Meet Jermaine Mcghee, Mfa

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jermaine Mcghee, Mfa. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jermaine below.

Jermaine , we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.

I believe my purpose found me and hit me in the head, LOL. I had a dream to dance professionally. Coming from a small town like Charlotte North Carolina, I didn’t know any black men that did what I wanted to do successfully besides one of my ballet teachers, Mel Tomlinson. With that, I began to take dance classes seriously at my high school, Northwest School of the Visual and Performing Arts, and ballet school @ North Carolina Dance Theater– now Charlotte Ballet. At 17, after being accepted to the Alvin AIley School in New York City, purpose came knocking. My dream of dancing professionally has led me to dance on 3 different continents, TV shows, movies, music videos and live productions. The Oxford Language Dictionary states, purpose is the reason for which something is done or created or for which something exists, and by that definition I believe my purpose is continually being unveiled as I continue to live and breathe. Being a professional dance artist is but one part of why I am here on earth, part two of my purpose is to be a builder/encourager of people and the arts with a deep meaningful emphasis of spiritual connection. In this way purpose found me.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

I see myself as a passionate dance scholar, mentor, and performer whose work brings together the rigor of classical dance with the expressive depth of street and modern forms. As an educator and choreographer, I help guide students through both the technical intricacies of dance and its power as a vehicle for identity and social commentary. My unique approach integrates African aesthetics with Eurocentric techniques, offering a fresh, inclusive vision of dance that resonates across cultures and backgrounds.

What sets my work apart is my intention to foster spaces where dance becomes more than movement—it becomes a journey of self-discovery and empowerment. By teaching dance as both an art and a dialogue, it helps all that experience it to uncover their voices, inviting them to embody narratives that often go unheard. I am genuinely committed to diversity, inclusion, and social justice, not just to impact my students but to transform and redefine the landscape of dance as a more empathetic, inclusive art form that invigorates the lived experience.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

I believe my faith; my curiosity and my passion have been key qualities I have discovered and rediscovered on my journey as a creative. As far as advice goes– I am constantly learning things about my field and about myself. With that said, I would say for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve– just show up for yourself and be consistent. No one knows what tomorrow will bring however, the exciting part about that is that you get to try to figure it out if you just keep showing up.

One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?

I believe life depicts the need for collaboration and co creation. It is with that I mind I express how much I love collaborating with all people from varied fields. Over time, I have recognized I align most closely with collaborators who are open-minded, innovative, and dedicated to creating meaningful art in any and every creative landscape.

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Image Credits

Wes Klein & Vince Trupsin

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