Biography
Kerisse is a multi-talented award-winning actress, dancer, writer, and producer. As a beacon of the Most High, she creates art from SEED TO FRUITion that invokes spirits to move; literally and figuratively. As a first generation American of Bajan and Jamaican descent, she comes from a multicultural background growing up in Queens, New York, the most diverse county in the United States.
Calling dance her “saving grace” during a challenging childhood, she trained as a dancer at Alvin Ailey School and graduated Magna Cum Laude with Double Honors from Towson University. While taking a gap year before embarking on her path to become an entertainment lawyer, she heard a God whisper that led her to leave her job to dance fulltime on a day she celebrates annually as “D-Day”. Subsequent God whispers have led her to move across country to Los Angeles and again to Atlanta, become the founder of the nonprofit company, GuiDANCE (God U and I DANCE) Autism—Bringing the joy of dance to children with special needs, and embarking on a ten year journey to write, act, and produce the play “2 The Left: A Tribute to the Life of Lisa ‘Left Eye’ Lopes” that chronicles the life and spiritual journey of Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes, controversial member of the 90s pop music phenomenon, TLC.
Kerisse has choreographed and danced with numerous companies and music artists. Her accomplishments as a TV, film, and theater actress include: winning the Best Actress Award at the Harlem International Film Festival for her heart-wrenching portrayal of Simisola in the Gotham Award nominee feature film, “August the First”; starring in the hip-hop musical, “Honey Bo and the Goldmine” at the prestigious La Jolla Playhouse in San Diego, California where she showcased her acting, dancing, singing, and rapping talent; performing on Off Broadway stages in New York City and international stages in Bonn and Neuss Germany; a recurring role on “All My Children”; and guest starring roles on “The Defenders,” “Law & Order: SVU,” “The Whole Truth,” and “Rescue Me”.
She’s the winner of Synchronicity Theatre’s Stripped Bare: Arts Incubator Lab; two of the plays she’s written have been selected as A-List Selections of the Garland Lee Thompson, Sr. Readers’ Theatre in Winston-Salem, North Carolina and one was an Official Selection of the BorderLight International Theatre Festival in Cleveland Ohio and a MainStage Production at the National Black Theatre Festival in Winston-Salem. She’s a two-time recipient of Fulton County’s Individual Artist Grant and has been featured in the Atlanta Journal Constitution, CBS News Los Angeles, Good Day Atlanta Fox 5 News, Shoutout Atlanta, and Broadway World.
Kerisse developed 2 The Left: 4 Schools!, a dynamic virtual and in-class learning program for children and college students. She has held Community Enrichment and Engagement workshops on the topics of the responsibility and the societal impact of the arts; mental, physical, and spiritual health and wellness; and empowerment of the voices of women and people of color. She was recently selected to hold a two-day workshop for her Hear, Leap… It’s Already Done! book in progress at the International Black Theatre Festival in Winston-Salem, NC that was attended by aspiring actors, writers, entrepreneurs, content creators, and other active members of the community.
Kerisse currently resides in Atlanta with her beloved husband where she enjoys going on hikes to see waterfalls and engaging with new friends at festivals…all while fervently awaiting her next God whisper.