Kids

BRIC is a leading arts and media institution anchored in downtown Brooklyn whose work spans contemporary visual and performing arts, media, and civic action. For over forty years, the institution has shaped Brooklyn’s cultural and media landscape by presenting and incubating artists, creators, students, and media makers. As a creative catalyst for the community, BRIC ignites learning in people of all ages and centralizes diverse voices that take risks and drive culture forward. BRIC builds Brooklyn’s creative future. https://www.bricartsmedia.org

Choreographer, researcher, scholar and teaching-artist from Brooklyn, Enya-Kalia Jordan has a BA from SUNY Buffalo State, a MFA from Temple University, and began her doctoral studies at Texas Woman’s University in 2020, researching the decolonization of dance studies writing, Black embodiment, and Black womanhood. She is a teaching artist with Dancewave, Amanda Selwyn’s Notes in Motion Outreach Theatre, Abrons Arts Center, and BAM, and the Manager of Dancer Development & Diversity of MSG entertainment.

Okai is a vocalist, percussionist, and producer who embodies all the music of the African diaspora. Born in Brooklyn of Haitian descent, Okai’s ears became infected with the hard boom bap drum loops of hip-hop and roots music from the Caribbean, which led him to rock, jazz, samba, salsa, rumba, and pretty much anything with percussion. He began performing on the trap set for various churches, played congas for his high school band, and then concentrated on the West African djembe for more than a decade.

Kyiesha Kelly is the co-founder and CEO of Hiphopcloset.com, an award-winning business and ecommerce site. One of the first websites of its kind, Hiphopcloset.com serves as a conduit between hip-hop consumers and the creators of bold fashion and lifestyle products that speak to the culture. Hip Hop Closet has been featured in Essence magazine, Black Enterprise, Howard Alumni Magazine, and on MTV. VH1 awarded Hip Hop Closet the “Best E-Commerce Site for Hip Hop” and in 2019 Kelly was awarded CAMBA’s “Entrepreneur of the Year.”

Lexy Ho-Tai’s (she/her) multi-disciplinary art and teaching practice explores imaginative and tangible world-building through craft and play. She believes that joy is an act of resistance, and that play forges a powerful space for audiences to envision and work towards alternative futures. Residencies include the Watermill Center, Flux Factory, ARoS Museum, Everglades National Park, Museum of Arts and Design, Art Farm and Elsewhere Museum.

For the last decade, Brooklyn-based Sonny Singh has brought his fiery trumpet and vocals to audiences around the world as an original member of the bhangra brass band Red Baraat. Sonny’s debut solo album is entitled Chardi Kala, the Sikh concept of revolutionary eternal optimism. His music is a reminder that hope, love, and devotion are crucial to our struggles and our collective survival.

Guitarist Jonathan Goldberger has worked extensively in both the music and film worlds. He composed and produced music for the award-winning feature films Trans and The Hawk is Dying. He performs and tours with Red Baraat, Jim Black, John Zorn’s Bagatelles, and Joe Russo, among others. Recordings include with Surface to Air, Red Baraat, and his own album Visitors (with JP Schlegelmilch and Jim Black), named one of Rolling Stone’s 20 Best Jazz Albums of 2018.

Rohin Khemani is a drummer, percussionist, composer, producer, and educator based in New York City. Known as an extremely versatile and eclectic musician, Rohin was a founding member of Red Baraat, co-leads the band Surface to Air with guitarist Jonathan Goldberger and bassist Jonti Siman, and recently produced an EP for a collaborative project The Lore Dogs with songwriter D.B. Rielly. He has performed at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, The Monterey Jazz Festival, and the London 2012 Olympic Games, among others.

A versatile trombonist, Ernest Stuart earned a BA in Jazz Performance at Temple University in Philadelphia before moving to New York City, where he performed at clubs including the Village Vanguard, the Iridium, Smoke and the Blue Note. Stuart has shared the stage with legendary musicians such as The Duke Ellington Orchestra, Billy Paul, and Aretha Franklin, and played with The Roots, The Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, Seal, Macklemore, John Legend, and Red Baraat, among others. In 2012, Stuart founded the Center City Jazz Festival in Philadelphia.