beat tree choreographers (past & present)

Battle, Venise

Venise Battle began dancing at the University of Pennsylvania, where she participated in African Rhythms Drum and Dance Troupe. She continues her study of West African forms by taking classes at the Dance Complex. Africa permeates her professional life as well. Venise teaches the Africa Central Subject at Shady Hill School.

Bryce, Heather

Heather Bryce, originally from Weston, CT, has been dancing since the age of two. She graduated from Marlboro College (Marlboro, VT) with a BA in Dance/Psychology in May of 2004 and moved to Boston soon after. Heather has training in Ballet, Afro-Caribbean, Afro-Cuban, West African, Dunham Technique, Improvisation, Choreography, and Modern dance. In the summer of 2003, Heather traveled to Habana, Cuba for an Afro-Cuban dance intensive and studied with various teachers there including members of Conjunto Folklorico Nacional de Cuba and artists such as Julian Villa. Additionally, Heather has performed and choreographed in many school and community performances, and taught creative movement to children with and without disabilities. In addition to dancing with Beat Tree, Heather dances with Kelley Donovan and Dancers, and has her own company, Bryce Dance.

Coomber, Baindu

Baindu Coomber enjoys using the world as her dance floor and is forever grateful to Beat Tree for sharing their world with her. Over the years she has taught in the Boston Public School System, choreographed and collaborated with performance artists, and performed with various dance companies and programs such as NESA, Bryce Dance and Infinity Dance. Besides African-based dances, her training includes Modern, Calypso and Hip Hop; she's also experienced in Salsa, Bacchata and East Coast Swing/Lindy Hop. Baindu currently teaches Hip Hop and Afro-Fusion at Boston Collegiate Charter School.

Harkless, Marianne

Marianne Harkless danced with the Art of Black Dance & Music, Ballet Theatre of Boston, Danny Sloan Dance Company, Dance Collective, Brasiliero, Inc., Grupo Bandança Afro-Brazilian Dancers & Drummers, Under the Sun Dance & Drum, the Spirit of Africa, Impulse Dance Company and others. She has taught dance at Radcliffe College, Boston University, Dean College School of Dance, Wellesley College, and at public schools, private schools and dance studios in the greater Boston area. She has guest taught and performed in Vermont, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Maine, New York, Oregon and in France, Switzerland and Jamaica.
Marianne was a 1996 recipient of the Dance Belt Award and is a former member of the Board of Trustees of the Boston Dance Alliance. She currently teaches at Wellesley College, the Cambridge School of Weston, Shady Hill School, Ballet Arts Centre of Winchester, Spontaneous Celebrations, and the Dance Complex and choreographs and performs with Beat Tree Dance Company in Cambridge.

Kabwe, Alice Tenjiwe

Alice is also a member of Rainbow Tribe, a Boston based dance company. Alice has a passion for community service and youth outreach and has been dancing since elementary school. In college, she was a member of Tru Sole, Boston University's Step Squad where she served as the squad's coach for three semesters. Alice seeks to use step and movement as a means of self _expression and youth empowerment internationally.

Remy, Widmine

Widmine Remy is a new choreographer but has danced with various companies in the area for years. Her love of dance began at a young age in her Haitian home, where dance and music were as big a part of everyday life as eating and sleeping. Widmine recalls laughing hysterically as her uncles burst into dance in her living room, with or without music; or competing for quarters with her brother and cousins in impromptu dance contests judged by their uncles. This lighthearted attitude and love for dance is evident in her choreography, which deal with various subject matters but revolve around using dance as a source of comfort and an expression of joy.

Strong, Amy

Amy Strong is a native of Los Angeles, CA. She studied classical ballet at the Long Beach Ballet Arts Center under David Wilcox, and at Hollywood's former Ballet Dance and Art with Yuri Smaltzoff. In 2004 she walked into a Horton inspired modern class with Shirley Martin, and became hooked on dancing to African and Afro Caribbean rhythms. Amy performed with the Martin Dancers in North Hollywood until her move to Boston in 2006. The Dance Complex has been her dance home since then, where she has studied with Marianne Harkless, John Appolon, Anna Meyer, and Rozann Kraus. This is Amy's first year performing with Beat Tree Dance, and she couldn't be more excited about dancing and learning with this group of fabulous women.

Walters, Dayenne C. Byron

Dayenne Walters has danced with Frederick Hayes, Fatou N'Diaye, and Lamine Toure. She was recently a featured actor in "Lonely Ignorance / Gods, Monsters and the Other" at the Midway Studio Theatre, “...for colored girls who have considered suicide when the rainbow is enuf”, at the Strand Theater and has appeared for several years in the National Center for Afro-American Artists’ production of “Black Nativity”.

Weaver, Terra

Terra has been a member of Beat Tree Dance since December 2006. She is pleased to work with all of the Beat Tree members because of their tireless commitment to each other and to the spirit of dance. Terra studies Ballet, West African dance, Modern dance, Capoeira under Mestre Deraldo Ferreira, and yoga. She applies all of these techniques to her collaborations with Beat Tree and other Boston-based dance groups. She is grateful to inspiring teachers and innovative choreographers, such as Wendy Jehlen, Jean Appolon, Marianne Harkless, Marcus Schulkind, Anna Myer, Joh Camara, Wilmayer Marcelin, and Carey McKinley Foster. Terra is also a member of Anikai Dance Company, holds a B.A. in Anthropology from UMass Boston, and works as an environmental youth educator for the Boston Harbor Islands.

Wilson, Alissa

Alissa Wilson has studied modern and West African dance as well as choreography and improvisation in New York City, at Amherst College and in Cambridge. Last year, she received an MA in international relations with a conflict resolution concentration at the Fletcher School, after which she jumped in a car to go dance in the Ron K. Brown/Evidence summer dance residency. Last summer she participated in the Urban Bush Women Summer Institute.