CJay Philip

Philip

CJay Philip an award-winning actress/director/choreographer, and Artistic Director of Dance & Bmore, a multidisciplinary Baltimore-based ensemble presenting a unique fusion of movement, music, theatrics, and spoken word in their socially conscious and interactive works. Dance & Bmore also designs innovative multigenerational programs to stimulate the imagination and strengthen relationships while building a sense of community and well-being.
Before moving to Baltimore, CJay began her career with the Maude Baum Modern Dance Company and Burundi African Dance in upstate New York. She made her Broadway debut in Big the Musical, appeared in Street Corner Symphony, on Broadway, and was Dance Captain for Hairspray on Broadway. She has toured as Lorrell in Dreamgirls and Paulette in Legally Blonde. CJay has written four works for the stage, including a musical adaptation of Carmen which enjoyed a sold-out European run and the Baltimore production is recognized for artistic excellence in the 2022 and 2023 Tony Award Playbill.
She has directed and choreographed hundreds of musicals and performance events around the world including: The Who’s Tommy, Once on This Island, Ragtime, Marvin’s Trial, the Philadelphia Presidential Summit, the Emmy-award–winning NBC broadcast of the McDonald’s Gospel Fest, the Baltimore African American Festival, WOW (Women of the World) Festival at the Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, and an Upfront for Essences Magazine.
As an arts educator, she’s been program director for the HOPE for kids School of the Arts in NYC and the Baltimore Story Tree Gang addressing social issues through comic storytelling and community talk-backs led by teens. CJay was founding director of the Children’s Theater Production Company at the Gordon Center for the Performing Arts. She taught Interdisciplinary Collaboration at the Baltimore School for the Arts and Musical Theater at Baltimore Centerstage. CJay was a host and producer of the online series The Baltimore Arts Scene and Dance & Bmore Live. CJay is the recipient of a Baker Artist b-grant, a Baltimore Social Innovators Award, Dance Break NYC Award, a Champion of Courage Award, and a 2023 Weaver Award. She is a Robert W Deutsch Fellow and a Kennedy Center Citizen Artist Fellow.
CJAy is the 2024 recipient of the Tony Award for Excellence in Theatre Education!