira School. Her choreography has been commissioned by BlackLight Summit, Dance Place, The Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center, The Governor’s School for the Arts, and The Kennedy Center in collaboration with Jamison Curcio. Mason’s dance company credits include Orange Grove Dance, TheREDProject/NYC, MKarts, among others. In addition to her creative practice, Mason is a seasoned administrator, having worked with various organizations across the sector, including the Association of Performing Arts Professionals (APAP), Callahan Consulting for the Arts, Dance/USA, LIMINAL Dance Film Festival, and Jacob’s Pillow. She holds a BFA in Dance and Choreography and a minor in General Business from Virginia Commonwealth University.

Torian Ugworji, Creative Producer & Archivist
Torian Ugworji is a dance filmmaker, performance archivist and media educator working in Philadelphia and New York City. After graduating from Virginia Commonwealth University with a B.F.A. in Kinetic Imaging, Torian has combined his passion for movement and video into his creative work. Torian has worked alongside Johnnie Cruise Mercer and theREDprojectNYC as the creative director and youth engagement director for the non-profit Think of Us. He is a Career and Technical Education Teacher at Philadelphia’s High School for Creative and Performing Arts. Torian takes pride in supporting the arts, where he enjoys local dance concerts, jazz venues, indie movie premieres, theater shows, etc. Torian has a range of skill sets, such as design, drawing, photography, arts management, and directing.

Justin Johnson, Music Producer & Underscore Composer
Justin Johnson (aka Young Denzel) is a music producer and AI engineer creating original scores for artists and TheRedProjectNYC. For over a decade, he’s shaped movement-ready soundscapes—melodic, textural, and built through close collaboration with performers. His practice blends composition with creative technology, using code and immersive environments to sculpt atmosphere and narrative. Trained as an engineer (B.Eng., VCU) with experience at Apple, MassMutual, and as a lead data scientist at Pinger, he brings care, clarity, and dependable craft to every project.

WhimZee Hanna, Technical Director & Lighting Designer
WhimZee Hanna (She.Her) is a Brooklyn based lighting and projection designer originally from Florida. Her design work has been seen all around the city including venues such as Target Margin Theatre (AMA; Winter Solstice), The Brick (Vape Kid’s Cool Zone; The Gay Divorce; Queer Butoh), University Settlement (Escape from the House of Mercy; Brought Up), La Mama (Squirts; Doll Day Afternoon), and more. She received her MFA from Sarah Lawrence College and is currently the Technical Coordinator at the Bronx Academy of Arts and Dance. Website: zeehannaLD.com

Nicolson Pierre, Vocal Artist
Nicolson is a singer-songwriter based in NYC. With influences from R&B, Pop and Jazz, he’s been singing and classically trained since the age of 15. When he’s not walking the runways at NYFW or competing in National Barbershop Competitions or playing shows with other fellow artists, he’s honing in on his artistry, writing and developing songs, that in his own words, is his “therapy”.

Alejandro Jimenez, Vocal Artist & Arranger; The Unforced Rhythms of Grace
Alejandro is a Dominican-American multidisciplinary artist and performer born in the Bronx and partly raised in the Hudson Valley. A multi-instrumentalist since age five, he grew up deeply immersed in choir, band, orchestra, and theatre throughout his school years, graduating high school with a focus in theatre arts and the honor of the Sojourner Truth Award through Orange County Community College, recognizing outstanding accomplishments in the creative arts. He went on to attend the Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam, where he sharpened his musicianship as a music education major, continued performing in stage productions, and sang with the Potsdam Pointercounts, an all-basso a cappella group known for its diverse repertoire and its work bringing a cappella music to students across New York State. 

Now based in Brooklyn, Alejandro finds himself writing, producing, and performing with a wide range of local artists, work that carries into his role as Director of Live Experience at Sweet Sye Entertainment, where he helps curate live experiences and showcases for artists across the city. Through it all, a robust classical foundation has opened into a growing love and exploration of jazz and bossa nova, as he continues to search out and shape a sound that’s entirely his own.

