Essence Festival is
more than music
Cultural Expressions connects members
to Motherland through movement
Njerisofiyah Bailey, owner and opera-
tor; she says, “everything is centered
around an artistic cultural expression.”
She began her love of cultures at a
young age when her father required
that she take a break from playing to
read and write a report.
“I would always go to the one that
had all the different cultures around
the world. I would always go back to
that book. That stayed with me. I’ve
always been interested in other peo-
ple’s cultures, including my own,”
shared Bailey, who has delved deep-
ly into her ancestral roots by way of
maternal and paternal relatives who
have explored the families’ origins.
BY MICHELLE HOLLINGER
Fitness enthusiasts know a healthy
lifestyle is more than just a diet; it’s
also more than a physical excursion.
Permanent fitness embodies a de-
gree of wholeness fusing mind, body
and soul in a way that makes exercise
enlightening and fun; more of a “get
to do,” than a “have to do.”
A quaint holistic fitness studio tucked
into a quiet Hollywood street is serving
up a smorgasbord of fascinating class-
es and earthy experiences catered to
the whole person. Cultural Expressions
has been in operation for a little over
two years and in that short time has
established itself as a home away from
home for people looking for a refresh-
ing way to better health.
Defined as a “yoga, art, life studio” by
“One of my first cousin’s hobby was
to trace our roots. He was able to
take (my mother’s) side of the family
back to a slave on a plantation who
bore five children by a slave master
with the last name Gibeau, who was
a French man. Four of them ran and
moved to Illinois and changed their
last name to Johnson,” she explained.
Fitting, since “Everything we teach
in the studio really goes back to our
ancestors, and the original way they
lived their life,” she shared about the
variety of yoga and dance classes of-
fered.
Bailey’s view of sisterhood is rooted
in her strong affection and respect
for Black women.
“Sisters actually are the founda-
tion of this world. We are the ones
that hold up everything and keep it
in place and connected. We’re the
peaceful peace keepers,” she said.
BY ANN CHARLEUS
“I really I think we do so much and
a lot of the sisters depend on each
other and I don’t think we get enough
support from everybody else. Sisters
hold it down.”
New Orleans is the perfect back-
drop for the Essence Festival and
serves as a star among the stars
that attend the event. When we
say stars, boy do we mean it.
Over the years, entertainers in-
cluded Beyoncé, Prince, Erykah
Badu, Cedric the Entertainer, Jan-
et Jackson and more.
Because she’s a Capricorn, Bailey will
not divulge her age.
“I never use numbers,” she mused. “As
we get older, we actually get younger,
that’s a true Capricorn. As far as num-
bers, you’re out there rollerblading –
age is just a number. If your mind says
go, you can do it as long as your mind
and your body connect with that.”
This year was no different with
performances by Diana Ross,
Mary J. Blige, Chance the Rap-
per, Solange, John Legend, Mas-
ter P, Monica, Remy Ma and so
many more. You never know who
you will run into. Case in poi