Nia & Ness are a black, lesbian, dancer-poet performance art duo based in Brooklyn, NY. The duo met in 2013 and founded their company in 2016. They have performed at multiple venues in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, sharing their work that aims at a deeper understanding of their co-reality through intense investigation of their individual identities. They have also been highlighted in local newspapers; recognized by the Brooklyn-based art group, THE CREATORS COLLECTIVE, as one of their top 5 artists of 2016; been featured in a 2017 BRIC TV segment and on Radio Free Brooklyn; performed at Brooklyn Pride 2017; are recipients of the BAX Summer 2017 Space Grant; and the winners of the 2017 National Women’s Music Festival Emerging Artist Contest.
Along with the couple’s work together, Nia is a proud BFA dance graduate from Temple University. Immediately after graduation she began dancing in Germany and France with DAGADA dance company; and Ness, a Journalism graduate of SUNY Plattsburgh, freelances as a writer for the California-based magazine Việt Tide.
The 49th Annual Festival • July 3-6, 2025