Mercedes Ellington is a Composer of Dances and Theatrical Situations. Her career has been
affected in time-related increments by race-ism, sex-ism, name-ism, and age-ism.

A graduate from The Juilliard School of Music her first union job was performing in the
Australian company of West Side Story. Groundbreaking credit as the first and only June Taylor
Dancer of color on the Jackie Gleason Show for seven seasons.

New York City credits include: Broadway: Sophisticated Ladies, Play On, and No, No, Nanette;
City Center Revivals of Pal Joey, Wonderful Town, and Guys and Dolls; and George
Wein’s Jazz Festival, Black Broadway and Wild Women Don’t Get The Blues!

An honorary citizen of Paris, she narrated Duke Ellington’s Sacred Concert Music at L’Eglise de
Madeleine. She also toured overseas with the Duke Ellington Orchestra on their 1971 Russian
tour and overseas tours in Hong Kong, Tai Pei and six cities in Japan with her tap dance
company: BalleTap USA.

In 2013, she was awarded an Audelco Award for her choreography in the York Theater
production of Storyville.

The founder, CEO and Artistic Director of The Duke Ellington Center for the Arts, she currently
presents concerts at venues around the city based on the music from the Ellington catalogue.

Mercedes stays young continuing her training in floor barre and Pilates, as well as being
involved in the world of Ballroom Dance Competitions.