Communications Assistant
social@jeanappolonexpressions.org
Caroline Bradbury is a multidisciplinary dance and performance artist based in Boston, MA. She received her BFA at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia under the direction of Donna Faye Burchfield. She also had the privilege of traveling to Israel to study the relationship between movement and social justice in its different communities. Caroline has performed in the works of Bobbi Jene Smith, Stephen Petronio, Maya Brinner, Jillian Peña, Sidra Bell, Zoe Scofield, Curt Haworth, Katie-Swords Thurman, and Jesse Zaritt. Alongside dance, she has developed a vocabulary in visual art and photography, and enjoys investigating the relationship between these elements on social platforms. Caroline currently continues to engage with Boston dance through performance and hopes to bring the JAE community together to converse and connect through social media.
Executive Manager
admin@jeanappolonexpressions.org
Thamar “Tammi” Jean Fedestin is a Boston-born arts administrator and artist with over a decade of experience in the non-profit sector. Tammi is a queer Haitian woman with a fascination for all things nerdy and creepily cute. She currently holds a BA in Arts Management from the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts in North Adams, MA. Tammi has worked in a variety of settings, which allowed her to grow her skills as an administrator, graphic designer, and, sometimes, emergency seamstress. Her favorite thing in the world is to see someone being their most authentic self. Seeing people embracing all aspects of themselves brings Tammi immense joy. Currently, she helps run an art collective called Creatives of Color Boston and runs a virtual art gallery on her website, Cosmic Zo.
Outreach & Creative Artistic Manager
raphaelle@jeanappolonexpressions.org
Raphaëlle François was born in Haiti and started dancing at nine years old at Artcho Danse, a highly distinguished dance school in Haiti. She trained in several dance styles, such as modern, jazz, contemporary, classical, and ballroom dance. Raphaëlle was inspired by Haitian Folklore and decided to specialize herself in Afro-Contemporary dance. At the age of 12, she became a member of the Artcho Danse School Company and launched a professional career that projected her around the world.
She performed, gave workshops, and promoted Haitian culture in prestigious institutions such as Tokyo National Ballet, Quartier in Paris, Carnegie Hall in New York City, Ballet Hispanico in New York City, Ballet Roto in Dominican Republic and in Cyprus, Jamaica.
She has also created pieces, such as "ti mari'' (Haiti), "Marasa," and "Y continuamos'' (Dominican Republic, Dance Festival Edanco).
She is currently working on a series of workshops called " Vin danse ak Raphaelle" around the world where she teaches basic Haitian Folklore techniques.
Project Manager, JAE Dance Center
dan@jeanappolonexpressions.org
Daniel Koff was introduced to JAE at the weekly folkloric classes in 2007 and has consistently attended ever since as a way to build personal strength and to create community. After serving on the board of JAE for 6 years, Koff has stepped into the role of JAE's Project Manager for the JAE Dance Center. He also works for the City of Malden as a Community Preservation Manager, and at Olin College of Engineering as an Adjunct Professor teaching Collaborative Design and urban studies. Koff has a Masters in Design Studies with a concentration in Art, Design, and the Public Domain from the Harvard Graduate School of Design, and he has a dual bachelor's degree in Social Design and History with a minor in Architecture from Washington University in St. Louis.
Executive Director, Company Dancer
Operations & Programs Consultant
operations@jeanappolonexpressions.org
Kei Phillip is a Boston-born educator, creative practitioner, and administrator committed to fostering equity and collaboration in community-based performing arts and education initiatives. Her work spans over 15 years, supporting programs at nonprofits in New York like Gibney Dance, Rosie’s Theater Kids, Columbia University, and DREAM as well as the Greater Boston area at Arrow Street Arts, the Boch Center, Acera School, and now JAE. She earned her Masters in Clinical Psychology in Education from Teachers College and holds a Bachelors in Dance from Barnard College. For Kei, dance is a manifestation of heritage, a source of wellness, and a living metaphor for how she navigates the world. Her movement practice, pedagogy, and values are grounded in social emotional learning and reflect her studies of yoga, mindfulness, somatics, and social dances of the African Diaspora including Haitian folklore, traditional West African, Afro-Cuban, and Afrofusion. She’s grateful for the opportunity to deepen her relationship with JAE and facilitate the development of the JAE Dance Center.
Development Manager
darya@jeanappolonexpressions.org
Darya has a diverse professional background in the arts, nonprofit and corporate sectors. Darya began her career in the nonprofit arts sector including bookkeeping, programs, event management and operations. After departing the nonprofit sector Darya’s career focused on the Localization and Content Management industry. For over 6 years she was a Lead Project Manager for localization projects in education, industrial manufacturing and life sciences. The past 4 years Darya ventured into sales and business development, selling services, ensuring account growth and client retention and developing strategic solutions for clients in the Life Sciences industry.
For the past 30 years Darya has also been a dance artist and educator. She received her BA in Anthropology in 2003 from Hampshire College. Focusing on Comparative Religion and Dance Anthropology, her senior thesis explored Lukumi embodied religious traditions of Cuba. Darya has been privileged to work with master artists in Haitian, Cuban, Brazilian, West African and Modern/Contemporary movement forms, including the honor of dancing with and under Jean Appolon. Her last venture was with Senegalese master artist, Papa Sy in his Paa Sy Ley Neer Dance Company (2018-2022).
Darya cultivates a committed history of community outreach and development through partnerships and service projects in arts production and education. For over a decade Darya worked with multiple Boston area dance artists in performance production and stage management. Darya partnered with The Boston Children’s Theater for 3 years teaching dance to at-risk children and developing an integrated arts curriculum for Boston Public Schools. On a volunteer basis, Darya co-founded West African Dance in Boston, which produced over 50 seminars, master classes, performances and fundraisers, attracting attendance from across the US.
