BRIANA REED (St. Petersburg, FL.) began her dance training at The Academy of Ballet Arts under the direction of Suzanne Pomerantzeff, studying Ballet, Jazz and Russian Character. Ms. Reed continued her studies at The Pinellas County Center for the Arts at Gibbs High School under the direction of Reginald Yates and spent her summers studying at The Ailey School as a scholarship student. These summers studying at The Ailey School broadened her view of dance as a vehicle for expression far beyond making beautiful shapes. During high school Ms. Reed joined Dundu Dole Urban African Ballet under the direction of Jai Hinson, which gave Ms. Reed several opportunities to perform. These performances intensified Ms. Reed’s passion for performing. Ms. Reed received scholarship to study at The Juilliard School and upon graduation she was accepted into Ailey II. A year later Ms. Reed auditioned and was accepted into The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater where she performed as a Principal Dancer. Ms. Reed has performed works by Alvin Ailey, Talley Beatty, Ulysses Dove, Lester Horton, Hans Van Manen and Billy Wilson. She has worked with and performed works by world-renowned chorographers Kyle Abraham, Karole Armitage, Robert Battle, Mauro Bigonzetti, Anthony Burrell, Camille Brown, Ronald K. Brown, Lynn Taylor-Corbett, Donald Byrd, George Faison, Dana Foglia, Rennie Harris, Geoffrey Holder, Judith Jamison, Bill T. Jones, Abdul Latif, Jonathan Lee, Alonzo King, Jaquel Knight, Donald McKayle, Earl Mosley, Ohad Naharin, Benoit Swan Pouffer, Redha, Dwight Rhoden, Matthew Rushing, Shin Wei and Jawole Willa Jo Zollar. Performing with Alvin Ailey has allowed Ms. Reed to tour in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chilé, China, Cyprus, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Israel, Japan, Mexico, The Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Russia, Scotland, Singapore, Spain, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, Trinidad/ Tobago and The UK. In 2010 Ms. Reed was honored to perform at The White House in tribute to Judith Jamison and in 2013 to speak to First Lady Michelle Obama’s mentees of the White House Leadership and Mentoring Initiative at the Kennedy Center. Ms. Reed is also a two time recipient of the Key to the City of St. Petersburg, FL. Ms. Reed is an ABT ® Affiliate Teacher, who has successfully completed the ABT® Teacher Training Intensive in Primary through Level 3 of the ABT® National Training Curriculum and has successfully presented students for examinations, earning her the distinction ABT Teaching Fellow. Ms. Reed was on the dance faculty at The Harlem School of the Arts teaching ballet, contemporary and modern dance, is currently a member of the ballet faculty at The American Ballet Theater JKO School, teaches modern and contemporary at The Institute of American Musical Theater and is teaching master classes through Educational Performance Tours New York. Ms. Reed is a licensed Gyrotonic instructor and Yoga enthusiast. Ms. Reed has been honored to perform on Good Morning America, ELLEN, Carmen and Geoffrey a documentary that chronicles the lives of historic African American icons Geoffrey Holder and Carmen de Lavallade, Mercedes Benz Fashion Week for designer Tracy Reese, NETFLIX The Get Down, MTV VMAS with Beyoncé, Saturday Night Live and Ms. Reed choreographed and was the lead actor in a short film titled The Miracle Twerker directed by Nick Minas screened at The Directors Guild and Steiner Studios, as well as Choreographer for Tonya Pinkins’ Truth and Reconciliation: Womyn Working It Out, a collection of plays written by and about women directed by Tony Award winning actress Tonya Pinkins.