FOUNDERS & Artistic Directors
Anya Clarke-Verdery
Lead Choreographer
Born and raised in Brooklyn, with roots hailing from Trinidad & Tobago, Anya Clarke-Verdery (they/them) is a queer choreographer, dance artist, and educator. They received their BFA in Dance from Long Island University where they began their choreographic career choreographing for the American College Dance Association. In 2016, they won 1st prize for Choreographic Excellence in the 11th International REVERBDance Festival. Described as movement that “moves between lucid and fluid to downright jarring in the most effective way,” Anya’s work has been presented at venues such as the Andy Warhol Museum, Gelsey Kirkland Theater, Dixon Place, and more. As a dance artist Anya has worked with choreographers such as Matthew Rushing, Sidra Bell, Earl Mosley, Clifton Brown, Holly Blakey, Alex Ketley, Staycee Pearl, among others. Alongside partner Mitsuko Clarke-Verdery, they were selected as the 2019 Guest Lecturer and Resident Artist at Carnegie Mellon University's School of Art & Drama, and a 2018 PearlDiving Movement Resident Artist at PearlArts Studios. Anya’s love for dance permeates through their teaching. Their expertise with both children and adults has led them to teach at schools and organizations such as Point Park University, Purchase College Conservatory of Dance, UC Santa Barbara, Earl Mosley’s Institute of the Arts, A BroaderWay Foundation, Excellence Community Schools, and more. With MICHIYAYA, Anya is the lead choreographer creating highly physical and visceral choreography that melds with each dance artist’s voice.
Mitsuko Clarke-Verdery
Lead Contextual Designer
Mitsuko Clarke-Verdery (she/her) is a queer visual, performance, and dance artist from New York City. As a woman of European and Japanese descent, and coming from a family of artists of many genres, Mitsuko’s influences have always stemmed across mediums. She is a visual arts alumni of LaGuardia High School and the Ballet Hispánico School of Dance. She received her BFA in Visual Art from Carnegie Mellon University along with completion of the Independent Study program at the Alvin Ailey Dance School. Mitsuko is a National Silver Medal Winner in Excellence in Photography from Scholastic, and a recipient of Carnegie Mellon’s Emily Phyllis Howard and Wilfred Readio Awards. She has shown her visual and performance work at the Brooklyn Museum, Miller Gallery, BRIC Arts Media Gallery, Heath Gallery, among others. As a dance artist, Mitsuko has performed in works by Ronald K. Brown, Francesca Harper, Sidra Bell, Earl Mosley, and more. Alongside partner Anya Clarke-Verdery, she was selected as a 2021 guest resident artist at UC Santa Barbara, a 2019 Carnegie Mellon University School of Art & Drama Guest Lecturer & Resident Artist, and a 2018 PearlDiving Movement Resident Artist at PearlArts Studios. With a passion for supporting the next generation of artists, Mitsuko has taught at and led panel discussions at schools and organizations such as Montclair State University, Gibney, Peridance Capezio Center, A BroaderWay Foundation, and more. As an Artistic Director of MICHIYAYA Dance, Mitsuko creates visual and contextual landscapes for the dance artists to engage with—taking form as character development, sculptural/visual elements, technology, text, and more.