CHERI STOKES

Inaugural Residency Awardee

Cheri L. Stokes, born and raised in Brooklyn, NY, received her M.F.A. in Choreography and Performance from The Florida State University. She received her B.A. in Dance Studies with a K-12 North Carolina Dance Teaching Licensure from The University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Her performance background spans the genres of West African, Afro-Contemporary, Contemporary and Hip-Hop dance forms. Her choreographic research examines the ways in which facets of social vernacular dance forms, specifically Hip-Hop and Dancehall, have influenced her contemporary practice and art making.

Additionally, Cheri’s expertise includes over ten years of dance education and over five years of arts administration. She has had the pleasure of rehearsal assisting notable choreographers such as Jawole Willa Jo Zollar and Okwui Okpokwasili (2016 MANCC Residency). Presently, Cheri is a part of the Urban Bush Women administrative family serving as the Associate Producer of Special Projects.

Since 2018, Cheri’s artistic project entitled, “The Living Room Series”, has served as intimate works in progress salons for New York City based performance artists, which she co-curates with her artistic collaborator Love Muwwakkil. She has been a guest teaching artist at The Florida State University, Austin Peay State University, and currently at Elon University (Spring 2021). An excerpt of her latest work, “Da Block” will be featured in the MODarts Collective Thread Festival in March (2021).