Renu Program
Love…Bittersweet (World premiere 2024)
Choreographer: Bashir Page-Sanders
Musical Score: James Blake, Ezio Bosso, Mali Music, Erik Satie, Alexandra Streliski, Tank and the Bangs, and Stevie Wonder
Artists: Roxanne Young & Christopher Page-Sanders
Ms. Ruby’s wish (World Premiere 2022)
Choreographer: Christopher Page-Sanders
Costume Design: Claudia Brownlee
Musical Score: Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah, Ella Fitzgerald, Ruby Lee Cotton and Christopher Page-Sanders
Artist: Marlayna Locklear
The coming together (world premiere 2022)
Choreographer: Bashir Muhammad
Musical Score: Frederic Rzewski
Text: Samuel Melville
Artists: Justin Daniels, Lia Lewis, Marlayna Locklear, Roxanne Young
The Artists
Justin Daniels
Atlanta native, Justin Daniels, began his artistic journey at Tri-Cities High School's Visual & Performing Arts Program in East Point, GA. He holds a B.F.A. in Contemporary Dance Performance with a minor in Psychology from The Boston Conservatory and abroad at The Central Academy of Drama in Beijing. Now a New York based dance artist, choreographer, and photographer represented by BLOC NY. Justin has worked with Grammy award winning artist Jon Batiste and recently with global sensation Serpentwithfeet on “Heart of Brick”, a groundbreaking production intertwining music, theater, and dance. Justin has also been a collaborator in choreographic incubators with Dance Lab New York and residences at Kampnagel Summer Festival, Kaatsban, and Turnpark Summer festival. Featured in DanceItalia! (Spring,2021’) and VoyageATL(Spring, 22’) Magazine. Justin is committed to exploring and expanding the collectiveness of concert, commercial, and digital dance spaces.
Lia Lewis
Lia Lewis is a native of Queens, New York. She began her early dance training in the Ailey School's Junior Division as a scholarship student and is a graduate of Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music and Art & Performing Arts. She has also spent summers training with institutions, including the French Academie of Ballet and Alonzo King LINES Ballet. Through her training, she has performed works by Martha Graham, Frederick Earl Mosley, Christian Von Howard, Cindy Salgado and others. She is also an early childhood educator, serving as a teaching artist in dance education and early child development.
Marlayna Locklear
Marlayna Locklear’s journey began in Milwaukee, WI, where she first found her love for dance at 12, stepping into the world of City Ballet Theatre. Her passion and natural talent propelled her through the Milwaukee High School of the Arts and eventually to the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, where she earned her BFA in Ballet and Jazz. Her career has taken her across the world performing with legendary companies like, Dayton Contemporary Dance Company,Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Ensemble, Deeply Rooted Dance Theatre, and The San Francisco Opera to name a few. Known for her versatility Marlayna brings the visions of world-class choreographers like Donald McKayle, Christopher Huggins, Dwight Rhoden, and Gary Abbott to life, pouring her soul into every movement. Offstage, Marlayna is deeply committed to nurturing the next generation of dancers. She served as a resident choreographer and instructor at Dayton Contemporary Dance Company, guiding young artists in their craft. As a freelance artist, she’s also in high demand as a guest lecturer at universities across the country, passing on her knowledge and insight to up-and-coming dancers. Currently, Marlayna graces the stage with Owen Cox Dance group while also teaching at Montclair State University. With a career that blends performance, education, and choreography, Marlayna Locklear is a force in the dance world—an artist whose passion, vision, and dedication leave a lasting impact on everyone she encounters.
roxanne young
Roxanne Young, a native of Denver, CO, trained at her mother's studio, Expressions of Dance and Arts Academy and at the Cleo Parker Robinson Dance School. She attended the Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Dallas, TX from 2003-2006 where she was a member of the Repertory Dance Company I. In 2006, Ms. Young was a Finalist for the National Foundation for the Advancement in the Arts in Modern Dance, now YoungArts, which is held in Miami, FL. After high school she continued her studies at the University of Utah, joining the Department of Modern Dance from 2006-2010. In 2010 she joined the Dallas Black Dance Theatre II and in 2011 Ms. Young joined the Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Ensemble as a member of the second company and was promoted to the first company after one season and continue dancing for the company for 3 seasons. After being an apprentice for a year, Ms. Young had danced with Elisa Monte Dance, under the direction of Tiffany Rea-Fisher in 2016 for one season. Taking on the path of freelancing, Roxanne had worked with variety of artists including nathan trice/RITUALS Dance Theater Music, Alpha Omega Theatrical Dance Company, Heidi Latsky Dance, Yara Travieso, Gesel Mason Performance Projects, AThomasProject, Clymove, Emotions Physical Theatre, and Nu-World Contemporary Danse Theater. In addition to performing, Ms. Young enjoys teaching creative dance, ballet, modern dance, and jazz to students from the age of 5 to adults. She had the privilege teaching in institutions such as Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Academy, Purelements, Montclair High School, Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, National Enrichment Group, Marcia Brooks/Various Works, Peridance, Brooklyn United and was a Horton Technique Assistant to Milton Myers at the Ailey School and Steps on Broadway. Roxanne is a proud owner and founder of KarmaInMotion88 L.L.C., a massage practice that came into existence since October 2021.
