Dance Ensemble
Director
Lynnette Young Overby is Professor Emerita, of Theatre and Dance, University of Delaware. Overby is a graduate of Hampton University (BS), George Washington University (MA) and The University of Maryland, College Park, (Ph.D.) Lynnette is the University of Delaware Former Director of The Community Engagement Initiative and Founding Director of the Partnership for Arts & Culture. Since 2009, Overby, in her role as Artistic Director of the Sharing our Legacy Dance Theatre, has collaborated with P. Gabrielle Foreman, MacArthur Fellow and Literary historian and a host of composers, poets and performers to reveal the history of little-known African Americans through dance and theatre. The company has performed nationally and internationally. Previous productions have included, Sketches, The Life of Harriet E. Wilson in Dance, Poetry and Music (2012; Dave the Potter (2014); Same Story Different Countries (2016); Women of Consequence (2018); Mary Ann Shadd Cary (2019); and Suite Blackness and Black Dance in Cinema (2023). Lynnette Overby has edited or authored 16 dance education books and received several honors including, the 2018 Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Dance Education Organization; and in 2025 an Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts from the University of Delaware. Since 2021 she has served as a member of the National Council on the Humanities.
Special Guest
Sharia Benn, founder, president,and executive artistic director of the Sankofa African American Theatre Company in Harrisburg, PA. Sharia holds a special passion for combining acting and historical studies to engage audiences through productions highlighting historically significant African-American people and events. She is highly sought after for her original play and performance “Voices of F.E.W” that chronicles the life of Frances Ellen Watkins Harper (1825 – 1911). As a contemporary champion for civil engagement, Sharia has worked tirelessly to birth and grow the Sankofa African American Theatre Company of Harrisburg to authentically and honorably amplify Black voices, artists, and stories on stage.
Dancers
Monique Antonia Bland received her BFA in Dance Performance from the American Musical and Dramatics Academy. She performs with companies based in the tri-state area.
Kennedy Davis in 8th grade at First State Montessori Academy. She trains at Pieces of a Dream Academy of Dance and Wilmington Ballet Academy of the Dance where she studies modern (Horton Technique), ballet, jazz, acrobatics, tap, hip hop, and contemporary.
La-Chelle Dickinson is a company artist with Roxey Ballet and is honored to give voice to meaningful stories as an ensemble member of Sharing Our Legacy Dance Theatre.
Maya Jones is a dancer, writer, and student at the University of Delaware, where she is double majoring in English and History with a minor in dance. Trained at the Hudson Valley Conservatory and Keenote Music Studio, she has a background in musical theater that enriches her performance style.
Melissa Jones has been dancing for over 20 years, primarily at Baltimore Dance Tech. Melissa has participated in various freelance performance opportunities, performed at The Arena Players, and contributed to the Women of Consequence project as well.
Luis Mulero, a graduate of the prestigious Cab Calloway School of the Performing Arts, is a dynamic violinist and passionate teaching artist, dedicated to bridging the worlds of music and dance through performance and education.
Tumi Nkomo is a choreographer, dancer, and dance educator who has danced professionally onstage and on-camera with her work showcased nationally and internationally. She served as the lead choreographer for the Mantsho x H&M 2019 Campaign, guest teaching artist at the University of Delaware, and choreographer and costume designer for the Chilean 2022 tour of TheKoiWay.
Monique Relacion dance is more than movement; it’s a powerful voice preserving history and speaking for those who are no longer able. She considers it a privilege to be part of this production honoring Frances Harper’s legacy. She has extensive experience in the nonprofit sector and is a licensed real estate referral agent.
Amber Renee Rance is a choreographer, performer, arts-based researcher and creative artist based in Wilmington, DE. Amber has performed across the world in groundbreaking multidisciplinary productions, including “Same Stories, Different Countries” and “Women of Consequence.”
Omari Senior is a senior dance major at Cab Calloway School of the Arts (CAB). She is an active member of CAB’s Dance Team and Company. For the past 10 years, she has been taking classes at Pieces of a Dream (POAD) and currently focuses on tap, acro, modern contemporary, hip hop and jazz.
Alana Noelle Romero is a third-grade student at Marbrook Elementary School – Spanish Immersion. She has been a dedicated student at Pieces of a Dream, Inc. Academy of Dance in Wilmington, DE since 2020, where she trains in ballet, tap, acro, and lyrical. In 2024, she was selected to join the award-winning Dream Competition Team.
Adiah Simpson is currently a company member of Pieces of a Dream Dance Theatre and a faculty member of Pieces of a Dream Academy of Dance, where she is happy to share her passion for dance.
M. Amber Spivey is a performing artist, story-teller, educator, and creative entrepreneur. She is a guest artist with Sharing Our Legacy Dance Theater, Pieces of a Dream, Inc. and JDY Dance Theater, and also works as a professional teaching artist throughout Delaware.
