CJay Philip portrait

Director/Choreographer
Singer/Song writer
Actress
Playwright
and Poet

Biography

CJay Philip, an award winning actress/director/choreographer is Artistic Director of Dance & Bmore, a multidisciplinary Baltimore based ensemble presenting a unique fusion of movement, music, theatrics and spoken-word in their socially conscious and interactive works. Dance & Bmore also designs innovative multigenerational programs that seek to stimulate the imagination and strengthen relationships while building a sense of community and well being. The FazaFam Family Jam focuses on strengthening families though music, movement, and play, Forever Fit & Fun uses memory-based movement, prompts and storytelling to capture the memories of seniors citizens and encapsulate them in spoken-word, music and dance.  

Before moving to Baltimore, CJay began her career with the Maude Baum Modern Dance company and Burundi African Dance in upstate New York. She made her Broadway debut in Big the Musical, appeared on in Street Corner Symphony, on Broadway and was Dance Captain for Hairspray on Broadway. She has toured as Lorrell in Dreamgirls and Paulette in Legally Blonde. CJay has written four works for the stage including a musical adaptation of Carmen which enjoyed a sold-out European run and is being revised for a Baltimore premiere.

She has directed and choreographed hundreds of musicals and performance events around the world including: The Who’s Tommy, Once on This Island, Ragtime, Marvin’s Trial, the Philadelphia Presidential Summit, the Emmy Award–winning NBC broadcast of the McDonalds Gospel Fest, the Baltimore African American Festival, WOW (Women of the World) Festival at the Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, and an Upfront for Essences Magazine.

As an arts educator she’s been program director for the HOPE for kids School of the Arts in NYC and the Baltimore Story Tree Gang addressing social issues through comic storytelling and community talk-backs lead by teens. CJay was founding director of the Children’s Theater Production Company at the Gordon Center for the Performing Arts. She teaches Interdisciplinary Collaboration at Baltimore School for the Arts and Musical Theater at Baltimore Centerstage. CJay was host and producer of online series The Baltimore Arts Scene and Dance & Bmore Live. CJay is the recipient of a Baker Artist b-grant, a Baltimore Social Innovators Award, Dance Break NYC Award and a Champion of Courage Award. She is a Robert W Deutsch Fellow and a Kennedy Center Citizen Artist Fellow.

CJay's Work

Credits

Broadway Performances:

  • Hairspray (Dance Captain)
  • Street Corner Symphony
  • Big The Musical

Touring Performances:

  • Dreamgirls
  • Legally Blonde
  • Hairspray

Dance Companies:

  • Maude Baum and Co.
  • EBA Dance Theatre
  • Burundi African Dance Troupe

Theatre Directing and Choreography:

  • Seussical (Director)
  • The Wizard of Oz (Director)
  • Voices of Carmen (Director)
  • Marvin’s Trial (Director)
  • Antigone (Director)
  • Shine (Director)
  • The Who’s Tommy
  • Once On This Island
  • Carmen
  • Oliver
  • Once Upon A Mattress
  • Ragtime
  • Your Arm’s To Short Too Box With God
  • Little Shop of Horrors
  • And more…

100s of Events:

  • 2000 Presidential Summit
  • Emmy Award Winning McDonald’s Gospel Fest
  • JFK Memorial
  • Drowsy Chaperone spoof on stage at Broadways Marque Theatre
  • 2008 Miss Black USA in Los Vegas
  • Baltimore African American Fest 2010/2011 Main stage Director
  • WOW women of the world Festival 2012 at Joseph Meyerhoff
  • 50 Fest Extravaganza at Centerstage 2012 Director/Choreographer
  • 2015 Upfront for Essences Magazine

Director of Theater for Young Audiences:

  • HOPE worldwide Story Tree Gang
  • Alice’s Phonics Fantasy
  • Young Playwrights Festival Centerstage
  • Whadawedo
  • Refrigerator Story
  • Read A Book
  • Cindy – A Cinderella Story

Arts Education:

  • Broadway Classroom (Master Classes)
  • Global Arts To Go (Teacher training workshop leader)
  • Founding Director of Children’s Theatre at the Gordon Center for Performing Arts
  • Wingspan Arts (Site Director)
  • Hope For Kids School Of The Arts (Program Director)
  • John Hopkins Center for Social Concern, CSC Dance Consultant.
  • Camp Center Stage
  • Broadway Dance
  • Baltimore School for the Arts – Interdisciplinary Collaboration
  • Journey to Broadway
  • Camp Carmen
  • Lyric Modell Broadway Camp

Awards

  • Honorable mention for Excellence in Theater Education in 2022 Tony Playbill
  • NYC Dance Break showcase for League of Broadway Producers.
  • Choreographer-Emmy award winning NBC McDonald’s Gospel Fest
  • Mary Sawyers Baker Award b grant winner
  • Baltimore Social Innovator
  • Kennedy Center Citizen Artist Fellow
  • 2018 Champion of Courage
  • 2019 Arts Advocate Award

Mentored By

  • Dr Pearl Primus
  • Mercedes Ellington
  • Hope Clark
  • Liz Lerman
  • Sherwin MacKintosh
  • Susan Stroman
  • Jerry Mitchell
  • Jack O’Brien
  • Marion Caffey
  • Yo Yo Ma