Jelani Taylor

Jelani Taylor is a dancer, choreographer, and arts administrator from Virginia Beach, Virginia, currently working out of New York City. He is the Founder and Artistic Director of Era Dance Company and is the Artists of Color Council Coordinator for Movement Research. Jelani’s choreography has been presented nationally at Inside/Out at Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, the International Association of Blacks in Dance Conference (IABD), National Dance Society Conference (NDS), and various festivals in Virginia and New York City. He has performed in work by Nathan Trice, Sinclair O’Gaga, and Mariah Lopez. Most recently, Jelani and Era Dance Company were artist/company in residence at Norfolk State University and a part of the Digging in Group, Artist Residency program at Green Space Studio. Jelani graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) with a B.F.A in Dance and Choreography in 2019. While at VCU, Jelani was the recipient of the African American Studies Department’s “Black History in the Making” Award 

Website: https://www.era-arts.org/

Instagram: @jelanireality

Jelani Taylor headshot: Emily Farthing

“I am deeply grateful to University Settlement for engaging me as a 2024-25 Fellow. Their offerings of support are invaluable for my work and I look forward to developing and sharing my practice with their community.”

Scroll to Top
Scroll to Top