Castle

Míkhaiah Blake

Míkhaiah Blake is an American-born actress, musician, model and dancer. She is of African-American, Scottish (Ulster)-Irish and Siouan American-Indian descent. She was born in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania, the middle child of three with two brothers. Míkhaiah was raised in its neighboring Rosemont area of Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania-in the historical, informally-delineated, affluent social region of the east coast, known as The Main Line-a Welsh-founded area of the prominent Lower Merion Township, in suburban-metro Philadelphia. Her background and professional training were refined in theatrical stage, as well as dance and music performance-specifically vocals, vocal arranging and multi-instrumental music. Her acting journey began as a youth in the theater, studying and performing at a tender young age. She began auditioning and stage performance at just 5 years old, when she was cast as a lead in her first professional stage production. Growing up in the Tri-State area, her interests were honed under her family of notable performing artists. Míkhaiah hails from a family of talented and accomplished professional artists, comprised of classically and jazz trained musicians, vocalists, stage performers, writers and composers. She is the niece of the late internationally renowned jazz violinist, John Blake Jr., sibling of international music producer & artist, Jesse Aktual Blake, first cousin of international drummer and Blue Note Records artist, Johnathan Blake, niece of master theatrical storyteller, narrator, librettist and multi-instrumentalist Charlotte Blake-Alston, and she is the first cousin of photographer Emmanuel Alston. Míkhaiah's parents comprise the international music duo, formerly known as The Two of Us-the Blake Music Entertainment Group. Míkhaiah was a spunky child and her parents kept her busy with activities in the arts and athletics. As a child, she concurrently trained and performed in acting, as a vocalist, instrumentalist, as well as a competitive gymnast. In addition to acting and music, she began working as a child model and teen runway model for various designers, including walking at only 8 years old for Italian fashion designer Joan Calabrese, whose designs have been featured in children's boutiques, Bergdorf Goodman, and SAKS internationally. Míkhaiah was first represented by John Robert Powers Modeling Agency in South Philadelphia in the 90's. She placed second in the International Modeling Search of America as a teenager. She began professionally training in elementary school at the Philadelphia Gymnastics Center of the Main Line-Philadelphia's training ground, specializing in professional and competitive gymnastics instruction for children. Míkhaiah was an original co-founder of her high school alma mater's 1st competitive female gymnastics team. She competed as a varsity all-around gymnast, typically focusing on floor and balance beam. After retiring from gymnastics, she continued training in dance, including ballet and jazz, with particular interest and emphasis in modern dance. She has studied dance under choreographers, dance artists, and instructors including Marilyn Marloff, Rachel Thorne-Germond, Elizabeth Mccune-Dishman (Dishman + Co.), Megan Thompson and the late Amanda Kinzer. Míkhaiah's parents were consistent artistic contributors of music & the arts in schools whilst she and her brothers were growing up. They heavily encouraged her participation in the arts-as both her mother and father also grew up in musical families. Her father, Alan, is of African-American descent and her mother, Clarlitti (neé Boggs), is also of mixed indigenous Scotch Ulster-Irish and Siouan American-Indian decent. Pennsylvania historically contained one of the largest diaspora migrations of Scotch-Ulster immigrants. Philadelphia and surrounding areas became most attractive due to their more pluralistic societies at the time, with considerable Native American solidarity resulting in trading and living well together, inevitably blending and often inter-marrying between groups. Míkhaiah's parents would eventually meet in their band Love & Peace, in the 70's, when her mother became the band's new lead vocalist. They later married and formed their own musical duo, appropriately called The Two of Us. Míkhaiah's mother, an illustrious jazz vocalist, pianist and trained dancer, attended Howard University, studying dance performance and vocal jazz under American leading jazz artist, Donald Toussaint L'Ouverture Bryd II, a.k.a. Dr. Donald Byrd. Her mother has performed with the legendary jazz pianist Billy Taylor and bassist Ron Carter. She mentored, instructed and performed with vocalist Rachelle Ferrell, as well as actress BernNadette Stanis of Good Times (1974). She is also a professional music therapist. Míkhaiah's father, a virtuoso pianist, composer, keyboardist, vocalist, music producer/engineer and pro-audio specialist, has written music for, performed and recorded with a number of prominent artists. Her father was once the lead consultant for the pro-audio giant, ENSONIQ Corp. in Malvern, PA-known principally for its progressive, ahead-of-its-time innovative samplers and synthesizers throughout the mid-eighties and nineties. Míkhaiah's parents are featured vocalists on the late George Howard 1985 #1 Billboard Jazz chart hit "Dancin' in the Sun". Her father co-wrote the song, "For Grover and George" with Bob Baldwin, landing at number 50 on the 2011 year-end Billboard Smooth Jazz charts. He served as the recording engineer for Raisin' Cane: A Harlem Renaissance Odyssey (the touring theatrical production highlighting the creation of jazz, performed by the acclaimed Avery Sharpe Trio), starring actress Jasmine Guy . Her parents have been listed in the top 100 jazz artists nationally, and consistently made the top 2 spots on Reverbnation's jazz artists. They've written for, performed and recorded with numerous notable artists including the late George Duke, Roberta Flack, Frankie Beverly and Maze, Freddie Jackson, Jeffrey Osborne, Chaka Khan, Ne-Yo, Rudy Currants, Kirk Whalum, the late Grover Washington Jr., Gerald Veasley, India Arie, Jean Carne, Kevin Eubanks, Omar Hakim, John Blake Jr. (Míkhaiah's father's brother), Doc Gibbs, Onaje Allen Gumbs, Major Harris, Eddie Holman and Bob Thompson. Míkhaiah's parents were the featured performers at the "Salute to Greatness Awards" celebration for Quincy Jones, as well as the 2006 New Years Eve Ball in St. Kitts/Nevis Island, by its Honorable Denzil Douglas-then Prime Minister. Her parents have been known to perform for numerous philanthropic