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Gary is a dance artist, educator, choreographer, director, and dance writer. She has an MFA in Dance, and is the Founder and Artistic and Executive Director of Dance Afrikana LLC, a professional dance company whose mission is to create a world where people of the African Diaspora are empowered and connected through the African dance tradition. Dance Afrikana is the recipient of numerous awards from the Houston Arts Alliance and Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs including the City’s Initiative Grant (2019), two Cares Act Grants (2020), and the Support for Organizations Grant (2021).

She is licensed in Umfundalai, a contemporary African dance technique that comprises its movement vocabulary from dance traditions throughout the Diaspora, and was awarded the 2021 Texas Folklife Residency Apprenticeship for the study of Zydeco dance under Mona “Zydeco Queen” Wilson. She has a dance minor from the University of Houston, and has also studied Horton, Puerto Rican Bomba, Afro-Brazilian, Afro-Cuban, Afro-Caribbean, traditional South African, and Congolese Ndombolo. Additionally, she’s danced with various musical artists including T-Rock Again (Trinidad), Korede Bello (Nigeria), and Solange Knowles (United States).

She has received numerous awards and recognition for her work as a dance artist including becoming a 2017-2018 Dance Source Houston Artist in Residence which culminated in an evening-length production of her original choreography and poetry on film entitled “Eleggua.” Additionally, she graduated from the Artist INC program for artist-entrepreneurs, and developed a partnership with Young Audiences of Houston wherein she worked as both a choreographer and playwright to bring cultural and historical educational performances to Houston’s youth.