DESA | ABOUT | NOTABLE ALUMNI
NOTABLE ALUMNI
Keeping the Spirit of DESA Alive
Alumni and current students are the heartbeat of Ellington. We are proud that many continue to impact the community long after graduating. We are also fortunate that many alumni choose to share their talents as teacher-artists for the next generation of Ellington students. Please take a look at our most notable alumni along with those who are currently serving as teacher-artists, board members, or support staff at Ellington!
Littleton Alston
Class of 1978
Sculptor with a Masters in Fine Arts; received Congressional Recognition for his lifetime contributions in 2020.
Christylez Bacon
Visual Arts
Class of 2005
Grammy-nominated progressive hip-hop artist
Tanya Blount Trotter
Vocal Music
Grammy-nominated country singer as part of husband-wife duo, The Trotters
Jayna Elise Brown
Vocal Music
Class of 2019
Top 12 in American Idol; 2019 Virginia Williams Opera Prize Winner
Elana Casey
Visual Arts
Aliyha Chevalier
Artist and NBA athlete
Ani Dae
Songwriter and performer; business owner
Julee Dickerson Thompson
Artist
Nekisha Durrett
Visual Arts
Class of 1996
A mixed-media artist who employs the visual language of mass media to bring forward histories that objects, places, and words embody, but are not often celebrated.
Edwina Findley
Class of 1998
James Foster
Acclaimed Broadway producer and actor
Denyce Graves
Vocal Music
Class of 1981
International opera mezzo soprano
Corey Hawkins
Theatre
Class of 2006
Emmy and Tony-nominated actor (24, Walking Dead, In The Heights, Straight Outta Compton, Color Purple)
Corcoran Holt
Instrumental Music
Class of 2000
2024 Artist in Residence for DC Jazz Festival
Reuben Jackson (deceased)
Poet, jazz scholar and radio host
Njena Jarvis
Visual Arts
Class of 2000
Multimedia sculptor and performance artist
Kenneth Kellog
Vocal Music & Visual Arts
Class of 1997
Opera singer
Jamie Lawson
Theatre
Class of 2013
Actress (The Batman (2022), The Woman King (2022) and How to Blow Up a Pipeline (2022)
Thad Mumford (deceased)
Amiri Nash
Class of 2022
Washington’s Youth Poet Laureate in 2021
Jamilla Okubo
Visual Arts
Artist who combines painting, textile design, fashion and storytelling to explore the complexity of her American, Kenyan and Trinidadian roots.
Wallace Roney (deceased)
Instrumental Music
Class of 1979
Three time Grammy-award winning trumpeter and composer
Lamann Rucker
Theatre
Class of 1990
Actor (As The World Turns, Why Did I Get Married?, and Greenleaf)
Stan Squirewell
Visual Arts
Class of 1996
Painter, photographer, installation, and performance artist
Tony Terry
Vocal Music
Singer
Topaz (aka Dripping Spring) n/a
Musical maestro and eclectic artist
Samira Wiley
Theatre
Class of 2005
Emmy, SAG and GLADD-winning actress (Orange is the New Black and Handmaid’s Tale)
Elizabeth Wilson
Actress
YahZarah
Vocal Music
Class of 1998
Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter
Jakiya Ayanna & Shaina Aisha Amour
Sister singing duo
William Becton
Vocal Music
Class of 1986
Reached #1 on on Billboard’s Top Gospel Albums Chart with his hit single “Be Encouraged.” He recently released “In the Morning” from his upcoming new album “The Broken Trilogy,
Johnetta Boone
Visual Arts
Costume Designer (Yellowstone, Greenleaf, Hustl, Cadillac Records)
Marjuan Canady
Theatre
Class of 2003
Tony-nominated Broadway Producer and award-winning Caribbean-American artist, entrepreneur, educator, and literacy advocate
Greta Chapin
Matthew Crittenden
Dance
Class of 2023
Michaela Angela Davis
Class of 1982
Writer on African-American style, race, gender and hip-hop culture (Hair Tales: The Parlor (2016), Behind the Curtain: Eclipsed (2016) and The Hair Tales (2022)
Kimberly E. Douglas
Vocal Music
Class of 1988
Wooly Mammoth TheatreCo. Managing Director
Samantha Figgins
Dance
Class of 2007
Dancer with Alvin Ailey American Dance
Donnell Floyd
Class of 1985
Founding member of Go-Go band Rare Essence
Andrew Gelfman (deceased)
Emmy-nominated videographer and editor for NASA Television
Tanya Hamilton
Visual Arts
Class of 1986
Film director and producer (Night Catches Us (2010), The Chi (2018) and Queen Sugar (2016)
Tristan Haynes
Vocal Music
Class of 2017
Freelance producer in Los Angeles and member of metal band, Near an Open Flame; 2017 Virginia Williams Opera Prize Winner
Tracy Inman
Dance
Class of 1979
Co-Director of the Ailey School, dancer, choreographer and educator
Michael Jackson, Jr.
Dance
Class of 2005
Dancer with Alvin Ailey
Khalil D'Jamall
Painter, graphic artist, emcee, photographer, videographer
Simbi Khali
Theatre
Actress, singer, and songwriter (Martin, 3rd Rock from the Sun)
Ari Lennox
Vocal Music
Class of 2009
Grammy-nominated musician and composer
James Foster
Meshell Ndegeocello
Instrumental Music
Grammy-award winner singer-songwriter, rapper, and bassist
Clifton Powell
Class of 1974
NAACP-award winning actor and comedian (Ray, Selma Lord Selma, Dead Presidents, and Menace 2 Society, and the TV series The Family Business, Sacrifice, and Saints & Sinners)
Kevin Ross
Vocal Music
Class of 2005
Ground-breaking R&B singer with top billboard songs
Mike Scott
Musician who has worked with Prince, Lionel Ritchey and others
Kanii Nkson Shorter Jr.
