a home for African and Diaspora dance and music. Through our donation-based dance & music classes along with cultural programs, we invite everyone to feel the joy and vitality of rhythms rooted in Africa. Each donation helps to support our mission to make African-rooted dance and education accessible to everyone, regardless of economic background.
Cumbe Is…
Our Vision
To bring ashé, the power and spirit of African and Diaspora dance and music, into our modern lives.
Our Mission
Cumbe is a home for African and Diaspora dance and music. Through classes and cultural programs, we invite everyone to feel the joy and vitality of rhythms rooted in Africa. Cumbe champions African and Diaspora culture as a vibrant legacy for people of African descent and as an exuberant source of power, spirit and knowledge for all.
Our Core Values
Welcome everyone graciously · Respect traditions of African and the African Diaspora · Celebrate the contributions of African and Diaspora culture to the world · Honor artists · Use our platform as an African and Diaspora dance studio to move our community and world towards racial equality.
Meet Our Founders
Dominque Bravo
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Dominique Bravo was born in Los Angeles, California to parents from Peru. For the past 20 years, Dominique has devoted her life’s work to culture and social service. She received a B.A. in Development Studies from UC Berkeley and a J.D. from Northeastern School of Law. As a lawyer, Dominique represented clients in various creative mediums. She served as General Counsel to the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, and as counsel to a number of arts and social service organizations in New York and around the country. Dominique sits on the boards of Chicken and Egg Pictures and The Red Hook Initiative community organization. She is a member of Community Board 6 and lives in Park Slope, Brooklyn with her husband and their three children.
Pat Hall
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Pat Hall is an internationally acclaimed dancer/choreographer and teacher. Her style is most influenced by African, Caribbean, and contemporary American dance. Her interest in ceremonial and ritual practices of indigenous peoples informs her choreographic work. Pat has appeared at such places as the Joyce Theater, Carnegie Hall, Merkin Hall, Dance Theater Workshop, BAM, and Jacob’s Pillow, as well as numerous theaters around the world. She has been an Artist-in-Residence at Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts in Singapore and a Visiting Artist at the University of Singapore. Pat choreographed for and toured extensively as a guest artist with Urban Bush Women and has traveled to Peru, Hungary, Korea, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, England, and Senegal. As a recipient of the Dance Theater Workshop’s National Performance Suitcase Fund Award, she has conducted research expeditions to Haiti, Martinique, Jamaica, Nigeria, and Benin. Her many accolades include an Ethnic Dance Award from Dance Giant Steps, Inc., Attitude Magazine and a Brooklyn Arts Exchange Progress Awards in Arts Edication. A sought after teacher and lecturer, Pat currently serves as a teaching artist in BAM’s Education and Humanities Department and an adjunct professor at the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University.
Jimena Martinez
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Born in Colombia and raised in Queens, New York, Jimena brings over 20 years of management in both the non-profit and corporate sectors to Cumbe. She has served as Director of Technical Assistance and Project Director of the Harlem Community Justice Center and Director of Youth Programming at the Center for Court Innovation. She has also served as Director of Development for Educators for Social Responsibility Metro (now Morningside Center for Social Responsibility). Jimena has always had an interest in dance, most notably West African, Brazilian and Haitian. In 2009, she envisioned a creative space that would amalgamate culture and dance and serve as a resource for teachers, dancers and the community—that vision is now Cumbe. Jimena holds a degree in economics from Barnard College. She lives in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn with her husband and twins.