Performance and Community Outreach

We are a contemporary dance company based in New York City. Founded in 2014 by Fadi J. Khoury and Sevin Ceviker. Through its performances FJK Dance supports cross-cultural dialogue, a unique fusion of contemporary dance and visual art. At its core, the FJK vision in dance reflects an immigrant journey and belief in the power of the performing arts and bringing people together of all background. Fadi J Khoury’s creative process is anchored in peace building, breaking boundaries, and challenging cultural stereotypes through the company’s programming in community outreach and performance. Nationally, FJK Dance presents annual seasons at New York Live Arts in addition to performing in several dance festivals like Jacob's Pillow, Battery Dance and Dumbo Dance.

The Company continues its commitment to building a cross-cultural dialogue as they engage with diverse audiences around the globe and in the U.S. Their work draws from the opportunities and collaborations developed through international and national touring. In countries such as China, Japan, and Lebanon, their programs have laid foundations for understanding and appreciation between different cultures. FJK Dance community outreach programs help spread their message of unity and tolerance, to this end, they offer workshops, performances, and lecture demonstrations at educational institutions and non-profit organizations. FJK Dance is actively involved at Kings County Hospital (Brooklyn, NY) as an Artist-in-Residence. They support the hospital’s efforts to create greater awareness and acceptance in society for mental health and wellness through “site-specific installations” of dance and visual art.

Board of Directors

Ann R. Rakoff, ED.D , Maura Sordo, Robert Sutter, David Schmerler, Docious Godfrey, and Fadi J Khoury

Ann Rakoff, EdD, CHPC

FJK Dance Director of Educational and Cultural Outreach and Board Member

Retired Executive Director, Fordham Law School Corporate Law Center, Previously, Parent Educator and Research Assistant at the Early Childhood Development Center (NYC), Current Certified Life Coach. Current volunteer positions include NGO’s and CBO’s (Community Based Organizations) that contribute to young children’s physical and emotional development, including the UN affiliated Committee on Migration, Subcommittee on Children in Migration. She is a Board Director at ChildsPlay International and Friends of Crestwood Library (NY), and Advisory Board member at the Amal Alliance and Citizens’ Committee for Children; Previous volunteer positions include Research Assistant at the Communication Sciences Lab, working with mothers and infants at The New York State Psychiatric Institute (Columbia University Medical Center). She also served for ten years as a Girl Scout Troop Leader and Community Director,

Education: Ed.D., Columbia University, Teachers College (Child Development and Special Education)

Place of Birth: Chicago, Illinois

David Shmerler, Ph.D

President, FJK Dance Board of Directors

Retired - Most recent employment with the Fire Department of New York (FDNY) as Director of Counseling Service Unit. Volunteer Organization: Broadway Cares Equity Fights AIDS/Dancers Responding to AIDS. Board President - The Astoria Choir

Education: Ph.D. Clinical Psychology - Long Island University, Brooklyn Campus

Place of Birth: White Plains, NY

H. Maura Sordo

FJK Dance Secretary and Board Member

NCIDQ - Design Principal RTSPC Pinnacle Architecture-Design. Design Principal and Partner of RTSPCPinnacle. She is a nationally qualified Interior Designer (NCIDQ) and has been the principal designer for numerous residential, office, laboratory, educational and healthcare facilities throughout the United States, Europe, South America and China. Winner of the Annual SOURCE Awards National Lighting Design Competition. Since 1994, Maura has served as a mentor for the ACE Mentor Organization, a non-profit educational organization that serves high school youth who are exploring careers in Architecture, Construction, or Engineering.

Education: Syracuse University and recipient of the Walter T. James Memorial Scholarship. She holds a BFA in Interior Design.

Place of Birth: Puertp Rico

Robert T. Sutter

FJK Dance Treasurer and Board Member

AIA, NCARB – President and Founder, RTSPC Pinnacle Architecture-Design. Began practice in 1977 and is a nationally qualified architect (NCARB). He is a member of the American Institute of Architects, International Code Council, and for 15 years was course leader for The American Management Association.

Education: Cooper Union School of Architecture, Pratt Institute and received specialized training at th Harvard School of Public Health for Laboratory Design, Harvard Graduate School of Design for Daylighting in Buildings, and University of Texas at Arlington Building Professional Institute.

Place of Birth: New York

Docious Godfrey

FJK Dance General Manager and Board Member

Present Employment as Interior Designer & Visual Artist. Docious Godfrey is a visual artist working primarily on paintings of abstract color fields, biomorphic shapes and birds. She was a member of Ten Women Gallery in Venice, California while living in Los Angeles in the 2010s. She continues to sell her work through open studios and commissions. She also takes on interior design projects from time to time as she spent many happy years in that industry. Docious has loved dance since her mother first started taking her to performances at The Kennedy Center, and her earliest such memories include Alvin Ailey, Paul Taylor and Dance Theater of Harlem. She studied ballet while in elementary school and jazz dance in high school. Throughout her life, she has continued to enjoy attending dance performances, including Feld Ballets, Martha Graham Dance Company, Alvin Ailey and productions of ABT, Joffrey Ballet and NYC Ballet. She is a fan of the work of Pina Bausch and Merce Cunningham. Docious brings an enthusiasm for the arts and a passion for dance, which moved from spectator-only to participant when she began studying ballroom dance this past year. In addition to her love and support of dance, previous work experience as an executive assistant at Warner Bros. and marketing director at SGI (a construction cost control firm) will serve her well in her new role. She is looking forward to using her passion and breadth of skills as a board member at FJK Dance.Volunteer at Riverside Park Conservancy - Goat Herder

Education: University of Michigan, Parsons School of Design, The New School for Social Research

Place of Birth: Baltimore, MD

Fadi J. Khoury

Board Member - Artistic Director of FJK Dance

Dancer, Choreographer and Visual Artist. Born in Iraq & raised in Lebanon, Fadi J Khoury is a dancer, choreographer, and visual artist - artistic director of FJK Dance, trained in Ballet, Ballroom, and Folklore dance. His innovative style showcases his life-long immersion in a world of dance forms; In Baghdad he grew up surrounded by the folkloric music and dance of Arab culture. His father, also a dancer and choreographer, was the Artistic Director of the National Iraqi Ballet. Through his father, Fadi was exposed to diverse approaches to dance in Mesopotamia, still present in Assyrian, Syriac, and Bedouin folkloric dances of the Middle East. He toured the Middle East and North Africa with Caracalla Dance Theater, and Al Rahbani of Lebanon while studying visual arts at the Lebanese University of Fine Arts. In 2009, he moved to New York City, and was awarded scholarship at the Ailey school to deepen his study in classical ballet and American modern dance styles, while teaching ballroom dancing at Arthur Murray Dance schools becoming their top teacher in the US and worldwide and received top instructor awards and rankings in competitive and social dance styles. As a dancer in New York, he worked with renowned choreographers such as Elisa Monte, Nejla Yatkin and Gary Pearce. Khoury co-founded FJK Dance in 2014, where visual art meets contemporary dance in performance and community outreach. His work is inspired by the impact of art on mental health, which led him to collaborate with the NYC Health + Hospitals, becoming their Artist in residence since 2018. Khoury was awarded multiple grants from the CUNY Dance Initiative and LMCC (Lower Manhattan Cultural Center), for his cross-cultural work and collaborations, that reflect his immigrant journey and belief in the power of the performing arts and bringing people together of all background.