Staff
Janei Maynard
Executive Director
As founding Executive Director, Janei works to create a space where everyone feels safe & empowered to express themselves and connect with themselves & each other in her hometown of Aurora. She has worked in hip hop equity, hip hop education, and hip hop feminism, as a dancer, musician, and scholar since 2011.
Janei holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity with Honors and a concentration in Identity, Diversity, and Aesthetics, as well as a Master of Arts degree in Communication with a concentration in Media Studies. Both degrees were earned from Stanford University, where she committed her academic work to 1) exploring how hip hop is a unique medium through which low-income, youth of color, specifically Black girls, can tell their stories and connect with themselves, their experiences, and their communities and 2) identifying the impact of mass media, particularly its portrayal of hip hop music and musicians, on low-income youth of color’s self-perception.
From 2016 to 2018, Janei served as the Program Coordinator for the Institute for Diversity in the Arts at Stanford University, where she produced community events, marketed the major coursework concentration, and advised student artists from historically silenced backgrounds. In this position, she helped to coordinate the 5th Element Global Hip Hop Pedagogy Symposium & Think Tank bringing together hip hop educators, community arts advocates, teaching artists, and those interested in the liberatory possibilities of hip hop pedagogies in 2017.
As a freelance creative director, Janei has choreographed and danced opening performances for artists including Ty Dolla $ign, Sevyn Streeter, Adrian Marcel, 2Chainz, Dreezy, and Husalah, as well as co-directed BLACKStage Presents The Wiz in 2018 at Stanford University. She has worked as a director and choreographer for several youth & adult dance teams across multiple genres, including Catch A Fyah Caribbean Dance team and Set It Off Step Squad. She was also a founding member of Next Generation Phenomenon dance crew, founded in Aurora in 2011, which evolved into One Motive and merged with COhe. She performed & competed with and choreographed for COhe One Motive at a local and national level from 2018 to 2020.
Jamal “Moon” Johnson
Facilities manager
Jamal "MooN" Johnson, born on October 7, 1995, is a multifaceted artist renowned for his dance expertise and his role as the founder and creative director of the production company MoonVisionz. MooN began dancing at the age of 4 and started teaching dance by the time he was 14. At the same age, he embarked on his film and directing career, acting in and choreographing multiple plays, productions, and music videos at The Potter’s House of Denver.
Over the years, MooN has been featured in various music videos and short films. Notably, he appeared in the music video "Dum Rich" by local Colorado artist TellEmT. His choreography, L.P.T., was showcased at the 2024 Boulder Freeform Festival, where he performed and earned accolades. MooN placed second at the Rise Against Krump tournament and reached the top 8 in RedBull’s Dance Your Style qualifier in Salt Lake City. He has also triumphed in several dance competitions, winning the 2v2 Frost Flow Dance tournament and the 2v2 Vision HipHop battle. Additionally, he was the main event battler at The Mexican Standoff dance event and is slated to judge at The Last Spot dance event.
As a film and creative director, Jamal "MooN" Johnson bridges the gap between film and dance, using his skills in dance, media editing, and directing to showcase the dynamic nature of dance in depicting emotions and storytelling.
Vidya “Seven” Shaker
instructor (House, Ballet, funk Styles, Minis Hip Hop)
Vidya Shaker is a multidisciplinary artist from Maryland completing her BFA in Dance Performance from Arizona State University. Vidya is currently focused on her training in Hip-Hop and various street styles at Rennie Harris University, completing certification for 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training, and competing in Vogue Performance battles at Balls through her affiliation with Kiki House of Felicity.
When she’s not busy with dance related activities, Vidya likes to draw, paint, and make music! Vidya is excited to build, grow, and collaborate with artists of all mediums and experience levels as she continues to discover her place in the art world.
TAY CLIFFORD
instructor (latin rhythms, funk styles, hip hop choreography)
Tay is originally from Southern California and many parts of the southwest United States. With nearly a decade of dance experience in street styles (mainly under the umbrella of funk styles) and various Latin rhythms, he holds dance history and a love for music as core principles in his dance.
Tay is a member of Boogietá, based in Bogotá, Colombia and active in the Denver dance community. Tay regularly battles, holds/attends cyphers, collaborates with artists for performances, and has hosted the Street Sweep battle.
Jordan “JoyBoy“ Smith
instructor (Animation, hip hop choreography)
Jordan "JoyBoy" Smith, born in Denver, Colorado, is an artist who studies the art of the movement of the human body. JoyBoy found dance in middle school at the age of 14 with friends in his class. The more he danced, the more he wanted to learn more about the culture of dance and the wide range of styles that it offers.
He has knowledge of various alternative hip-hop dance styles such as Animation, tutting, waving, robot, and Krump. He has performed in and out of state, including the Denver nuggets pre-game show and auditioned for Americas Got Talent.
GRACE ARAKAWA
Executive Administrator
Grace Arakawa has been dancing since she was 4 years old, training in a variety of styles, including contemporary, jazz, hip-hop, and ballet. She began choreographing while on a studio dance competition team and continued to choreograph during her first year of college, where she taught several classes of hip-hop-based choreography. Grace plans to minor in dance at the Boston Conservatory at Berklee, aiming to continue teaching and choreographing dance throughout her college years. She is also a member of 5E’s professional dance team, M.O.B.
In addition to her dance pursuits, Grace is a multi-instrumentalist, producer, and composer. She is pursuing studies in Film Scoring and Electronic Music Production at Berklee, focusing on making music for film.
Dazzmin Brown
instructor (Contemporary)
Dazzmin Brown (she/her) was born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona. She is an interdisciplinary dancer that wants to show the importance of knowing the history, where the movement comes from, freestyle, expressing the idea of being yourself, and healing through movement. Since she was eight years old, she has trained in various styles of dance; hip hop, jazz, modern, vogue, heels, contemporary, and ballet. She exudes a blend of precise yet fearless style.
After graduating from Colorado State University with her Bachelors of Arts in Dance in 2019, she became a member of the International Association of Blacks in Dance and attended their seminar in January 2020 and 2024. In 2021, she became a member of ImmaBreathe Dance Company, directed by Janelle Ginestra, Mary-Ann Chavez and Monika Felice Smith. She was also a part of Lume Dance, directed by Mary-Ann Chavez and Monika Felice Smith and they were both contemporary fusion dance companies based in LA.
Currently, she lives in Denver, dances with Life/Art Dance Ensemble, teaches community classes and is an active member of the ballroom scene. She has hosted workshops and sessions for the community and travels often to make a name for herself. Outside of that she enjoys modeling, designing, and creating. She is also working towards getting her yoga certification and doing a certification program with AZDanceMed and has hopes to go back to school within the next year so she can eventually become a dance physical therapist.
She is happy to be a new faculty member of 5th Element Center for Dance and looks forward to collaborating and creating with the studio.