Dancing Futures 2024: Meet the Artists

Dancing Futures: Meet the Artists 2024

Dancing Futures is back for a tenth annual edition! This annual collaboration between Pepatián and BAAD! Bronx Academy of Arts and Dance offers professional development opportunities to three early-career dance artists of color based in NYC and/or emerging Bronx-based dance artists.

Meet this year's talented lineup!

• Imani Gaudin
• Babou Sanneh
• Maima, The Water Spirit

Join us for a sneak peek into their innovative work, leading up to their culminating residency showings at BAAD! later this fall!

About Imani Gaudin

Imani Gaudin is a dance artist, choreographer, and the Artistic Director/Founder of Gaudanse, a 501(c)(3) non-profit, she created a collaborative space for artists to provide access and education in dance and the arts. She studied dance at New Orleans Center for Creative Arts (NOCCA) where she was awarded a Certificate of Artistry in dance and received the Rose Jackson Moye award for excellence in dance. She then graduated and received a BFA with honors from the Conservatory of Dance at Purchase College, SUNY where she studied abroad at the Amsterdam University of the Arts, Academie Voor Theater en Dans. She has trained at The Juilliard School, The Ailey School, Dance Theater of Harlem, b12, Orsolina28, GagaLab, Alonzo King Lines Ballet, Point Park University, Vim Vigor, Springboard X, and Joffrey Ballet. She has performed works by Ohad Naharin, Netta Yerushalmy, Nicole Butler, David Harvey, Carmen Rozestraten, Marcella Lewis, Amos Ben-Tal, Rena Butler, Roderick George, Loni Landon, Kayla Farrish, Micheal Rice, and Akira Yoshida. Through Gaudanse, Imani thrives to bridge the gaps of life for high school and college artists in order to aid them in a smooth transition into the artistic adult world. All the while, she is constantly exploring what it means to delve deep into how movement languages bring forth new ideas and translate to what we call dance.

About Babou Sanneh

Babou Sanneh, is a first-generation Gambian-American dance artist and model from the Bronx, New York, is currently captivating audiences as a dancer at the Metropolitan Opera and a model/commercial dancer with MSA. With performances by acclaimed choreographers like Martha Graham and appearances with Lyric Opera Chicago and Tribe, his talent shines both on stage and screen, including HBO’s "Random Acts of Flyness." Sanneh's journey, rooted in the Conservatory of Dance at Purchase College SUNY, reflects a commitment to artistic excellence and storytelling through movement.

About Maima, The Water Spirit

Maima, The Water Spirit, also known as Mai'yah Kau within artistic circles is an emerging queer Liberian diasporic transcendental artist and community organizer. They find their roots deeply entwined with the rich cultural tapestry of their heritage. They were raised in Aquehonga Manacknong, Lenapehoking, also known as Shaolin (Staten Island, New York), yet their heart is in the mother land. They are committed to exploring themes of identity, heritage, and spirituality through their art, bridging the gap between past and present, personal and collective. Their work serves as a vessel for storytelling, a celebration of resilience, and a testament to the power of movement to transcend boundaries and connect us to something greater than ourselves.

Featured image (left-to-right): Imani Gaudin (photo by Sinematic Studios), Babou Sanneh & Maima, The Water Spirit (photo by Muhammad Floyd).