Hank Willis Thomas
Museum Studies
Class of 1994
Conceptual artist working primarily with themes related to perspective, identity, commodity, media and popular culture
Therese Renee Watson (deceased)
An accomplished graduate of DESA, UDC (Bachelor’s of Music), and North Carolina Central University (Master’s of Music). She was a vocal powerhouse and a 2x nominated Wammie artist for her 2020 project, Fortitude and inspired students in the classroom and throughout the music scene nationally and internationally. Theresa was a Nneena Freelon “Jazz in July” scholarship recipient, where she studied under jazz legend Sheila Jordan. She has performed for Barack Obama and at the Lincoln Center. Theresa headlined North Carolina’s Bimbi Festival, The Playlist Series, and the Aretha Franklin Tribute. Theresa was also chosen to represent Washington, DC in Muriel Bowser’s Arts Exchange Program in South Africa. MusicianShip Team
Ben Williams
Instrumental Music
Class of 2002
Grammy-winning bassist
Kevin Winn (deceased)
Dance
Dancer, choreographer, teacher
Maimouna Youssef
Literary Media & Communications
Class of 2002
Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter
Quique Aviles
Class of 1985
DC poet, performer, and community activist
Barry Bishop
Visual Arts
Class of 1987
Portait artist
Amy Bormet
Instrumental Music
Class of 2002
Founder of Washington Women in Jazz Festival, pianist, vocalist and composer
Marc Cary
Instrumental Music
Post-bop jazz pianist
Dave Chappelle
Theatre
Class of 1991
Emmy and Grammy-winning comedian and actor
Maya Cunningham
Fulbright scholar, ethnomusicologist, Africanist/African Americanist scholar, cultural activist, and Black music practitioner
Matthew Dickens
Class of 1979
Actor, singer, dancer and writer, producer, director
Gabrielle Dubose
Dance
Dewitt Fleming, Jr.
Starred in the Broadway musical, A Wonderful World, a musical about the life of music legend, Louis Armstrong
Jen Furlong
Author, producer and actor
Johnny Gill
Class of 1985
R&B singer-songwriter and actor
Robin Y. Harris
Technical Design & Production
Yvette Heyliger
Theatre
Class of 1978
Actress (The Cosby Show), playwright, producing artist, educator, activist, and author (What a Piece of Work is Man! Full-Length Plays for Leading Women)
Yasha Jackson
Theatre
Class of 2003
Actress (The Flight Attendant (2020), Black Mirror (2011) and Manifest (2018)
Sandra Jackson-DuMont
Director and CEO of Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, former Director of Education at MOMA
Tracie Jade Jenkins
Theatre
Class of 1988
Producer, known for Peace of Mind with Taraji (2020), Entertainment Tonight (1981), The Real (2013), Executive Director at The Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation, Former Director of Arts at Duke Ellington School of the Arts
Billie Krishawn
Vocal Music & Visual Arts
Performer and teaching artist
Sylver Logan Sharpe
Vocal Music
Soul, jazz, gospel & blues singer
Brenda Morris
Theatre
Class of 1979
Litigator, executive, and Ellington Fund Vice President
Arcmanoro Niles
makes vivid, brightly-hued paintings that expand our understanding of traditional genre painting and portraiture.
Serena Reeder
Theatre
Actor, writer, and director
Gregory Charles Royal
Musician, trombonist, composer, writer, co-founder of The BeBop Channel, founder of the New York Jazz Film Festival, judge on America's Hot Musician. Artistic Director of the American Youth Symphony (AYS) in D.C.
Adam Serwer
Theatre
Class of 2001
NYT best-Selling author (The Cruelty is the Point), CNN Commentator, staff writer for The Atlantic
Al Strong
Instrumental Music
Class of 1988
Trumpeter
Mary Timmony
Instrumental Music
Class of 1988
Singer-songwriter, guitarist, keyboardist and violist
Rosalind “Roz” White
Vocal Music
Class of 1988
Vocal musician, actor, motivational speaker, and educator
Clifton Williams
Instrumental Music
Class of 2010
An accomplished pianist and songwriter and graduate of Berklee College of Music. Served as Musical Director for the two-time Emmy Award winning Black Music and Civil Rights Movement Concert.
Gail J. Wright
Civil rights attorney and international mediator
ALUMNI CURRENTLY ON
STAFF & BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Visual Arts
Actress (Morning Glory (2010), Everybody's Fine (2009) and Heights (2005), Theatre Teacher
Robin Y. Harris '89
Theatre
Chair of Technical Design & Production Department, Staff Representative to DESAP Board
Fran Scott '78
Visual Arts
Instrument Music Teacher
Gregory Watkins '04
Theatre
Singer, musician, musical director, Director of SEL & Student Services
Robert Blount '79
-
Pianist, Vocal Music Teacher
Gabrielle Dubose '79
Dance
English Teacher
Kieron C. Irvine
Visual Arts
Instrument Music Teacher
Monique D. Spells '99
Vocal Music
Singer, Chair of Vocal Music
Kaia Calhoun
-
Theatre Teacher
Mike Easton '81
Visual Arts
Chair of Visual Arts Department
Brenda Morris, Esq. '79
Theatre
Senior Executive, Ellington Fund Vice President
Nikki Sutton '92
Dance
Physical Education, Dance Potpourri, Dance Composition, Modern Dance II