Choreographers
Desiree Cocroft is a dynamic leadership coach, speaker, and consultant dedicated to empowering leaders to reach their fullest potential. Her leadership journey began in the arts as the co-founder of Signature Dance Company, a Milwaukee-based organization that has, for over 21 years, inspired and empowered Black and Brown girls and women through dance and the performing arts. Signature Dance Company blends artistry with social justice, faith, and women’s empowerment, providing mentorship, sisterhood, and access to performance opportunities.
Ashley S. K. Davis is a dancer, choreographer, actor, teacher, and social change artist who finds great joy in encouraging people to discover their inner artist. Recently, Ashley was awarded a fellowship to create “Ode (OWED) to BLACK WOMEN” a work that looks at the intersection of Black womanhood and patriotism in America.In addition to her work with Pieces of a Dream, Inc., Ashley also serves as the Artistic Director for Delaware Institute for the Arts in Education.
A.T Moffet serves as Executive Director of Delaware Institute for the Arts in Education (DiAE). Previously, A.T. led the Dance Program at Washington College, taught at the University of Delaware, Winona State University, and the Cowles Center for Dance & the Performing Arts in Minneapolis. A.T. was the recipient of a 2020 Plant Life in the City Fellowship and a 2017 Individual Artist Fellowship in Choreography from the Delaware Division of the Arts.
Teresa Emmons earned her post graduate degree in Dance from The Juilliard School in New York. She has danced professionally with the San Diego Ballet, The State of Alabama Ballet (now Ballet South), and all over the United States in a wide variety of classical and contemporary roles. She has choreographed and conducted classes for regional and professional dance companies including Philadanco, Dance Theatre of Harlem and the Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet.
Marion Yager Hamermesh of Wilmington, DE is a dancer, teacher, and choreographer. She has earned a B.A. in Cultural Anthropology from Beloit College, an M.Ed. in Dance from Temple University, an M.S.E. in Computer and Information Science from the University of Pennsylvania, and an M.J.S. from Gratz College. Currently, she teaches dance to people living with Parkinson’ s Disease online and in person. She contributed choreography to two previous works of Sharing our Legacy Dance Theatre: Women of Consequence (2018) and Mary Ann Shadd Cary (2019). She has been a teaching member of the Hanover Dance Collective for 40 years. She is a board certified chaplain and worked for a hospice supporting people (and their families) at the end of their lives. In 1987, she founded the Delaware Children’s Museum which she directed until 1995. Throughout these activities, she has engaged with the power of narrative especially that which can be found between the lines.
Terlene D. Terry-Todd has been a dancer, actor, choreographer, and professional teaching artist for over 35 years. Terry-Todd has received numerous awards and accolades for her choreography, contributions to the arts and her work with special needs children. She has served on the faculties of both Howard University and American University and has been appointed to numerous arts council’s boards, the Virginia State Commission on the Arts Advisory Panel and held various national leadership offices. She was the founding artistic director for the Reston Institute for the Arts.
Composer and Arranger
Ralph Russell composes for large and small ensembles including several dance productions in Delaware: Women of Consequence, David the Potter, Same Story, Uprising, and Re-Entry.
Arreon A. Harley-Emerson, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor of Choral Music in the School of Music at Penn State University and the Founder and Artistic Director of Elevate Vocal Arts. At Penn State, Harley-Emerson directs Essence of Joy that is devoted to the performance and preservation of musics of the Black Diaspora, and teaches courses in choral conducting and music education.
Artistic Director’s Coordinator
Stage Manager
Amber Renee Rance Is a choreographer, performer, arts-based researcher and creative artist based in Wilmington, DE. Amber has performed across the world in groundbreaking multidisciplinary productions, including “Same Stories, Different Countries” and “Women of Consequence.”
Abby Connolly is a junior at the University of Delaware. She is a History Education and Theatre major, with a focus on stage management. This is the third dance show she has worked on, and she is very excited to be a part of this production.
Artist Talkback Panelists
P. Gabrielle Foreman co-directs the Center for Black Digital Research/#DigBlk at Penn State University and is the Colored Convention Project’s founding faculty director.
Martha S. Jones is the Society of Black Alumni Presidential Professor, Professor of History, and a Professor at the SNF Agora Institute at The Johns Hopkins University.
A.T Moffet serves as Executive Director of Delaware Institute for the Arts in Education (DiAE).
Shirley Moody-Turner is associate professor and award-winning teacher of English and African American Studies.
Lynnette Young Overby is Professor Emerita, of Theatre and Dance, University of Delaware.
Amber Renee Rance is a choreographer, performer, arts-based researcher and creative artist based in Wilmington, DE.
Glenis Redmond is grounded in many worlds as a Poet, Teaching Artist, and Imagination Activist. She is the First Poet Laureate of Greenville, South Carolina, a Kennedy Center Teaching Artist, a Cave Canem alumni, and the author of six books of poetry.
Ralph Russell composes for large and small ensembles including several dance productions in Delaware: Women of Consequence, David the Potter, Same Story, Uprising, and Re-Entry.
Carmin Wong is a poet, playwright, and scholar of Black literature and orature. She is a #DigBlk Scholar pursuing a dual-title PhD in English Literature and African American and Diaspora Studies. Carmin is the Inaugural Poet Laureate of State College, Pennsylvania