LEADERSHIP
JAMAL CALLENDER - FOUNDER & ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
Director, entrepreneur, dancer, choreographer, model, and educator Barbadian-American artist Jamal
Callender began dancing at Ballet Tech and Brooklyn College Preparatory Center for the Performing Arts
in New York City. He graduated from the Professional Performing Arts School/The Ailey School and then
went on to receive his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from The Juilliard School in 2009 under Lawrence
Rhodes. Jamal has performed in several dance companies including, The Atlanta Ballet (2009-2010),
Peridance Ensemble (2010), Loni Landon Project (2011), Formal Structure Inc. (2011), Hubbard Street
Dance Chicago (2010-2011), Ballet Hispanico as a principal dancer (2011-2015), Opus Dance Theatre
(2014), Kevin O'Day Ballett at National Theater Mannheim as a soloist (2015-2016), NTM TANZ under
Stephan Thoss as a soloist (2016-2020), and guest soloist with Ballet Bern (2020-2021). Jamal is
currently a guest with the company Riva & Repele. In 2012, Jamal was a recipient of the prestigious
Princess Grace Award. In 2014, Jamal founded Barbados Dance Project (BDP) with the mission of
bringing awareness to the importance of dance by educating, collaborating, and engaging with the
Barbadian community through movement offering tuition-free service. In 2017, Jamal was named by
Barbados Today one of the “51 Inspiring Young Bajans” in celebration of the country’s 51st year of
independence alongside Rihanna. Jamal is a widely sought-after educator having taught
classes/workshops internationally for Ballet Hispanico, Ailey II, New Orleans Ballet Association
(N.O.B.A), the National Cultural Foundation (Barbados), Western Arkansas Ballet, Institute of the Arts
Barcelona (Spain), MOVE|NYC|, PAR en Dansa (Barcelona), and IT Dansa (Barcelona). As a
choreographer, Jamal was named the winner of the 2021 Future of Dance Festival, curated by the historic
92nd Street Y in NYC. Later, he received an invitation for his winning work to be shown at Martha
Graham’s Joyce theater season in NYC. His works have been performed in Barbados, USA, Germany,
and Spain. In 2021 Jamal created GLORIA on Par en Dansa which was performed with a live orchestra
and chorus and toured throughout the Catalonia region. As a lifelong advocate of the arts, Jamal has
served as a member of Dance/NYC Junior Committee and serves on the artistic advisory board of
MOVE|NYC|. Jamal is represented by Fifth Artists in Barcelona and has been featured in the BMW M8
2022 commercial, and Sea Mirror. Most recently Jamal was featured in the DIOR SS23 runway show
inParis as a guest dance artist.
JOHN HUNTE- EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
John Hunte is an accomplished performer and arts activist arts manager, performer, choreographer,
teacher and consultant. Hunte graduated with an MFA in Performing Arts Management from Brooklyn
College, New York City in 2003. Recently, Hunte received a PhD degree in cultural studies from the
Faculty of Humanities and Education at the Cave Hill, Barbados Campus of the University of the West
Indies (UWI). His PhD thesis, Beyond the Silence: Men, Dance and Masculinity in the Caribbean,
interrogates where dance and masculinity intersect as perceived through the lens and perception of men
who dance onstage. A former Cultural Officer – Dance at the National Cultural Foundation (NCF), Hunte
is currently a research fellow, a part-time tutor at the Barbados Community College and temporary
lecturer at the UWI Cave Hill Campus in the creative studies and cultural studies programmes. He
recently completed the task of Artistic coordinator for CARIFESTA XIII held August 17 – 27, 2017 in
Barbados. As General Manager and Producer with Barbados Dance Project, and Artistic Director of the
BDP Ensemble, Hunte overseas ongoing choreographic process for budding dancers to collaborate with
various performance projects.
