Meet the Grantees: Brinae Ali

Chamber Music America interview with their grantee and Bloom Arts Strategy client, Brinae Ali. Read full interview here!

Excerpt:

Growing up with a father who is a tap dancer, singer, and self-taught conga player, Brinae Ali caught the music bug at a very young age. Yet it was a collegiate political science course that truly solidified her path as an artist. 

After graduation, the Michigan-born dancer’s career took off. Brinae performed in the New York City Center Encores’ production of Cotton Club Parade, the 2016 adaptation of Shuffle Along on Broadway, Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Salute to Betty Carter, and in STOMP (both off-Broadway and the National Tour). She also taught interdisciplinary tap and jazz programs in New Jersey Performing Arts Center, Flint Michigan Public Schools, and the Apollo Theater Education Department. In 2019 she and husband Sean Jones formed the Baltimore Jazz Collective, and in 2024, they applied for—and were awarded—CMA New Jazz Works grant to support her newest work, The Baby Laurence Legacy Project. 

In time for CMA’s 2025 New Jazz Works grant application period (deadline February 27), we caught up with Brinae to learn more about her journey as a tap dancer and composer, and about her project.