Speak Easy, Speak Freely Artists

Featured in our October 15th event for Domestic Violence Awareness Month, these incredible performers brought their craft to the stage with a passionate celebration of survivor empowerment.

Malaika Tinashe

Malaika Tinashe is a writer, actor, director, model, and dancer born in South Africa and raised in St. Louis, MO. They are a recent graduate of Pace University’s BFA Acting program and a former Andrew W. Mellon Storytelling Fellow. They are a published author of poetry entitled “My Words, My Rules” currently available on Amazon.

They have been writing plays and poetry since they were 14 years old, and have had a short play produced in the 10 Minute Queer Shorts Festival called Going Over It Again which will be produced again in 2025 for the New York Theatre Festival. Malaika most recently wrote, produced, and performed in a reading of their original play Don’t Look So Damn Surprised: A Greek Myth Hidden in the Homes of St. Louis.

Artemis Montague

Artemis is a musical theatre writer, singer-songwriter, and aspiring voiceover actor. Their musical, SHE SINGS ME HOME, has been at the Green Room 42, Round House Theatre in Bethesda, MD, and the Kennedy Center with help from Ally Theatre Company and has won a Map Fund Grant in 2024. Their gospel-rock EP is forthcoming in early 2025.

Alexandra James

Alexandra James is a genre-bending singer-songwriter grown in California and based in Brooklyn. Equal parts outlaw country and folk lullaby, with a background in jazz music, she is a unique blend of sound and influence. First and foremost she is a storyteller, using her quietly powerful voice to deliver raw and personal lyrics. She and her band, the Danger Boys, deliver an energetic set of original music full of emotional depth, toe-tapping grooves, and lush vocal harmony.

Halle Augenstein

Halle Augenstein is originally from Marion, OH where she began dancing at the young age of 8. Starting with jazz and later adding ballet and tap at Edye Cook’s School of Dance, she then studied at Wright State University, expanding into more modern/contemporary styles as well as musical theater.

Upon moving to NYC in 2021, Halle has danced and collaborated with acclaimed shows including Alessandra Corona Performing Works and Guilty Pleasures Cabaret. Her time spent in the city has also focused on heels and commercial styles. She is currently the choreographer and dancer for Let’s Sing Taylor, a touring tribute band with shows across the country.

Priya

Priya is an NYC-based performer and producer who is known for her versatility of vocal style, language & genre. As an artist and academic, her work explores queer love, identity, belonging and healing. She regularly performs love songs with her fusion band, produces immersive theatrical concerts, dances burlesque, and teaches trauma-informed yoga with live music. She combines performance and theory to entice us to enjoy the pleasures of life while healing from the prickly pains. Her debut album, (Be)loved, will be released next year.

Leke

Born Adeleke Oluwasegun Ode in Newark, NJ and raised with the rich tapestry of his Nigerian heritage, Leke embarked on a musical journey at NYU that led to the formation of the dynamic production duo PPL with his partner Connor Sandstrom. Their collaborative work has left an indelible mark on the NYC music scene, encompassing production, scoring, engineering, and songwriting for a diverse range of projects. Now, Leke embarks on a new chapter, stepping into the spotlight as a solo artist.

Under his chosen name, Leke, he channels the stories of his friends, family, and loved ones, weaving their experiences into a sonic exploration of his own worldview. His music is a bridge between worlds, a testament to the power of human connection and the transformative nature of love and loss. With his debut solo project, Leke invites you to join him on a deeply personal journey, one that promises to resonate with anyone who has ever sought to understand their place in the world.

Emma Rosa

Emma Rosa, Cuban New Jersey native, is a professional dancer, choreographer, teacher, and activist. Emma is currently a backup dancer for Reggaeton artist Guaynaa and has performed with other popular music artists including Trey Songz, 50 Cent, Snoop Dogg, Sech, El Alfa, and more all around the world. She has also been a dance athlete for Nike’s Own The Floor campaign and a movement artist for Gap’s Linen Moves campaign.

As an international dance instructor, Emma has taught packed classes all across the US and in fifteen countries globally including France, England, Portugal, Costa Rica, and more. Her main focus is to inspire movement expression for people of all levels and abilities through a focus on intuition, community-building, and unapologetic self-acceptance.

Connor David

Connor David is a multi-instrumentalist producer, composer, and songwriter based in Brooklyn. He’s performed around the circuit of New York venues for several years (Mercury Lounge, Bowery Ballroom, Baby’s All Right) and this year played at the 2024 Grammy House accompanying R&B singer Beth Million.

Amber P

Amber began her dance training at the age of 3 before being recruited by her instructor, Michael Gary, to join his pre-professional dance academy/company, Acrodanse Theatre, at the age of 4. Amber trained in Classical Ballet, Modern (traditional and contemporary), Lyrical, Jazz, Tap, Hip Hop, Gymnastics and Acrobatics, Afro-Fusion, and Liturgical dance. She has shared her talent by teaching statewide at all levels — youth to adult — in every style and working with students in many different areas.

During her adult professional career as a dancer and choreographer, Amber has performed and participated in projects with artists such as Safaree, Vybz Kartel, Movado, MonCherie, and upcoming artists around the country. She has also worked with choreographers such as Benoit Swan-Pouffer of Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet, Ohad Naharin of Batsheva Dance Company, Jawole Willa Jo Zollar of Urban Bush Woman, Emma Rosa, Latosha Mitchell, and a number of amazing choreographing artists in the tri-state area.

Amber is the founder & director of her own dance instructional program, Souls Of Art Dance, which includes instruction of all styles of dance and movement to all ages and levels. She loves working with children, teaching them everything she has learned about the beauty and art of dance while encouraging them to find their own special voice within the movement.

Vera

Vera is an independent singer, songwriter, and musician based in Brooklyn, New York. Her niche is R&B soul music with intertwined tastes of jazz and pop. She aims to create a sonic world that is a safe space for vulnerability and unapologetic self-expression. She hopes those who listen to her music feel empowered to embrace their confidence and everything that makes them uniquely who they are. Her highly anticipated debut project will be coming out later this year.