Black Arts Fellowship

Chenise Mitchell

Chenise Mitchell has been performing professionally for over 10 years. Chenise now considers herself a Jazzer; a performing artist connected to rhythm and humanity. She considered performance as a career at a young age with connections to working artists through her highschool, Cawthra Park Secondary School. While earning her BFA (Ryerson University) she was able to hone her passion for theatrical and collaborative arts and discover her love of jazz. Chenise further developed her artistry at Decidedly Jazz Danceworks and has since devised her own philosophy on jazz. She has most recently worked with Esie Mensah, Rodney Diverlus and Francesca Chudnoff. Chenise has performed across Turtle Island and continues to direct her own works. As a teacher, Chenise loves to encourage bravery and creativity in others, whether they are pursuing dance as a career or doing it for fun. For Chenise, dance is a means for support and expression; dance is a language of connection to be shared.