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This fall, the CityDance DREAM Performance Ensemble has been busy working on finding new ways to develop their performance skills and discover new artistic tools. Although performing on stage has been paused, The DREAM School continues to provide students with opportunities to develop as movers and creative thinkers. This fall, they welcomed guest artists Jessica Pinkett and Yannick Lebrun from The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater into their weekly two-hour virtual creative lab sessions.

The DREAM School has designed the creative lab sessions as opportunities for students to specifically focus on exploring a variety of codified and uncodified movement styles. These sessions challenge students to create new ideas around art-making in order to enhance their personal range, deepen their movement vocabularies and cultivate interesting conversations around dance, art and life.

Meet the Artists

Jessica Amber Pinkett

Jessica Amber Pinkett of Baltimore, Maryland, began her dance training at Baltimore Dance Tech under the direction of Stephanie Powell. Ms. Pinkett is a proud graduate from George Washington Carver Center for Arts and Technology. She is a bronze medal recipient from the NAACP ACT-SO competition in Dance. Ms. Pinkett has worked with choreographers including Artistic Director Emerita Judith Jamison, Artistic Director Robert Battle, Linda-Denise Fisher-Harrell, Camille A. Brown and others. She has performed as a guest artist with The Black Iris Project and was a member of Ailey II. From Towson University, she graduated with honors and earned a B.F.A. in dance performance and choreography.

Ms. Pinkett has been featured in campaigns for Verizon, Coach, Equinox Hotels and Jesus Christ Superstar. Ms. Pinkett joined the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in 2018, and she continues to use her gifts to encourage young and aspiring artists to fulfill their dreams.

Yannick Lebrun

Yannick Lebrun (Cayenne, French Guiana) began training in his native country at the Adaclam School under the guidance of Jeanine Verin. After graduating high school in 2004, he moved to New York City to study at The Ailey School as a scholarship student. Mr. Lebrun was named one of Dance Magazine’s “25 to Watch” in 2011, and in 2013, France-Amérique magazine highlighted him as one of the 50 most talented French people in the United States. In November 2016, Mr. Lebrun was a guest performer with The Royal Ballet in Wayne McGregor’s Chroma. In 2019, he choreographed Saa Magni, his first work for Ailey II. Mr. Lebrun was a member of Ailey II and joined the Company in 2008.