Candice Michelle Franklin: May 2025

Saturday, May 31, 2025

Pro DANZ® Group

Candice Michelle Franklin
CEO & Head Choreographer of The Pro DANZ® Group

Dance Artist
*Choreographer
Creative Director
Producer
Dance Coach
**Teaching Artist
Master Teacher in Jazz Dance Arts
Traditional Jazz Technique Trainer
Beginning to Professional

*Specializing in choreography for live music concerts, musicals, music videos, stage shows, concert dance, festivals, dance conventions, dance camps, master classes, education workshops, high school dance programs, collegiate dance programs, film, television, web shows

**Teaching Artist of Open Level Creative Movement in Jazz Studies accompanied by live Contemporary and Traditional Jazz Music

Dance Choreography Specialties:
Commercial Jazz, Contemporary Concert Jazz, Afro-Fusion Jazz, Musical Theatre Jazz, Industrial Technique Jazz, Latin Jazz, Salsa On2, East Coast Swing, Lindy Hop, Urban Contemporary Jazz, Retro Jazz Soul

Music Styles:
Neo-Soul, R&B, Hip Hop, Acid Jazz, House, Funk, Blues, Samba, Afro Cuban Jazz, Bossa Nova, Salsa, Cha Cha, Boogaloo, Boogie Woogie, Swing, Jazz Standards, Contemporary Jazz, Bollywood, Bollywood Hip Hop Fusion

Dance Casting:
Live Stage Shows, Music Videos, Back-up Dancers, Theatrical Production, Industrials, Special Events

Professional Dancers-for-Hire:
Commercial Pop/Hip Hop Dancers Choreographed for
Recording Artists, Music Videos, Industry Events, Special Events, & Fashion Shows

Other Custom Choreography Services:
Custom Choreography Packages for Wedding First Dance, Wedding Court/Sweet 16 Routines, Quincinera,
Father/Daughter Dance, Office Party Routine/Funny Video, Milestone Birthday (I Still Got It! Routine)

***Wedding Dancers-for-Hire***
Express your love on your wedding day in a super special way
with a professionally danced “LOVE” duet!

***Hire professional dancers to perform to your favorite love song at your ceremony or reception.
“LOVE DUETS” are Candice’s specialty! Whether it’s a sexy, current R&B tune, a romantic old-school Soul song, a flirtatious, yet gritty Blues, or an elegant Jazz classic a la Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, let Candice create a dance just for you. Dances can be performed to live or recorded music. Rates start at $500. Custom choreographed performances start at $600.
Call for details.
(212) 426-1305

Hire Professional
LIVE MUSIC & DANCE ENTERTAINMENT

Hire JAZZ AIN’T DEAD® for your next special event! Jazz Ain’t Dead® consists of a Live BAND and DJ performed with Live DANCERS in a high-energy floor show. Sets are 15 minute, 30 minute, 45 minute, 60 minute, and 75 minutes. Entertainment can be planned up to three hours with band and dancers, and up to four hours with floor shows spread throughout the evening. Music styles include Funk and R&B, Funk Jazz Fusion, Jazz Standards, 20’s, 40’s, House, Acid Jazz, and Top 40 requests. Rates start at $2500. Call for additional information on rates and set descriptions.

Miss Candice Michelle Franklin is the Choreographer and the Artistic Producing Director of
JAZZ AIN’T DEAD®.

Pro DANZ® Group
Dance Industrial Professionals, Inc.
(212) 426-1305

Candice Michelle Franklin is a proud member of SAG-AFTRA.

Candice Michelle Franklin –Choreographer, Dance Artist, Master Teacher in Jazz Dance Studies

Candice Michelle Franklin
Creator of JAZZ AIN'T DEAD® Live Music and Dance Production

Dance Artist/Choreographer/Master Instructor in Jazz Dance Studies:

Traditional Jazz Technique, Contemporary Jazz Soul, Lyrical,
Theater Jazz, Afro-Fusion Jazz, Latin Jazz Styles, Commercial Jazz,
Street Jazz for Young Dancers, Ballroom, Lindy Hop, East Coast Swing, Salsa On2,
Studies in Jazz Rhythms for Dancers, Concert Jazz &
Repertory from Jazz Ain't Dead®

Biography

Originally from St. Louis, MO, born and bred into Jazz dance and influenced greatly by the Jazz music scene, Candice Michelle Franklin is a New York based professional dancer, choreographer, and producer who has been seen in numerous film, TV shows, music videos, industrials, and, of course, on the live stage performing in plays and dance companies. She holds a MBA from SNHU and Berklee College of Music's joint MBA program specializing in Music Business as well as a B.A. in Fine Arts on four-year scholarship from the University of Kansas majoring in Dance. She also studied on scholarship at Steps on Broadway, trained in St. Louis at Missouri Concert Ballet, and, upon invitation to New York, received her conservatory training at the Alvin Ailey American Dance Center.

