BREathe Dance Project
BREathe Dance Project is a dance company that thrives on vibrant movement style, passion, and a tenacity to strive for equality in the arts. Founded in January 2013, the repertoire is a reflection of founder Bre Seals’ natural movement style, and radiates the type of positive energy it aims to generate throughout the community. BDP strives to be more than a group of artists; we strive to be a collective that aims to incite hope and give dance a breath of fresh air. Our goal is to carry audiences through a journey of personal reflection and self-expression. BREathe Dance Project takes the audience on an emotional yet intellectual excursion that celebrates the human experience. BDP supports and nurtures the connectivity between life and dance.
Bre Seals
Founder/Artistic Director
Raeshell Thompson
Chief Image Consultant & Creative Coordinator
Dance Apprentice
Raeshell began her dance training in her youth in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania with Harrisburg Ballet Theater. She is now a Senior dance major at Howard University and has been a part of administration staff for BREathe Dance Project since 2012. Upon graduation she would like to continue to train in dance as well as expand her skills across other forms of performance art. She hopes to be able to make a difference in social change through art and movement
Naila Brown
Company Dance Member
Naila, a Bay Area native, started training young and has had the pleasure of working with Bay Area choreographers like Nina Haft, Randee Paufve, Melecio Estrella, and Andrew Ward. In 2013, she relocated to the DMV to attend Howard University. She joined I.Am.We Contemporary Dance Company in 2014 and became the rehearsal director in 2016. She became a full time company member of the BREathe Dance Project in Dec 201, after performing in ‘Incandescence’, choreographed by Bre Seals. She has performed in numerous independent productions during her time here including ‘Breathe the Musical’ set to go on tour in 2019.
Craig Kirby Jr.
Company Dance Member
Rehearsal Director
Craig Ryan Kirby Jr. is a Brooklyn, New York native who was partially raised in Raleigh, North Carolina where he began his training with Tyrone Short at SPARC Academy. While attending Millbrook High School he joined Precision Dance Company under Kate Oliver when he was 16. He has performed In Pieces of Gold, Sparkcon, & Raw Artists Talent Exhibition. In 2015 Kirby was admitted into the Howard University Dance Program and has been training under the instruction of Royce Zackery and Jocelyn Isaacs and plans to graduate 2020. Kirby Joined the BREathe Dance Project in 2017 after performing in the “13th Awakening” by Bre Seals for the TedX Foggy Bottom “In Metamorphosis Panel and “How We Got To Now” ICONS Choreographic Showcase and is now the company’s rehearsal director. Kirby has performed in pieces composed by The Seldoms, Baba Assane Konte, Mia Hisaka, Edward Franklin and the tribute show for Louis Johnson. Kirby intends to dance and bring that expression everywhere he goes and through all his artistic endeavors.
Siani Beckett
Company Dancer Member
Assistant Rehearsal Director
Siani Beckett is a New Castle, Delaware native. She began her dance training in church before
attending Progressive Center for Dance in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Around the age of seven, Siani began taking classes in ballet, modern, and jazz at Christina Cultural Arts Center in
Wilmington, Delaware. Siani attended Cab Calloway School of the Arts for both middle and high
school with a concentration in dance. Throughout her years at home, Siani has had the chance to work with artists such as Kim Bears-Bailey, Troy Powell, Tommie Waheed Evans, and her main dance instructor, Dara Stevens-Meredith. Siani is now a sophomore dance major at Howard University. She joined BREathe Dance Project in May 2018. Siani plans to continue sharing her love of dance through performance and choreography.
Stacey Smith
Company Dance Member
Stacey was born in Hartford, CT and raised in Montgomery County, MD. At the age of 6, she joined the Wheaton Majorettes and was a competitive baton twirler & dancer for 14 years. During college, she was a member of the Terpsichorean Dance Company and graduated from Hampton University with a BFA in Graphic Design. She also holds a MA in Arts Management from George Mason University. Today, she continues training and performing with various companies in the Washington DC area. Stacey Joined BREathe Dance Project in May 2018.