Kendra Kimbrough Dance Ensemble

The Kendra Kimbrough Dance Ensemble (KKDE) was founded in 1996 by Kendra Kimbrough Barnes. The Ensemble’s mission is to bridge diverse cultures and communities through thought-provoking performances that address the common human experiences of its audience. KKDE represents a range of ages and body-types and incorporates a variety of dance styles to inform audiences about a variety of sociocultural issues. The Ensemble creates and presents dance works that build upon a wide array of dance genres, including a fusion of modern dance with movement from African, Brazilian, and North Indian cultures. Since its founding, KKDE has self-produced numerous home seasons in Oakland, as well as producing concerts and collaborations in San Francisco. Artistic Director Barnes has worked in collaboration with dancers, musicians, and poets in order to realize her vision. KKDE has toured throughout Southern and Northern California and in Salvador, Bahia Brazil, and performed in several Bay Area dance festivals, including the East Bay Dance Series, Oakland Arts Festival, WestWave Dance Festival, Black Choreographers Festival, and ODC’s Pilot and House Special. Barnes is also an alum of the Artist in Residency program at Headlands Center for the Arts and at CounterPULSE/SF. With these critical resources and the mentorship of Rhodessa Jones of Cultural Odyssey, Barnes developed Home Is That Way?! (2010), a dance-drama exploring the effects of the incarceration of a loved one on a family. KKDE creates socially conscious works most recently including In The Meantime, a dance-drama about breast cancer prevention and awareness as well as ANGST: 3 AM which intimately looks at anxiety in and among African American boys, during their self-identity formation, and how it affects the relationships within their families and the community - both in creative collaboration with Delina Patrice Brooks.