She owns Dance Industrial Professionals, Inc./The Pro DANZ Group in which she oversees the dance and creative direction of several performance groups, recording artists, industrials, and stage shows. Her work has been performed in a host of New York venues including Lincoln Center Summer for the City, Dizzy's Jazz at Lincoln Center, Harlem Stage, Jacob Javitz Convention Center, The Syracuse OnCenter, MTV/Viacom, Capitale, Odeum Expo Center, Broad Street Ballroom, The Kumble Theater, the National Black Theater, Symphony Space, Joyce SoHo, Brooklyn Academy of Music's BAM Cafe, Webster Hall, The SPACE at Westbury/Westbury Theater, Stage 48, the Oheka Castle, The Theater of Riverside Church, The Sage Theater, American Theater of Actors, Denny Farrell Riverbank State Park, Marcus Garvey Park,Tribeca Performing Arts Center, John Jay College, and New York’s City College, as well as numerous casinos on the east coast such as Turning Stone, the Foxwoods, Mohegan Sun, Tropicana, Borgata, and Caesar’s.

Additionally, her choreography has been seen in the WEBBY-nominated music video for the rock band Black Taxi called “Shoeshine,” in the holiday stage play for Tiny Starr Productions, "Coming Home to Christmas," and in the gospel stage play, Blest Be the Tide, performed at Aaron Davis Hall in New York City to name a few. Moreover, she has performed collaborations with the legendary master jazz pianist Onaje Allan Gumbs II's New Vintage, Alphonso Horne and the Gotham Kings, world renown tap sensation, Dormeshia Sumbry-Edwards, and word music singer and percussionist, Philip Hamilton. She has also served as Head Choreographer for CEG Productions LLC in addition to being an integral part, as both dancer and dance captain for the production company, for over 20 years. Furthermore, she has served as choreographer for the 80′s Girl Group, Buffalo Stance, and as choreographer for a number of recording artists including Natiah, internationally celebrated Bollywood Hip hop artist, SHAKTI, the rapper BRASCO, Art Aure, Courtney El, and Grammy award winning recording artist, Macy Gray.

Currently, Ms. Franklin works on faculty as an Advanced Jazz instructor for the Joffrey Ballet School's elite year-round ballet trainee program and summer dance intensives as well as serve as a Master instructor and adjudicator for Joffrey's National audition tour. She serves as Artistic Director of the Cumbe RISE Community Dance Company, and works as the producer and choreographer for Jazz Ain’t Dead®, a live music band and dance production group. She performs as one half of the dynamic Lindy Hop duo, Sammy and Candy, and is a fellowship member of the prestigious Al Minns Next Generation Project. She continues to study Dunham as a certificate candidate with IDTC and teaches Dunham-Informed Jazz Technique and Performance at Cumbe Center for African and Diaspora Dance in Brooklyn, NY. Miss Franklin is a proud member of SAG-AFTRA and a founding member of the not-for-profit 501(c)3 dance advocacy foundation, iDANZ®, Inc.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Candice Michelle Franklin

