Biography

A native of Brooklyn New York, Kevin’s love for dance goes back to the early days of break dancing and reggae dancehall competitions across the city.

Kevin has over 15 years experience as a performing artist and dance educator. His foundation in African Diasporic artforms is grounded in dance technique from Senegal, Mali and Guinea. Over the past several years, Kevin has broadened his dance repertoire by studying under dance masters to include Afro Cuban, Afro Jazz, Haitian Folkloric, and the Martha Graham Modern/Contemporary dance technique.

Projects/Work

Kofago is something very special.  What started out as a social justice project three years ago has blossomed into a performing arts company with a full cast of young artists who are dedicated to their healing and growth through our work.  For more information, please check out our work at the website below:

https://www.kofagodance.net

After graduating from NYU with a graduate degree in Dance Education, I got a teaching position at Queensborough Community College, located in Bayside, New York.  In a very short span of time, we’ve been able to put on some AMAZING works of culture, tradition and dance excellence while planting our work firmly in the concepts of diversity and diverse representation at the collegiate level of dance education.

In December of 2018, the QCC Dance Program held its first annual Kwanzaa Celebration.  Click here to read a review of the event on QCC’s Dance Program website.

This project was a massive undertaking.  The mission: get 150 dancers trained and choreographed for a presentation in the Annual New York Caribbean Day Parade.  The Project was a success, but not without its costs along the way.  Take a look at the video below to see a clip from our work.

This project has been four years in the making and is finally ready for distribution! Drum Beat Journey is a new documentary project that follows a group of African-American bucket drummers on a musical pilgrimage from Chicago’s South Side to Senegal. In July 2012 Eritrea-born social worker and filmmaker, Elilta Tewelde traveled with four teenaged street musicians to Petit Mbao, Senegal, for a two-week drumming workshop with Senegalese Griot percussionist Medoune Gueye (aka Papa Dame).  My work in Rites of Passage programming played a crucial role in the super of these young brothers from Chicago.  Check the link above for more information on screening dates in your city.

edeyo01 Several years ago, my good friend Doris Pradieu asked me to do a dance workshop with some of the boys she works with in Haiti. Her brother and a good friend of his started a school in the Bel-Air community of the city Port-Au-Prince, Haiti and they were in some serious need of activities for the youth who were still recovering from the traumatic effects of the Earthquake that hit the island a year before. I agreed to go, not knowing that the kids would have a profound effect on my life (arguably more than I had on theirs! LOL!). After returning from the initial trip in 2011, I created the DANSE EDEYO concept to raise money for the school and our efforts in Haiti from a grassroots level. Collaborating with the organization Rhythm N’ Dance, we had a fundraiser focused on a Haitian dance ethnographic experience, which was facilitated by the Oakland-based Rara Tou Limen Haitian Folkloric Dance Company’s Artistic Director, Portsha Jefferson. We supported this school in Haiti for three years and it was some of the best time I ever had working with a really good group of people coming together for a great cause!

I love working with young people! They keep you moving and full of energy! My work in Haiti would transition from the inner city of Port-Au-Prince to the seaside town of Jacmel, where the organization Dance To Save Lives facilitates an annual dance retreat Vin Pran Baget.

vinpranbaget-2016

Vin Pran Baget – 2016, Jacmel, Haiti

“Dance to Save Lives provides kids in need the necessary resources to keep them off the streets. We train them in Haitian folkloric and modern dance forms. These accessible activities and services are provided daily for free in the city of Jacmel, Haiti. The students are immersed into the world of dance, allowing them to learn what it takes to be a professional performing artist, choreographer, and/or dance Instructor. They also gain experience by touring as performers across the country of Haiti. We maximize the potential of our youth by exposing them to the rich traditional and contemporary aspects of Haitian culture through the lens of the performing arts.”

It has been an honor and a pleasure to work with Master Haitian Dancer, Dieufel Lamisere and his Dance To Save Lives participants

The one thing that I’ve learned along life’s journey is that education is critical to one’s success. While I was at Hampton University back in the 90s, I never finished my degree.  It would be years before I would return to complete my degree requirements, earning a Bachelors of Science degree in Business Management, December 2014.  Finishing that degree work at Hampton Universty led me to my graduate degree work at New York University, where I completed my Masters in Arts degree in Dance Education. That was a huge accomplishment in my life that has opened many different doors of opportunity as an artist, mentor, educator, and advocate.

The next step for me is doctoral studies, however, I’m looking for the right program where I utilize all of my skills to manifest a project/program that will not only change my life but the lives of the people I work with.