Artistic Statement

As an artist, my intentions are to create, collaborate, and connect. The work I do aims to provide movers with a platform to share a piece of themselves. This process prioritizes the artist's experience in a way that encourages authentic and meaningful making. I hold the belief that art has the power to heal above all.

Kendra Key was born and raised in St.Louis where she fell in love with dance. One of her earliest memories is the feeling she got when at her childhood dance studio, like she was at home. She began teaching and choreographing at the young age of 14 under the guidance of Sandra Morgan at Dimensions Dance Center. Kendra attended Missouri State University where she completed a Bachelor of Science in Dance and a minor in Diversity Studies. Most recently, she completed her Master of Fine Art in Dance at Washington University. For the 2023-24 school year, Kendra continues on her educational path at Washington University in pursuit of a Master of Art in Teaching with a focus on Dance Education in public schools. She has also begun her first year of teaching under the title of High School Dance Program Coordinator and the University City School District. Though her love for movement primarily resides in contemporary forms, Kendra has experience in a variety of western concert and commercial dance techniques as well as a few internationally recognized styles. 

Kendra is a recipient of the The Spencer T. and Ann W. Olin Fellowship for Women in Graduate Study. This program-long fellowship provides unique and exclusive opportunities for women of exceptional promise to become leaders in society. In 2018, Kendra co-founded  MO State Dance Co., a student-run organization at her alma mater,  Missouri State University. This program seeks to provide students with scholarship, enrichment, networking, and performance opportunities both within and outside of the institution. Kendra is also currently in her fifth season working with reputable competitive circuits, Beyond the Stars and Breakout where she is given the opportunity to exercise many of her skills including stage managing, sales and merchandising, arts administration, and the organizing and managing of data input. In her freelance career, Kendra has acquired recognition both regionally and nationally in choreography, artistic concept, coaching emotional execution, and for precision in detail.

The ability to create safe and honest spaces that prioritize the dancer’s experience is what drives the momentum in Kendra’s work. With this understanding, Kendra hopes to touch, inspire, move, and encourage not only the dancers she works with but the audiences who view her collaborations as well. She believes dance is a language from within, which can move us to feel and experience something

greater than ourselves.