COURTENAY LIAN THORNE- ASSOCIATE
Courtenay Thorne is in a master’s program at Florida State University due to receive her MFA degree in
Dance (Performance and Choreography) in 2021. While attending FSU the School of Dance has given her
the opportunity to also teach ballet and contemporary dance forms at the institution. She previously
received her bachelor’s degree from Skidmore College in 2012 where she majored in Dance
(Performance and Choreography). While she was a student at Skidmore College, she had the opportunity
to be tutored by members of The Martha Graham Dance Company, The Limon Dance Company,
Battleworks Dance Company, Bill T. Jones/ Arnie Zane Dance Company, New York City Ballet and many
more. After graduating she taught, choreographed and had involvement with The University of the West
Indies (Cavehill, Barbados), Barbados Community College, The Dance Place (Barbados), The National
Cultural Foundation (Barbados) and many other schools and artists in Barbados. In 2015 she was
presented with the opportunity to attend Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance in London,
England, and in 2016 she received her Diploma in Dance Studies. After completing her studies in London
she travelled to Japan where she was invited to teach and present her solo work alongside members of
the Mikiyo Imai Dance Company and other artists. Prior to starting her MFA at Florida State University
she lived in Trinidad where she performed, taught, choreographed and collaborated. She has worked with
The Caribbean School of Dancing, The Metamorphosis Dance Company, The University of Trinidad and
Tobago, Elle InfiniTT and other artists and schools. It was at this time that she presented two more of her
solo works, once at Jamaica Dance Umbrella and once at the COCO Dance Festival. Her love of travel
and eagerness to keep learning has led her to attend many dance intensives and festivals in North
America, Canada, Trinidad, Hungary and Jamaica. Courtenay searches to further develop and refine
herself as an artist as she keeps advancing throughout her career. Her goal is to not only push for growth
in herself but to also see growth within those around her and her community. She believes that
collaboration and connecting artists and movers from all over the world plays a crucial part in developing
oneself and one's community.
STEFANIE TAKEI-TAYLOR - ASSOCIATE
Stefanie Takei-Taylor is a dance professional and creative entrepreneur. Born in Pasadena, California
where she trained at Pasadena Dance Theatre, American Ballet Theatre, and Austin Ballet. She was a
semi-finalist in the Los Angeles Music Center “Spotlight Awards” and went on to received a BFA in dance
from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts as a Trustee Scholar under the direction of Linda Tarnay. She later
received a Masters in Tourism Marketing from the University of the West Indies Cave Hill Campus.
Stefanie has worked with choreographers Laurence Blake, Cherylyn Lavagnino, Doug Nielsen, Stephen
Petronio, T. Lang, Brook Notary, Kyle Abraham, and Johannes Wieland before moving to Barbados. She
is a founding member of Diesel Fusion Dance Theatre with Ihaia Miller and currently teaches at all the
major dance academies, at Barbados Community College and UWI Cave Hill Campus and performs with
many of them as requested. She had the honor to represent BDP at the Coco Dance Festival in Trinidad
and at Jamaica Dance Umbrella the past few years dancing works created by Jamal Callender, Nigel
Campbell, Renee I. McDonald, and Tara-Jane Herbert. She most recently represented herself at JDU in
March 2020 performing the solo Strange Fruit (1943) choreographed by Pearl Primus and restaged by
Mary Waithe. An experienced social media marketing consultant and director at Barbados Dance Project
since April 2017, Takei-Taylor has taken a hands-on approach to the development of professional dance
in Barbados sharing her knowledge and passion with the Barbadian dance community.
Shea Best - ASSOCIATE
Shea Best is a young Barbadian dancer, choreographer, actor and singer. His diverse background in
dance primarily stems from Ballet, Jazz, Modern, Contemporary, Afro-Caribbean, Dancehall, and more
recently, commercial forms of dance. In Barbados, Shea has trained extensively under many tutors
including Dany Diallo Hinds, Adonia Evelyn, John Hunte, and Gene Carson, among others. His journey
has taken him to be one of the first members of the NCF Summer Dance Desk Internship Programme in
2012, spearheaded by Dr. John Hunte and from here he has toured throughout the Caribbean (Cuba,
Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago, Anguilla, Antigua) for training and performance opportunities on some of the
biggest stages in the region.
Shea has worked with and continues to dance, choreograph and tour with several award-winning groups
owing to his eclectic background and style. These include Dancin’ Africa, Of Another Nature, Riddim
Tribe, and of course, Barbados Dance Project, from whose inception Shea was there.
Shea’s choreographic prowess gained the attention of many at NIFCA 2019 (National Independence
Festival for Creative Arts) for his choreographic work “Before the Bough Breaks”, leading him to become
the island’s most recent recipient of the ever-coveted Prime Minister’s Award. He received this award
among others for Best Choreographer and Best Performance. He also received The Madame Ifill Award of
Excellence (awarded to the highest scoring dance entry), the UNICEF award, and a nomination for The
Founder’s Trophy (awarded to the highest scoring entry across the disciplines) for having created one of
the most outstanding pieces of the year 2019.