organizations. Míkhaiah first began recording and performing music locally with her parents while in her early years of elementary school, learning audio music sequencing, keyboards and digital composition from her father; vocals and vocal arranging from her mother. She recalled being so little that she had to stand up on stools to reach all of the keyboards and sequencers in their home studio. Míkhaiah composed and recorded her first song, "March On", in her father's recording studio. She later performed the song for peers and faculty in the highly rated Gladwyne School, as an elementary student where her parents would volunteer to perform. They would often rehearse with Míkhaiah and include her in many of their live performances as a backing vocalist and soloist, while in strong support of the arts and her musical development. With such artistic parents and family, it is no wonder she recalled that music, dancing, singing and grand performances in the home were the norm. It quickly became clear that acting for the stage and musical performance were Míkhaiah's beloved passions. At age 9, Míkhaiah accompanied her mother and attended her first Broadway musical, Black & Blue, performed at the Minskoff Theater's Manhattan stages. During her time in New York with her mother, she met three time Emmy-nominated actress and leading lady of the once longest-running drama in television, The Guiding Light (1952) actress Maureen Garrett, whose work she'd greatly admired. After conversing briefly with Garrett, Miíkhaiah was certain that she wanted to become a professional actress and performer. The brief meeting was an encouraging, enlightening and pivotal moment influencing the course of her pursuits from that point forward, coupled with the encouragement of her artist parents. Míkhaiah went on to portray stage roles for multiple theater and musical theater productions including Peter Pan (as Peter Pan), Fame (as Lydia), On With The Shrew (as Holly) and Shakespeare's Medea (as Medea). In addition to acting and dance, Míkhaiah formally studied classical piano and voice in academia, and was performing as a classical flutist and piccoloist by 8 years old. She performed in venues with small orchestral quartets, along with fellow student peers and in larger scale concerts with their symphony orchestra. She attributes much of her early artistic development and interests to her education in Lower Merion Township-long known for its exceptional arts, music and theater programs, superior education ratings nationally, its tradition of innovation and reputation for producing extraordinarily high-achievers across a variety of fields-including fellow student, the late Kobe Bryant of Lower Merion. She has also attributed much of her musical development to her former private teacher and conductor, Gregory Eskin. Míkhaiah attended the Welsh Valley School, where she participated in musical ensembles, chamber orchestra and band as their 1st chair flutist and principal piccoloist. As a teen, Míkhaiah also honed her acting craft on the stages of the respected Harriton Theater Co. of Rosemont, a highly regarded training ground for young performers. She continued focally studying music and acting while attending the township's highly ranking, Harriton High School of Rosemont-the impressive alma mater of many notable alum, such as actress Katie Wright of Melrose Place (1992), Emmy-Award Winning writer/producer David Crane, creator of Friends (1994), performer/writer Lou D'angeli (Cirque du Soleil, WWE entertainment brand), Lawrence Summers (former president of Harvard University; former U.S. Secretary of the Treasury), Linda Resnik (CEO of POM Wonderful and Fiji Water), Bonnie Rosen (Gold Medalist-US National Lacrosse Team), and others, attending with fellow classmates, actor Josh Cooke of Dexter (2006), Grace and Frankie (2015), Hart of Dixie (2011), and former Epic Records & Smash/Mercury Records recording artist, George Stanford. Míkhaiah's family eventually relocated to the southeast, where she continued studies in dramatic arts, theater and stage performance. She studied Shakespearean verse and Classical theater, and she performed whilst under the mentoring of actor/director Kiran Narker, former director of Theater Arts across Dekalb County, Georgia. Míkhaiah began attending university at the age of 15, passing out of all of her remaining secondary school courses after transferring from Lower Merion Township and its exceedingly elite educational standards. Uncertain of narrowing down her pursuits into one concentration, she instead explored a multi-faceted, post-secondary self-designed undergraduate track in Interdisciplinary Studies with emphasis in drama, stagecraft, media communications, psychology, film studies, dance performance and music. Míkhaiah studied vocal arranging, classical vocal, operatic and piano performance at the F. Ludwig Diehn School of Music. In addition to her father's mentorship, she also studied audio music production under Old Dominion University and Hampton University audio engineer/production professors, Steve Latham & Bobby "B-Dub" Wright, with whom she participated as a vocalist, vocal producer and songwriter on The Monarchy's 2014 multi-genre album, Eye of the Storm. Míkhaiah formally trained in acting at the Herbert Berghof Studio in New York, as well as intermittent studies at Playhouse West & Second City in Los Angeles, and The American Academy of Dramatic Arts. She has studied under actors Austin Pendleton, Marsha Mason, Alec Baldwin & Holly Gagnier, Keith David and Paul Pryce. Her artistic approach to musical experimentation and exploration in her upcoming debut album release fuses performative disciplines in musical theater and dance, with harmonic vocals and an innovative multi-genre blending of pop, electronic, classical symphonic, chamber, cinematic and dance music; her influences stemming from her extremely unique exposure at a tender, young age, to international music, contemporary vocal instruction, classical voice and instrumental training. She also heavily attributes her expansive multi-genre sound to her unusual and atypical familial upbringing, surrounded by audio music production and an abundance of professional jazz, classical & electronic music artists and stage performers within her immediate and extended family. Míkhaiah has been an advocate and/or artistic contributor supporting advocacy, outreach and awareness related to domestic violence, violence against Native American and other minority women, sexual assault, human trafficking, as well as other causes. She resides in Los Angeles, California.

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