Briana Bunkley Graduates From Boston Conservatory At Berklee

Outstanding student Briana Bunkley, from Atlanta, GA, graduated from Boston Conservatory at Berklee on Saturday, May 12, with a BFA in Contemporary Dance Performance. The commencement ceremony included Honorary Doctorate presentations to opera superstar Victoria Livengood and Tony Award-winning performer Billy Porter.

Bunkley was chosen to be the student speaker at the graduation ceremony. In her address, she advised classmates who don’t yet have post-graduation plans, “That’s ok. We do not have to have it all figured out right this second, because when your moment comes, you’ll know it, and nothing will be able to get in the way. We cannot compare our success to another person’s success. Our paths were not designed to look the same. So now is the time to seize every opportunity.”

While at the Conservatory, Bunkley re-staged choreography for a group of 30 dancers performing in the sold out Bruno Mars Tribute Show at the Berklee Performance Center. “I had two weeks to pull all of these girls together, teach and get them ready for the performance,” said Bunkley. “I’ve never done something this big but I’m so happy with the outcome. It wasn’t easy; I definitely had my work cut out for me.”

She has choreographed many shows at the Berklee Performance Center and the Berklee Dining Hall stage, and served as dance captain for Beyoncé's Original All-Female Band: A 10-Year Anniversary Concert, bouncing back just two months after having major foot surgery. Bunkley has also danced for artists including Lil Wayne and D. Woods of Danity Kane, and appeared in Make Me Dance, a documentary that took an in-depth look at the Conservatory.

In the fall, Bunkley is headed to NYU Tisch School of the Arts and NYU Steinhardt to obtain a dual degree: Master of Fine Arts in Dance and Master of Arts in Teaching Dance. “I hope to one day have a career in both commercial and concert dance, then go home to Atlanta and teach in a high school or undergraduate setting,” she says.