Charisse has over 15 years of experience studying, performing and teaching dances from the African Diaspora.  She began her dance training as a teenager in Chicago under renowned Senegalese dancer/choreographer Abdoulaye Camara. 

In college at Cornell University, she went on to Co-Direct Uhuru Kuumba Dance Ensemble, a student-led company that performed modern, jazz and dances from around the African Diaspora. 

Charisse has performed at locations as diverse as the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, Oberlin College, the Hirshorn Museum, Baltimore Museum of Art and Dance Africa in Washington, DC. Charisse has taught dance classes and workshops around the country including master classes at Howard University, Quilombo Cultural Center in Chicago and Prophecy School of the Arts in Tallahassee, Florida.  She previously performed Afro-Cuban dance with Ashe Moyubba Folkloric Ensemble, based in the Washington, DC area. 

Charisse relocated to Atlanta from Washington, DC in 2007 where she teaches Afro-Cuban dance workshops. Her classes and workshops include Orisha dance, Rumba, Palo and Arara, covering technique, songs and cultural context.