Our BLOOM Team
Courtney Paige (Founder)
began her formal dance training at the NORD/NOBA Center for Dance and New Orleans Center for Creative Arts (NOCCA). Courtney earned her BFA, with honors, from The Ailey School/Fordham University. She has toured with Ailey II and later, EVIDENCE Dance Company (Dir. Ron K. Brown), and is now a performing artist with Camille A. Brown & Dancers. In addition to her performing endeavors, Courtney is Associate Choreographer for the Broadway bound production of 1776. She has worked and performed closely with Tank & the Bangas, Jemel McWilliams, Jeffrey Page, Ray Mercer, Darrell Moultrie, and The DynamitExperience. Other credits include 2022 Grammy Awards and 2023 Jazz & Heritage Festival with Jon Batiste, Porgy & Bess (Metropolitan Opera), 2021 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade (NBC), Broadway Bares: Takeoff (Chor. Laya Barak), POWERPLAY (The Shed), 2016 VMA's: Beyoncé (MTV), and release industrials for The Wheel of Time (Amazon Prime) and Samsung S8 Release (Chor. Rich & Tone Talauega). Courtney is a student at PRATT University, where she is earning her Master’s Degree in Dance Movement Therapy. She is the 2019 recipient of the Artie Award, presented by Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, INC of which she is a proud member. She is a Certified Mental Health First Aid Responder, and Vinyasa Yoga Teacher in training (with a concentration on Black Wellness). Because of her expertise, she has taught at many studios and institutions, both nationally and abroad. She regularly holds workshops in various community centers, parks, and after school dance programs. She gives thanks to God, her family, and chosen tribe for the unwavering support!
A group of women committed to the affirmation and empowerment of young BLOOMers through PLAY, LEGACY, and TRADITION!
Janáy Jacobs
Janáy Jacobs is a black yogi, lifestyle and wellness blogger who audaciously intersects self care, lifestyle, and holistic wellness in her work. In 2013, she received her Bachelor's of Arts degree in Psychology from Saint Mary's College of Maryland. A Baltimore native, Janáy received her 200-hour Yoga Teacher certification in New York City and has returned home to launch her business centered around yoga, self-care, mental health, and psychology. She uses her daydreams and confidence to inspire others to authentically, balanced, and fearless. Janáy is passionate about bringing mindfulness, yoga practices, and well rounded mentorship programs into schools, workplaces, and homes. She has witnessed the benefits of teaching yoga and meditation to middle and high school aged girls throughout her 3 years of work with Girls Incorporated of NYC and community work, nationally and internationally.
Michele Lee
Michele is a new york based dancer, teacher, and all around performance artist. She began her career as a young dancer in a small town in pennsylvania. Her love for dance flourished and she continued her studies at The Hartt School where she studied under alumni from Abt, Limon, and Martha Graham dance companies. As she explored New York, Michele took opportunities to work in all types of creative spaces from concert dance with Dance Theater of Harlem, to musical theater at The Kennedy Center, to touring with artists like Solange Knowles, to T.V and film. Michele is more than a performance artist, she is a teacher that’s working towards new ways to combine her talent of performing and teaching as a way to create change for her community and future generations.
Terri Wright
Terri Ayanna Wright hails from Baton Rouge, Louisiana by way of Houston, Texas, and has called NYC her home since 2011. She is an honors graduate of the Ailey/Fordham BFA Program, with a major in dance and minor in computer science. Ms. Wright has toured internationally with Ailey II, and has since been granted opportunities to produce performances, choreograph, and teach all over the world. Ms. Wright continues to perform as a freelance artist, currently in The Met Opera's Porgy & Bess, choreographed by Camille A. Brown. She is a recent honors MFA graduate of Parsons in Design & Technology, with a focus on 3-D motion graphics, motion design, and motion-capture. This has allowed her to expand her storytelling capabilities through the marriage of dance, digital video, and visual effects. She founded her production company, HeartFelt Wright Productions, on the grounds of helping others to produce video-based and live performances, from ideation to post-production. Ms. Wright is also a dancer, production assistant, and co-editor for HopeBoykinDance. You can catch Terri teaching beginner modern dance (Horton-based) every Sunday and Wednesday virtually at Ailey Extension Online!
Alexis R. King
Originally from Chicago, Illinois, Alexis is a 2014 graduate of the Ailey School and Fordham University. She began her dance training at the Chicago Multi-Cultural Dance Center, under the direction of Homer Hans Bryant. She has received additional training from summer intensives including Hubbard Street, Joffrey Ballet School, Dallas Black Dance Theatre, Deeply Rooted Dance Theater, and Dance Theatre of Harlem. She is a former company member with Dallas Black Dance Theatre II, and the Hiplet Ballerinas. In addition to performing, she teaches creative movement, ballet, pointe, conditioning, and private lessons to students of all ages.
Millenique Brown
Millenique Marie Brown is a New Orleans native. In 2006, Brown began training under Kris Cangelosi at the Cangelosi Dance Project School where she trained in ballet, jazz, contemporary, and modern dance techniques and worked with artist such as Susan Quinn Williams, Terrance Henderson, and Nan Giordano. Upon completely high school, she was invited to perform with the CDP adult company and performed with the company for eight years. In May of 2016, Brown graduated 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. After graduating, Brown moved back to New Orleans, LA where she had to the privilege to work with various companies such as the KM Dance Project, Artivism, The Radical Buffoons, and the Lula Elzy Dance Theatre. Brown believes that the arts and movement, if used properly, can bridge the gap between reality and the changes we need to see. So in addition to performing, Brown loves to connect her love of movement with her love for community by teaching younger generations. She has worked with studios and community programs such as Studio G Dance and Gymnastics Co and The Cocoon YEP. Currently, Brown is in her first year as an apprentice with the Zion Dance Project.