Ayana Contreras
Ayana Contreras is a cultural historian, memory worker, radio DJ and archivist. An avid collector with over 8000 vintage vinyl records, she hosts the Reclaimed Soul program on WBEZ and Vocalo Radio in Chicago. She is also a columnist for DownBeat magazine, and her writings have been published in The New York Times, Chicago Review, Oxford American and Bandcamp Daily among other publications. Her book on Post-Civil Rights Era cultural history, titled Energy Never Dies: Afro-Optimism and Creativity in Chicago, was published December 2021 through University of Illinois Press.
Ayana Defour
Ayana Defour is known for The Invisible War (2012).
Ayana Doucouré
Ayana Doucouré is known for FOMO (2022), High Tides (2023) and Hacked (2022).
Ayana Fuentes Uno
Ayana Fuentes Uno is known for Balthazar (2018), Vendeur (2016) and Le processus de paix (2022).
Ayana Gôda
Ayana Gôda is an actress, known for Kamera o tomeru na! (2017) and Kamera o tomeru na! supin-ofu: Hariuddo daisakusen! (2019).
Ayana O'Shun
Ayana S.M. O'Shun (born Tetchena Bellange) has been steadily building a career of impressive versatility. Gifted in drama and comedy, Ayana has played in over 40 productions, including film, TV series, commercials and plays. She has also modelled for several national advertising campaigns. Ayana O'Shun studied Cinema at the University of Montreal, where she got a Bachelor Degree in Fine Arts. She has studied acting with several prominent acting teachers, such as Warren Robertson, Danielle Fichaud, Robert Favreau and Teo Spychalski. Ayana also studied acting with masters whose technics include Stella Adler, Meisner and Ivana Chubbuck, Ayana's passion lies with acting. However, it is also important for her to have a voice regarding issues close to her heart, by involving herself as a producer in projects that promote tolerance, brotherhood and equality. As a result, she has directed documentaries and narrative films revolving around these themes. Her films has been screened in more than 40 international film festivals, winning prestigious awards such as the Dikola Award at the Cannes Panafrican Film Festival, and Best Foreign Film Award at the Yaounde International Film Festival. Her work has been broadcasted on Radio-Canada television network, RDI, TV5, Tele-Quebec and the successful streaming service of the National Film Board of Canada. Ayana's work as an actress and a storyteller has brought her media attention. Hundreds of articles and interviews have been released about her work, and she has been invited to some illustrious TV shows. A true citizen of the world, Ayana has travelled in over thirty countries and is fluent in four languages. She practices ballet, Latin dances, yoga and sometimes trapeze. She is also interested in natural ways of maintaining a healthy body, like the Ayurveda system (the medicinal branch of yoga).
Ayana Sakai
Ayana Sakai was born on May 16, 1985 in Mobara, Japan. She is an actress, known for Batoru rowaiaru II: Chinkonka (2003), Debiruman (2004) and Atakku no. 1 (2005).
Ayana Taketatsu
Ayana Taketatsu was born on 23 June 1989 in Saitama, Japan. She is an actress, known for Oreimo: My Little Sister Can't Be This Cute? (2010), Giruti Kuraun: Guilty Crown (2011) and Sword Art Online (2012). She has been married to Yûki Kaji since 23 June 2019.
Ayana Welby
Ayana Welby is an actress, known for Smother (2021).
Ayana Workman
Ayana Workman's first gig was an impromptu performance with tap genius Savion Glover. She was three years old. Savion asked the audience if anyone wanted to come up on stage and dance with him. Ayana's hand shot straight up like a rocket. Always prepared, she had her tap shoes with her. Of course, it didn't hurt that her parents were legendary jazz bassist Reggie Workman -- a veteran of the John Coltrane Quartet -- and Maya Milenovic Workman, an internationally renowned dancer and choreographer. Unlike her classmates, Ayana's daycare was in dance studios and recording studios, where she grew her chops as a dancer and musician, learning how to play the guitar, the piano and the African djembe drum. But at age 9, she pivoted again, and decided she was going to be an actor. A New York City native, it was only logical that her first professional gig in her early 20s was playing Juliet in the Public Theatre Mobile Unit's production of Romeo and Juliet, traveling around to prisons, homeless shelters, and community centers throughout New York's boroughs. She buttressed her stage resume with roles in plays like Hamlet, Macbeth, The Winter's Tale, and Julius Caesar. On top of that, she's performed on international stages including the National Theatre in Slovenia and London's legendary Globe Theatre. These days, she works in television and film, having guest roles in shows like Marvel's Jessica Jones, Person of Interest, and the film Rustin, playing the role of activist Eleanor Holmes, who is now a delegate from the District of Columbia to the US House of Representatives. "Rustin is a film that chronicles the incredibly vital and important story of Bayard Rustin, a critically important African-American leader in social movements for civil rights, socialism, nonviolence, and gay rights. Rustin worked with A. Philip Randolph and Martin Luther king on the March on Washington Movement, in 1963, to press for an end to racial discrimination in employment. That's why this role was a dream come true for me. Telling stories about my country's black history -- particularly about people most Americans have never heard of -- is as much of a privilege as it is a necessity. Art moves people in ways no activism or political campaign ever could. The power of film as a medium is undeniable, and I feel like my journey down this path has just begun."