Dance to Power- PAD Showcase SESSION
Welcome to Week Four (4) of the PAD Showcase SESSIONS! Experience the vibrancy of American dance that blends tradition, innovation, and powerful storytelling.
Through the lens of six extraordinary U.S.-based dance companies, we invite international audiences to experience the artistry, stories, and movements that define the rich tapestry of contemporary American dance. Each company featured in this series embodies a unique voice as they balance lineage and innovation, while creating performances that resonate deeply across cultures and borders.
—Christopher K Morgan
Meet the host: Christopher K Morgan
Photo courtesy of the artist
Christopher Kaui Morgan is a choreographer, performer, educator, and arts administrator celebrated for advocating for cultural integrity, inclusivity, and diverse representation in dance. His Native Hawaiian heritage and extensive international career inform his work, which blends dance, storytelling, original music, and multimedia design to explore identity and social issues. His choreography has been presented in 22 countries and supported by organizations including Creative Capital, NEFA’s National Dance Project, and the Native Arts & Cultures Foundation.
Morgan founded Christopher K. Morgan & Artists in 2011, earning recognition as a Dance Magazine breakout choreographer. Since 2006, he has directed Art Omi: Dance, fostering global collaboration. In 2024, he became Artistic Director of Malashock Dance.
Previously, he led programming at Maui Arts & Cultural Center and served as Executive Artistic Director of Dance Place. A dedicated educator, he has taught at American University, the University of Maryland, and various residencies. He also serves on the National Performance Network board and the National Council on the Arts.
Meet the Artists
Extra Ancestral
Photo credit: Farah Stop
Founded by Kahlil Cummings in 2017, Extra Ancestral is a cultural movement dedicated to educating and entertaining audiences through the fusion of different cultural manifestations of the African Diaspora. In their performances, audiences are likely to experience genres such as Afrobeat, Reggae, Jazz, Salsa, and many traditional African musical forms of the Diaspora. Narrated through powerful ancestral dancing, Extra Ancestral provides an in-depth education of temporal and geographic borders from Africa to the Americas and back, providing lessons from the past to hone tools for the future.
Robert Moses' KIN
Photo credit: RJ Muna
Founded in 1995 in San Francisco, Robert Moses’ KIN is an acclaimed dance company known for its bold choreography, diverse movement styles, and thought-provoking themes. Through dance, the company explores race, class, culture, and gender, while honoring Moses’ African American heritage. With a repertory of over 100 works that range from neoclassical ballet to postmodern movement theatre, the company's work has earned numerous accolades, including seven Isadora Duncan Awards, a Bay Guardian Outstanding Local Discovery Award in Dance (Goldie), and a San Francisco Weekly Black Box Award for Choreography.
Nejla Yatkin
Photo credit: Mika Pasco
Nejla Yatkin is a 2023 Guggenheim Fellow in choreography and a globally acclaimed dance artist renowned for her emotionally evocative and intellectually compelling performances. Hailed as “magical” by The New York Times and celebrated for her “fierce and supple” movement, Nejla crafts choreography that transcends traditional boundaries, immersing audiences in profound explorations of identity, transformation, and the human condition.
With a career spanning decades, Nejla draws from her nomadic heritage and extensive training across diverse traditions, including Dance Theater, Limon, Horton, Graham techniques, Ballet, Japanese Butoh, Middle Eastern dance, and pantomime. Her work seamlessly integrates these influences, showcasing her ability to navigate genres and storytelling with remarkable depth.
Versa-Style Street Dance Company
Photo courtesy of the artist
Founded in 2005 by Los Angeles natives and co-artistic directors Jackie Lopez aka Miss Funk and Leigh Foaad aka Breeze-lee, Versa-Style Street Dance Company was created to promote, empower and celebrate the artistry of Hip Hop and street dance culture. Named “Los Angeles’ Best Dance Troupe for Hip Hop Empowerment” by LA Weekly, Versa-Style is recognized for its electrifying performances and inspiring engagement activities for schools and local communities. Consisting of committed, highly skilled street dance artists and educators representative of the diversity and beautiful complexity of Los Angeles, Versa-Style Street Dance Company harnesses the exhilarating energy of street dance onto the concert stage for an unforgettable evening of dance.
ANIKAYA
Photo credit: Liza Voll
ANIKAYA Dance Theater, founded in 2003 by choreographer Wendy Jehlen, merges performance and community engagement to dissolve boundaries between people, cultures, and art forms. Rooted in kinesthetic empathy, ANIKAYA’s work fosters connection through movement, breaking down imagined divisions. Blending music, dance, visual art, new media, and storytelling, the company creates performances that honor deep traditions while transcending any single genre or place.
Kinetic Light
Photo credit: Robbie Sweeny
Kinetic Light is an internationally recognized disability arts ensemble working at the intersection of art, technology, design, and dance. Led by disabled artists, the ensemble creates, performs, and teaches with a focus on access, queerness, disability, dance, and race.
Rooted in disability aesthetics and culture, Kinetic Light’s work emerges from and contributes to the rich traditions and contemporary conversations of disabled artists across disciplines. Rather than viewing disability as a limitation, the ensemble embraces it as a powerful, intersectional creative force that shapes their artistry. Access is integral to their work, influencing every aspect of their creative process, administration, and audience experience.