Pierre Rashad, Costume/Wardrobe Design; Mercies of a Butterfly
Pierre Rashad is a New York City based visual merchandiser and freelance fashion designer. Pierre is originally from a small city in South West Virginia, named Roanoke. He attended Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Va. where he received a BFA in Fashion Design.

Jean Charlot, Drummer, Mercies of a Butterfly
Jean-Lemke Charlot II (ARMDQUEST) is a Haitian American visual-performance artist from Queens, New York. Jean was invited into a world of Afro centric culture, playing West African drums, painting and teaching across the Metropolitan Area for several different community organizations for weddings, paint parties, mural projects, portfolio workshops, festivals, recitals etc. He has reached multiple platforms where he has learned, performed and led as a Performing artist under Bambara Drum and Dance Ensemble.

Jean reinvented himself under the name ARMDQUEST: Afro Renaissance Man Developing Quality Under Every Steady Thought. ARMDQUEST became Jean’s identity to build his own platform to mentor young artists.

As the diaspora continues to evolve, Jean will continue to serve his community through the arts, helping push for the evolution of artistic and cultural influence on its children here in America as the Afro Renaissance Man Developing Quality Under Every Steady Thought.

Robert McSweeney, Musician
Is a 1st generation Caribbean American born in Baltimore, MD raised in partly in Brooklyn, NY and Atlanta, GA . He has had many moments of musical expression throughout his time at the Atlanta Youth Wind Symphony, Georgia Music Educators Association All-State and Regional band conferences; and through his time at the local place of worship. He also attended Schwob School of Music at Columbus State University in Columbus Ga as an undergraduate education major. He served the US Army as a musician for 8yrs. During his time in the army band he travelled around the world and performed for hundreds of thousands of people. These performances ranged from military ceremonies to televised NFL halftime shows. He sings and plays several instruments including trombone, clarinet, and euphonium.

Rah excels as a creative consultant and has a passion for set design with certifications in residential construction. Since the pandemic he’s chosen to liberate himself from the relationship that music was and to nurture new ways of existing around music making, especially ones that center the love of his blackness and its roots.

Gloria Gomez, Stage Manager
GLORIA GOMEZ is happy to be stage managing for the Good News Suite and to be working with this amazing team of individuals! Previous stage management credits include La MaMa SQUIRTS, La MaMa Puppet Slam 2024, Must Come Down (Kestrels), Had Enuf of the Blues (La MaMa), and Out FRONT! Festival 2025 presented by Pioneers Go East Collective in partnership with BAM and Judson Church. She is also an aspiring sound designer making electronic music compositions for independent projects, most recently providing music for Mayonnaise Rizadas & Gatorade: The Play (La MaMa Galleria). She is a graduate of Oberlin College with a B.A in Theater & Dance as well as an alumnus of the Trinity/La MaMa Performing Arts Program.

Najuma Abdullah & Love, Naj, Caterer
Najuma Abdullah is the founder and host of Love, Naj, a seasonal dinner club inspired by the comfort of being seen. Created as an expression of generosity, connection, and joy, Love, Naj began as a personal journey and has grown into a recurring space for meaningful encounters and memorable evenings.

The name, reminiscent of the closing of a letter, carries the warmth of a personal sign-off: an invitation to be present, celebrate one another, and turn dinner into a shared memory.

Each gathering invites guests to slow down, engage with one another, and discover familiarity across the table. Through intimate, referral-only dinners, she creates experiences shaped by tradition, immigration, and community – reminding us that what nourishes us is not only what is served, but what is shared.

Ormando Watson, Photographer
Ormando Watson is a Brooklyn-based photographer and artist. After graduating from Syracuse University, he worked as an archaeologist, focusing on understanding the interactions and connections between different cultural and ethnic groups. Today, as an educator, he brings that same curiosity and diversity of thought into the history classes that he teaches.

Born to Jamaican parents, Ormando uses photography to explore culture, identity, and the stories that often go untold. His ongoing project, Expressions: Conversations with a Camera, focuses on portraits as a way of exploring the connection between thought, expression, and the authentic self. Through his work, Ormando invites viewers to look beyond the photograph and consider the stories, experiences, and identities that shape each individual.