As a dancer, choreographer, and educator from Jamaica, Queens, my creative practice explores the intersections of Black social dance, motherhood, photography and storytelling. I use movement as a living archive — a way to document emotion, memory, and cultural identity through the body.
My movement style is rooted in whacking, house, hip hop, and Krump, my work embodies the spirit of resistance and joy that defines Black club culture while seeking to connect those histories to present-day experiences of family, community, and self-determination.
Through my company NuTribe Dance Company (NTDC), I create ritual-based performances that blend dance, spoken word, and live music. NTDC is composed of 5 core dancers. When funds allow I’m able to invite artists outside of the company to work with us. During rehearsal my process begins with community dialogue between dancers, we have a touch base. Our rehearsals often center storytelling and cultural reflection — dancers engage in conversations about history, pain, and liberation as part of the process. This allows the work to emerge not only as performance but as a collective act of remembrance and healing.
My artistic goal is to build spaces where movement becomes both testimony and legacy. With the support of this grant, I will develop “Movement Mamas – Letters to our Children” — a multidisciplinary project inviting artist mothers to record a poem and create a short dance as a visual letter to their children. The venue will also have a photo documentary series showcasing pictures of families and short interviews to accompany them. Each piece will honor the dual labor of art-making and motherhood, transforming personal narratives into collective expressions of love, endurance, and creativity.
Ultimately, my practice is about bridging the ancestral and the contemporary — affirming that every step, gesture, and story we share contributes to a larger archive of Black womanhood, motherhood, and artistry.
CoCoMotion will present a mixed-media performance featuring still photography of parents with their children. In addition, they will expand and revamp a solo from their work Movement Mamas.
“Thank you thank you and thank you to everyone who made this residency (Black Artist Space to Create) possible. These past two weeks have been a blessing! Not only have I been able to deepen my own personal/artistic practices, I was given the space to connect with people that I love! I was given space to reflect on love, and to prepare for what this next year (2021) will bring! Shout out to New Dance Alliance, Modern Accord Depot and Angie Pittman for the time, the space, and opportunity! I am forever grateful! It felt like a good meal, with dessert!”
– Johnnie Cruise Mercer
New Dance Alliance
182 Duane Street
New York, NY 10013
All venues are wheelchair accessible.