Master Teacher in Jazz Dance & Jazz Dance Rhythm Studies

Dance Conservatories/Colleges/Academies	State
Joffrey Ballet School	New York, NY
Mauro Compañía y Academia de baile y producción	San Juan, Puerto Rico
Pro Arte Dance Centre	Vancouver, B.C., Canada
Andanza Contemporary Dance Company	San Juan, Puerto Rico
Union County Academy of the Performing Arts	Rahway, NJ
Talented Unlimited High School	New York, NY
Vancover School of Arts and Academics	Vancouver, WA
IABD/Dallas Black Dance Theatre	Dallas, TX
Boston Ballet	Boston, MA
University of Hartford/The Hart School	Hartford, CT
Harlem School of the Arts	New York, NY
High School for Contemporary Arts	Bronx, NY
The Global Learning Collaborative High School	New York, NY
East Coast Ballet	Jacksonville, FL
Detroit Music Hall Center for Performing Arts	Detroit, MI
University of Utah/Marriott Center for Dance	Salt Lake City, UT
IABD/Joy for Motion Dance Center	Washington, D.C.
Pacific Northwest Ballet School	Seattle, WA
Maria Verdeja School of the Arts	Coral Gables, FL
Freddy Jet Art House and Dance Conservatory	Oxford, AL
Colorado Ballet	Denver, CO
The Ballet School of Stamford	Stamford, CT
Walnut Hill School for the Arts	Natick, MA
NOCCA -New Orleans Center for Creative Arts	New Orleans, LA
Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing Arts	Dallas, TX
Young Dance Academy	Milwaukee, WI
Joffrey Ballet School/Miami -New World School of the Arts	Miami, Florida
University of Kansas Department of Dance	Lawrence, KS
Uptown Dance Academy	New York, NY
Ballet Hispanico	New York, NY
Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre	Pittsburgh, PA
Wycoff School of Dance	Wycoff, NJ
Cycely Tyson High School of the Performing Arts	East Orange, NJ
Next Step Dance Studio	Milwaukee, WI
Expressions Dance Studio	West Union, IA
Infinity Dance Company	Lyndon, WA
N'Ferno Performing Arts Center	Baltimore, MD
Center for Performing Arts Methuen	Boston, MA
Together We Dance	St. Louis, MO
Pinx Academy of Dance	St. Louis, MO
Jovan Miller Productions	Seattle, WA
IABD Wyndham Hotel/Cleveland	Cleveland, OH
IABD Denver Center for the Performing Arts	Denver, CO
Carolina Dance Center	Raleigh, NC
Hubbard Street Dance Chicago	Chicago, IL
Arkansas Academy of Dance	Little Rock, AK
Kansas City Ballet	Kansas City, MO
Eisenhower Dance	Rochester, MI
Kent State University	Kent, OH
Classical Ballet Academy	Portland, OR
Suzanne's Main Street Dance Centre	Detroit, MI
Angela Floyd Schools	Knoxville, TN
The Majestic	Bellingham, WA
School of Alberta Ballet	Calgary, Canada
Edge School for Athletes	Calgary, Canada
Hovi Strauss - Dance Etc.!	Fargo, North Dakota
Elite Dance Studio	Portland, OR
California Dance Theater	Agoura, CA
Jody Phillips Dance Company	Overland Park, KS
The Putney School	Putney, VT
Webster University	St. Louis, MO
Portland School of Ballet	Portland, ME
Pennsylvania School of the Performing Arts	Newtown, PA
School of Nashville Ballet	Nashville, TN
Heart of America Dance Center	Lee Summit, MO
School of Classical Ballet & Dance	West Des Moines, IA
Beck Center for the Arts	Cleveland, OH
Center for Dance Education Carolina Ballet	Columbia, SC
The Joyce (Arts Educational Programming)	New York, NY
Miami Arts Charter/Joffrey Ballet School	Wynwood, FL

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Click Here for C.V.

Click Here for Videos

Click here for choreography recommendation letters:
Michael Blake, Director of Jazz and Contemporary at Joffrey Ballet School (Recommendation for Katherine Dunham Certification)

Randy Thomas, Universal Music Group (Jazz & Contemporary Music Label Executive)
Beverly Fish, CEG Productions, LLC (Live Music and Dance Event Corporation)
Adam Hootnick, Resonance Interactive (Music Video Film Director/Film Production Company)
Lafayette Harris, Jr., Pianist (Major Jazz Recording Artist and Music Director of Bring in Da’ Noise/Funk)
SHAKTI, Internationally Celebrated Bollywood Hip Hop Recording Artist
Joffrey Ballet School, Director of Jazz and Contemporary at Joffrey Ballet School (Testimonial of Choreography/Instruction)
PS 87, Testimonial of Student Lecture Demonstration

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Join Cumbe RISE Community Dance Company

Cumbe RISE Community Dance Company

Dunham-Informed Jazz Technique & Performance Workshop

With Instruction & Choreography by Candice Michelle Franklin

Join Cumbe RISE Community Dance Company

A Community Dance Performance Group Open to Dancers of All Levels

How to join? Come join us for Dunham-Informed Jazz Technique & Performance Workshop, a special class and choreography series open to community dancers of all levels culminating into a live concert-staged performance presented by Cumbe with the option to perform at Cumbe socials and locally produced community events. There are no auditions. All classes are on Saturdays at Noon.

Next Workshop Series Begins June 7, 2025

Please note that this class series is part of Cumbe RISE Saturdays at Noon,

a curated class series to train Cumbe RISE Community Dance Company student dance members. This class is also open to all Cumbe dance students.

Class Description: Inspired by the work of Katherine Dunham, dancers will explore Dunham's movement vocabulary often used in Jazz dance, traditional modern Jazz motifs, as well as vernacular jazz movement and experiment with the three to ultimately train and strengthen the body for a concert Jazz dance movement aesthetic. For each meeting, a classic Dunham warm-up will be given followed by lively, Dunham-inspired Jazz progressions. The final 45 minutes of class will be reserved for choreography creation, ultimately building a concert dance piece. Class is open and embraces all levels, yet challenging enough for students who haven't danced for many years in a fun, freeing, and supportive environment.

Perform with Cumbe. All Are Welcome.

Excited to join? Check out our recap video!