Karisma Jay

True to her name, Brooklyn- native, Karisma Jay is the epitome of Multi-Hyphenate.

Dancer, Actress, Singer, Director, Playwright, Choreographer, Wellness Coach, Teacher, Entrepreneur and Host, she has contributed significantly to the Performing Arts industry for 20+ years.  As a featured artist, she performed/toured with prestigious dance companies and been featured in The New York Times, Dance Teacher Magazine, and programs aired on Netflix, Lifetime, BET, MTV, NBC, and VH1. In 2013, Karisma joined STOMP. In 2016, Family Circle magazine coined her a “Local Hero” and Lifetime TV featured her as a Female Entrepreneur to Watch.

Most recently, she won the “Power Women in Business” for her work as the Artistic Director and Founder of AbunDance Academy of the Arts and CEO of AbunDance Studios and AbunDance Gear.

Annually, she writes, directs, produces and co-stars in musicals that AbunDance Academy presents.

She just recently graduated Summa Cum Laude with her MFA in Dance at Hunter College while also teaching Dance and Culture at Hunter as an Undergraduate Faculty Member.

Currently, she is teaching West African Dance and African Fusion at The Juilliard School, Ballet Tech, Broadway Dance Center and LaGuardia High School as a Guest Teaching Artist.

In 2022, she worked as a choreographic apprentice with the Broadway show, David Byrne’s American Utopia.

She is a Dance Teacher Magazine’s 2021 Dance Teacher Award Recipient and a recipient of Assemblymember Brian Cunningham’s Woman of Distinction Award.

Her most recent accomplishment was co-writing and co-directing her new film CROWN, a celebration of black hair, black dance and black love and Pa’lante, a celebration of Female Athletes and Afro-Latinas. With a mission to lead by example, she helps everyone who crosses paths with her to flourish AbunDantly.

Follow:
@iamkarismajay
@crownthefilm
@palantethefilm