KenyaClay
“I’m at the point right now that I’m shifting into a new me.”
She’s known for her effortless grooves, captivating
performance quality, professional demeanor and
smile that could light any room up. You would never
know it, but her passion for dance was discovered, in a
way, almost by accident. Little did Kenya Clay know,
that this simple decision to begin dancing would be
the beginning of an endless journey of uncovering her
hidden passion, entering into a world of creativity, and
inspiring countless people all over the world.
At the age of nineteen, Kenya’s relationship with
taking dance class was solely related to losing weight.
She naively shrugged at the choreographers Marty
Kudelka, Jayson Wright, Regina Williams, Teresa
Espinoza and Kevin Maher when her co-worker
dropped these legendary names. At the time, Kenya
had only two weeks of dance training since the age of
five and wasn’t well versed on the hottest choreographers. The one memory she carried with her since
childhood was the scarring moment at which her
ballet instructor struck her had with a rolled up
newspaper and kicked her out of the classroom.
Hoping to make better memories this time around,
she threw herself into hip-hop classes fearlessly and
relentlessly. Over time, and with more experience
under her belt, she had a newfound understanding of
her body and Kenya began to recognize the natural
abilities that she was unknowingly born with.
Even though she was becoming more familiar
with her individual style and movement, Kenya was
still convinced that she was not a “real” dancer.” If
one person were to change her mind, it would be
Kevin Maher; a core teacher for Monsters of Hip
Hop who has choreographed for an endless list
of top artists. After taking one of his classes,
he caringly, yet unexpectedly, told her “If you
don’t dance, you are wasting your God given
talent.”
Kenya was not to be persuaded by
authority figures on a day-to-day basis,
but her gut feeling told her that this
time was different. Because
freestyle was the area of dance she
felt most at home, she attended
her first freestyle audition. It was
for Mary J Blige’s “Love at First
Sight” music video- and she
nailed it. Kenya was hired
alongside the talented Rino
Nakaone, and suddenly
found herself dancing
beside
experienced
women who had been
dancing professionally
for ten to fifteen years.
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Shortly after, Mary J Blidge’s camp of executives
asked Kenya to join them on tour. Even after these
impressive accomplishments, it wasn’t until competing on MTV’s America’s Best Dance Crew with Fysh n
Chicks, in 2008, that she decided to take her dance
career to the next level. She gave up her apartment
and her job so that she could completely commit and
focus on the dance industry.
“When you have this fearlessness of ‘I can do it,’
that’s all you need.”
Fresh off of ABDC, Kenya’s positive and professional
attitude landed her an Associate Choreographer’s
position on the Pussycat Dolls’ Doll Domination World
Tour, under the direction of Mikey Minden and Robin
Antin.
“They saw something in me. They told me to come in
to the studio and see what I could do. They’d put on
the music and I’d just freestyle.”
At the time, Kenya thought it was crazy to be entrusted with such an enormous project, but now being a
mentor and teacher herself, she says that she finally
gets it.
“Now I can see someone before they peak. I love
beginning dancers ‘cause they have no fear. They
dance from such a pure place. They just let go and give
their all. It’s the spirit of just putting yourself out there.”
This exact passion is what drives Kenya to the next
milestone of her career. Today, at thirty-three, with
fourteen years of experience under her belt, it’s
Kenya’s turn to be the veteran. Kenya is ready to focus
her energy purely on choreographing and teaching.
With a sentiment for the next generation, she wants to
bring a vital part of dance to the convention world:
SOUL.
“I feel like hip hop is a spirit- and a soul- and a feelingand it’s missing in a lot of these conventions. I want to
be that voice teaching [students] what real hip hop is.”
Luckily, versatility also plays a huge role in Kenya’s
persona as a choreographer. With goals to choreograph for mainstream artists like Taylor Swift, Demi
Lovato and Britney Spears, she makes it a point to be
involved with singers and performers who promote a
positive message and lifestyle.
“My purpose, in the industry, is to find the people
who are in the dark and bring that ray of light up.”
Carrying a dancer’s dream resume, stocked with
impressive credits like dancing with Ellen DeGeneres
at The Oscars, Kenya has the fire to do it all. Through
hard work, fearlessness, and a whole lot of soul, her
past proves a promising road ahead. If her future is as
bright as her contagious smile and positive personality- and we are sure it is- then the world needs to watch
out for Kenya Clay.
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