Silhouette Dance Ensemble
Silhouette Dance Ensemble is dedicated to African American girls, teens, and adult women to learn positive self-image and self-expression through dance. The dance program incorporates discipline, technique, and cultural history. It strives to impact the lives of its members and audience by promoting Godly principles and teaching African and African-American history and culture through the medium of dance theater. Silhouette Dance Ensemble highlights the contributions of the people, movements, and history of the African Diaspora,
Kai Knight
Kai Knight is a choreographer, performer, and instructor with over 35 years of professional experience. She is the founder and director of Seasons Center which hosts multicultural programs that assist women, families, and communities by application of faith, education, and the performing arts. She is the founder and executive director of Cultural Ties Dance Festival: Movement of the African Diaspora. Kai, who has founded and led her own dance company since 1990, is currently the artistic director of Silhouette Dance Ensemble and Breathe! /A Multi-Cultural Collective Breath through Movement Company. She is a featured performing artist of Junebug Productions/ Gomela and an active member of the following New Orleans-based cultural performance companies: Bamboula 2000 Band and Kumbuka African Drum and Dance Collective. In 2017, she choreographed and was a featured performer in “Le Code Noir,” directed by Tommye Myrick. Ms. Knight has studied dance at various institutions, workshops, and conferences locally and nationwide such as The Urban Bush Women Summer Leadership Institute and IABD Dance Festival. She traveled to Haiti to further study Haitian folklore in the Summer of 2018 and has studied Brazilian Dance with New Orleans’ own Casa Samba dance company. She has directed and presented numerous public arts events, dance dramas, and productions and works with beginner students through professional level dancers. She enjoys working with students of all ages and has done so through various institutions and intensives over the years. Kai is also an adjunct teacher at Loyola University where she teaches African diaspora movement, modern, and jazz. Her styles range from African, Haitian, Brazilian, modern, jazz, and contemporary. Kai’s goal is to continue to promote and facilitate individual, social, and community healing through movement and the integration of faith into performance arts, cultural awareness, and social justice.
