Mentorship Program

As part of DFD’s mission to cultivate the next generation of artists, the Davalois Fearon Dance Mentorship Program—previously named The Commission Initiative—was designed to support early-career artists in developing the community, resources, and skills necessary to navigate the field of dance. Selected artists received direct mentorship from Dava, along with free access to DFD performances, workshops, and classes. Each mentee had the opportunity to develop a project and share their work either through the Davalois Fearon Dance Virtual Theatre or as part of the company’s in-person performance season. The program offered a forum for sharing and premiering new work while providing commissioned artists with a stipend, individualized mentorship, and administrative and production support.

While the Davalois Fearon Dance Mentorship Program is not currently active, DFD welcomes inquiries and encourages interested artists to contact [email protected] to connect and learn more about future opportunities.

2023-2024 Commissions

Jalisa Wallerson is a 22-year-old technically trained NYC-based dancer andchoreographer. Born in Brooklyn, New York, she started training with Victory Music
and Dance Company INC at eleven years old. She then went on to attend
Brooklyn High School of the Arts. During her summers, Jalisa Wallerson attended Earl
Mosley’s Institute of the Arts, where she got the chance to work with Clifton Brown,
Alexander Diaz, Antonio Brown, Ruddy Frias, and Earl Mosley. She debuted in a
commercial for the Nike x NYC Parks collection launch in 2019. Jalisa is currently
at Hunter College pursuing her bachelor's degree in dance with a psychology minor so
that she can continue to perform and teach professionally.
As DAVA’s understudy, I am honored to work with such an educated and talented role
model. I feel truly blessed to work closely with Dava, representation is important and
being a young black woman in the dance community, I find it refreshing to stand
alongside her.

Julieta Rodriguez-Cruz is a dancer and emerging choreographer from the Bronx. She participated in the 2020 Dance your Bronx UP! choreography program with BAAD! under the mentorship of Alethea Pace. Julieta is also a recent graduate of Hunter College(‘22), where she received her BA in dance. As a student, she performed in works by Kyle Abraham and Christian Von Howard. While at Hunter, she also gained a deep interest in lightning design and lit for several of her peers' works. After graduation, Julieta worked as the assistant lighting designer, stage manager, and dancer for the Davalois Fearon Dance company. Dava has been my teacher since I was 14 years old, and working with her is always exciting. I’m grateful for her mentorship and for all the opportunities she and her company has given me to grow in my craft.

2022-2023 Commissions

Tess Montoys(Dancer and Education Director) was raised in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where she began her training at the National Dance Institute of New Mexico. She graduated from Point Park University with a Bachelor of Arts in dance. Since moving to New York, Montoya has worked with Megan Kendzior, Daniel Gwirtzman, Daniel Roberts, and Alexandria Giroux. She has taken part in multiple workshops and performances through the Merce Cunningham Trust Fellowship Program. Tess is currently General Manager with Davalois Fearon Dance. She joined Stephen Petronio Company in 2015 and is Director of the Company’s Education Program.

Careitha Davis a Brooklyn native with roots in Trinidad and Tobago, is a professional dancer, choreographer and educator. From an early age Careitha started training as a dancer in Modern, Jazz, Ballet and African while traveling as a young performer with Creative Outlet Dance Theater of Brooklyn. Careitha attended SUNY Purchase College and earned an MA in Dance Education K-12 Track from New York University where she practiced methods in instructing non-dancers and young learners as a practice for community building and creating art. She has performed the works of George Faison, Dianne McIntyre, Ronald K. Brown, Mouminatou Camara, Joya Powell/Movement of the People Jemal Gaines and more. Careitha began teaching Soca at Cumbe: Center for African and Diaspora Dance in 2018 and established BodyRa Movement in 2020.

Her teaching and choreographic philosophy for BodyRa Movement is for dancers to reach a level of freedom in their movement, building community through the rituals and traditions in Caribbean culture along with contemporary dance. BodyRa Movement have been granted the Downtown Brooklyn Rehearsal Residency Initiative and 2021 premiered ‘Trinidad Noir’, a choreographed piece highlighting folklore dance traditions of Trinidad and Tobago, at Spoke The Hub: Local Produce Mini Festival. As a choreographer, Careitha worked with Davalois Fearon Dance and Queensborough Community College/ Kofaga Dance Ensemble. In Education, Careitha serves NYU School of Culture, Education and Human Development: Dance Education Program as an adjunct professor and Wadleigh Secondary School for the Performing and Visual Arts.

2021-2022 Commissions

Photo: Steven Trumon Gray

Morgan Anderson began her dance training at Erie Dance Conservatory under the direction of Sarah Purvis. She continued her studies at the Conservatory of Dance at SUNY Purchase and completed her BFA in 2013. Morgan has danced with Davalois Fearon Dance since 2014, and has been the Rehearsal Director for the company since 2018. She has collaborated and performed with Coleman Collective and Nicholas Andre Dance, and has held rehearsal assistant along with performing titles with Magnus Works, Michael James New York, and DANCE IQUAIL!. Morgan’s passion for collaboration with visual arts and other performing artists has led to her co-founding Big Evil Collective (2013) and Skyline Seventy Seven (2014). As an independent choreographer, Morgan’s work, Full Fathom Five, was selected to perform at Regional Dance America’s National Festival in 2017. Morgan has also created work with co-choreographer Robert Lewis as “Animal”, which presented work at Numbers Dance’s “Offline” residency in 2016. Morgan worked on the faculty of the Martha Graham School Teen’s Division in New York City from 2016-2020 where she was an influential part of high school students’ performance and professional development in the contemporary art world. Morgan has taught alongside Davalois Fearon at SUNY Purchase and The Ailey School, and she helped put together a comprehensive education department of the Davalois Fearon Dance company.

2020-2021 Commissions

Loreal Quiroz is a dancer located in the Bronx. She holds her Bachelor's in Sociology and Dance. Loreal uses dance to express her sociological perspective on social inequalities in the black and brown community.

2019-2020 Commission

Photo: Hayim Heron

Mikaila Ware, at the age of five, began taking dance classes at a recreational center on the military base of Fort Stewart Georgia. Upon her parents’ military retirement, Mikaila’s family settled in Ellenwood, Georgia where she furthered her training at Price Performing Arts Center and Dekalb School of the Arts. Mikaila then went on to expand her range at intensives such as Alonzo King’s LINES Ballet, San Francisco Conservatory of Dance, and obtaining her B.F.A in Dance at Florida State University. As a NY-based movement artist, Mikaila has worked in the mediums of dance and film, through collaboration, with choreographers and directors such as Kayla Farrish (Decent Structures Arts), André Zachery (Renegade Performance Group), Johnnie Cruise Mercer (TheREDprojectNYC), and Max Rothman (Monticello Park Productions) with Dubois A’keen. Mikaila’s performances have been featured in articles such as the NY Times, Dance Magazine, Dance Enthusiast, and Danspace Project. Additionally, Mikaila worked both administratively and creatively through the completion of the Accessibility Partnerships and Programs Fellowship at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. Furthermore, Mikaila is an alumna of the Diversity in Arts Leadership program with the Arts and Business Council of New York. She is currently a company member with Urban Bush Women and Davalois Fearon Dance.