Brianna Mercado

Bio content provided by individual

Teacher Bio

Brianna Mercado is a diverse and purposeful dance artist, international teacher, and choreographer based in New York City. She started her dance training in the San Francisco Bay Area, where she attended the University of California Berkeley and graduated with a double major in Dance & Performance Studies and Social Welfare. Since then, she has worked with diverse leaders in the dance industry including Jon Rua & The Grit, Rhapsody James, Luam Keflezgy, Derek Mitchell...read more

Brianna Mercado is a diverse and purposeful dance artist, international teacher, and choreographer based in New York City. She started her dance training in the San Francisco Bay Area, where she attended the University of California Berkeley and graduated with a double major in Dance & Performance Studies and Social Welfare. Since then, she has worked with diverse leaders in the dance industry including Jon Rua & The Grit, Rhapsody James, Luam Keflezgy, Derek Mitchell, Stephanie Klemons, Jessica Hartman, Keone & Mari Madrid, and Christopher Gattelli, and has also had the honor to work in pre-production for several Broadway shows.

Her choreography has graced stages at Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera, Milwaukee Repertory Theater, Symphony Space, KnJ Peridance Theater, and the Alvin Ailey Citigroup Theater, and her students have earned prestigious awards at both local and national dance competitions from San Jose, California to Portland, Maine. Standout credits include…

Theater: West Side Story (Milwaukee Rep - Associate Choreographer & Dance Captain), Godspell (PCLO - Associate Choreographer), Jesus Christ Superstar & Aida (MUNY - Dance Captain), Beyond Babel;

Film: Isn’t It Romantic, Netflix: Making Malinche: A Documentary by Nacho Cano; US AirForce Band Airmen of Note;

Industrial: PHISH NYE 2020 at Madison Square Garden, PHISH ‘Fuego’ Tour; Commercial: Travelers Insurance, Nike, and her own TEDx talk entitled “Not Another Cancer Story.”

Alongside her performing career, Brianna is also passionate about youth empowerment, dance education, and wellness. Currently, she is faculty at Peridance Center and CAP 21/Molloy University, serves as a dance instructor in the New York City public schools, and volunteers at CoachArt, a non-profit organization for chronically-ill youth. She is also pursuing her Master of Science degree in Mind-Body Medicine and is a National Board Certified Health and Wellness Coach. Brianna looks forward to empowering her students and creating art that inspires. @bripositive

Read less

Class Descriptions

Commercial Fusion and Contemporary Jazz

This class is designed to allow each student to release, self-express, cultivate community, and pay gratitude to their human vessel. We begin each class with a full body warm-up that includes mindfulness, cardio, strengthening, flexibility, and technique. After exploring a short movement phrase, choreography will be taught that builds from the focus in the warm-up. My style is highly expressive, musical, and intentional, offering dancers a unique fusion of contemporary, hip-hop, jazz, and modern techniques. It is my goal to have each person leave a stronger dancer, a more aware artist, and a super-empowered human.