FOUNDER & EXECUTIVE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
CHATIERA "COOKIE" RAY
Cookie Ray is a proud African American woman and artist dedicated to embodying vulnerability, divine femininity, and the unapologetic black experience through movement, creating space for critical dialogue and empowerment within the black diaspora.
Chatiera “Cookie” Ray, a native of Cleveland, OH, transitioned to Long Beach, CA, in 2013 to expand and explore her career in dance and youth development. She began dancing at the age of 11 and started training professionally under the tutelage of Michael Medcalf, Terence Greene, Desmond L. Davis, and Natasha Lee-Colon Ehindero, among others. During her adolescence, she garnered much of her training and experience at Karamu House, Cleveland Contemporary Dance Theater, Rainey Institute, and Foluke Cultural Arts Center. Chatiera received her bachelor’s degree from Kent State University in Fashion Merchandising while minoring in Dance Performance. During her undergraduate studies at Kent, she had the opportunity to choreograph several dance works and was honored with the “Dance Choreographers Peer Award.” Shortly after receiving the award, her choreography was selected for adjudication at the American College Dance Festival. Chatiera was granted the opportunity to train with the Garth Fagan Dance Company in Rochester, NY, and be a featured dancer in “Why I Had to Dance,” a choreo-poem written by Ntozake Shange and choreographed by Dianne McIntyre. In 2015, after working with youth in unprivileged communities as an arts educator and mentor, she was inspired to create a Black empowerment movement to allow Black artists to express themselves creatively. That same year, she founded the CRayProject. Since its inception, Chatiera has created several works, granting her opportunities to collaborate with other performing arts organizations and companies around the United States. Her work has been presented with LA Unbound, RAW Artists, Lula Washington Dance Theater, MOD ARTS (New York), Long Beach Playhouse Theater, The Museum of Latin American Art, JJR Arts (Los Angeles), and more.
Chatiera is committed to making the arts accessible to several after-school programs, recreation centers, and local non-profits. Through performance arts and education, she hopes to strengthen, empower, and inspire the communities she serves.
In practice, Chatiera recognizes herself as a WOman first, a proud African American, and a queen. As a dancer and artist, She’s dedicated to breathing life into movement that embodies vulnerability, divine femininity as a complement to masculinity, and the unapologetic black experience. Her artistry creates space for black voices and bodies to challenge societal norms, fostering newfound abstractions in beauty, visibility, and futurism that embrace the diversity of the black diaspora.
In June 2025, the Community Peace and Wellness Collective of Long Beach, California, awarded Chatiera the Freedom Fighter: Sojourner Truth Award for Women's Rights & Justice, honoring her unwavering advocacy and her commitment to uplifting marginalized voices with strength and truth. Her authenticity, expressive depth, and bold provocation remain at the heart of her work.
Chatiera creates work that is honest, impactful, and rooted in personal reflection and intentional exploration. Drawing from the human experience—past and present—her creations embrace originality, clear motifs, and subjects that spark critical dialogue and invite courageous conversations.
Her creative process is deeply personal, driven by a desire to cultivate change, self-affirmation, education, and moments of liberation. Through her artistry, she strives to inspire freedom and empower others to embrace their most authentic selves.
