Tina Vasquez is a first generation American of Puerto Rican, Cuban and Jamaican decent. She is the co-founder of the consulting firm, biwa|Emergent Equity, and joined Empower both as a parent and dance teacher. Originally from New York, Tina moved to the Triangle in 2016 after a 15-year professional dance career.  She is a Certified as a Movement Analyst by way of the Laban Institute for Movement Studies, has a B.A. in Individualized Study from NYU Gallatin and an MS in Organizational Behavior, Systems and Analytics from the NYU Tandon School of Engineering Polytechnic Institute.  She has also been trained by the People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond on Undoing Racism. She has infused anti-racism principles throughout her professional career of teaching, dancing and organizing. Tina enjoys creating art whenever possible and feels incredibly fortunate that she and her family get to be a part of the Empower community. 

15 Years Dance Experience

Marshae Smith is from Prince George’s County Maryland. She has a passion for dance and choreography. Marshae began dancing at the age of two at First Class Dance Studio. She is trained in Ballet, Tap, Modern, and Contemporary. In high school, Marshae was a member of the National Honors Society of Dance Arts. She was also a member of the Prince George’s County Honors Dance Ensemble. Marshae competed all through middle and high school, receiving many special judge’s awards. Marshae continued her dance education at Johnson C. Smith University in Charlotte, North Carolina. Her first year at Johnson C. Smith University she was a part of their Repertory Company. Recently, she received her Bachelor of Arts in Dance from Johnson C. Smith University. Now, she focuses on teaching and honing her dance technique.

Aissatou “Ais” Diallo is a current undergraduate student at Duke University from New Haven,

Connecticut. She is doing Program 2, a “make your own major” program, focusing on the

neurological and anthropological reasons behind the intrinsic motivation humans have to dance.

She is also on the pre med track and plans on becoming a sports medicine physician in the future.

Ais has won regional and national titles as a competitive dancer of 10 years, but her biggest

accomplishment came when she was crowned Miss Connecticut’s Teen 2021. Her focus

throughout her year of service was providing access to the arts for children in inner city

communities through free workshops and arts scholarships.

Damien was born in Washington D.C. and raised in Durham, NC. With over 25 years of experience, he has taught gymnastics and hip-hop dance to children and adults of all ages. His professional career includes choreographing for the Bronner Brothers Hair and Fashion Show in Atlanta, GA, and opening for Wu-Tang Clan, Rakim, and Destiny's Child. He has also auditioned for national recording artists like Usher, TLC, Beyoncé, Missy Elliot, and the hit TV show "So You Think You Can Dance." Damien believes his purpose is to prepare his students for professional dance careers and to teach them that hip-hop is a rich culture, not just a dance style. He loves watching his students appreciate both the culture and the dance moves. At EMPOWER Dance Studio, he values the focus on art and performance, aiming to help students learn dance basics, improve technique, and build confidence while having fun.

Amari Jones is an educator, choreographer, and performer based in Raleigh, NC. She holds a Master of Fine Arts in Dance: Embodied Interdisciplinary Praxis from Duke University (2022), where her research focused on racial identity formation and the role of public education in shaping this process. This work led to the creation of Embodied Resonance, a liberatory pedagogical intervention that uses improvisation to explore Black girls’ embodied knowledge. Amari also earned a BA in Dance Studies and a minor in Entrepreneurship from UNC Greensboro.

Amari has taught in both studio and public school settings, fostering inclusive, culturally aware environments that encourage self-expression and critical thinking. Amari has performed in repertory work by Mari Meade, The Clarice Young Dance Project, and the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company. Amari has presented her research at the Conference on African- American & African Diasporic Cultures and at the Collegium for African American Dance.

Lyric Sanders is a dedicated dancer with over 15 years of experience in modern, contemporary, ballet, hip-hop, and jazz styles, and more than 5 years of teaching expertise specializing in competition dance and technique training. She is currently pursuing a degree in Mass Communications at North Carolina Central University. Originally from Memphis, Tennessee, Lyric now resides in the city of Miami, Florida. Her passion for dance began at a young age and has been nurtured through extensive training with esteemed instructors across various studios and programs.