MEET OUR
STAFF
STAFF
KENDRA BARNES : EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
For more than two decades, Kendra Kimbrough Barnes has built a legacy that champions brave and innovative voices in dance, choreography and performance, and reflects the diverse bodies, backgrounds and narratives of the people in her hometown of
Oakland, CA.
As a young girl, Barnes took a wide-range of dance classes in after-school and neighborhood programs, and quickly understood that her life would be centered around the performing arts. She understood early, the critical role that dance played in nurturing a sense of belongingness, in cultivating one’s relationship between the body and spirit, and in aiding the process of navigating the world around us. Armed with these insights - and her natural propensity toward leadership, mentorship and influence – it was inevitable that she would become the founder of a brand that is synonymous with dance, community and accessibility.
In 1996, Barnes founded K-Star Productions, the Oakland-based presenting organization for the Kendra Kimbrough Dance Ensemble (KKDE) and the annual Bay Area community pillar, The Black Choreographers Festival (BCF). While the dance company’s repertoire addresses urgent, socially-conscious issues such as incarceration and sexual assault, the festival is a platform for emerging artists to be mentored, hone their artistic voice and take creative risks, in front of a wide-ranging audience that happens to feel like family.
It has been beyond Kendra’s expectations that so many artists who started with KKDE and BCF have expanded to produce their own work, found their own companies, perform and present on stages across the country to include on Broadway in NYC, and become international artists. But it is through this work that Barnes is not only fulfilled, but that she fulfills her commitment to the legacy she envisioned more than twenty years ago.
She is eternally grateful to the artists and audiences that have grown with her, and the funders who continue to support her undying commitment to the arts and Oakland artists in particular. And she is excited about the ever-evolving newcomers-turned-supporters, because it is a testament to the relevance, urgency, and viability of K-Star Productions, and the staying power of Kendra’s work.
Oakland, CA.
As a young girl, Barnes took a wide-range of dance classes in after-school and neighborhood programs, and quickly understood that her life would be centered around the performing arts. She understood early, the critical role that dance played in nurturing a sense of belongingness, in cultivating one’s relationship between the body and spirit, and in aiding the process of navigating the world around us. Armed with these insights - and her natural propensity toward leadership, mentorship and influence – it was inevitable that she would become the founder of a brand that is synonymous with dance, community and accessibility.
In 1996, Barnes founded K-Star Productions, the Oakland-based presenting organization for the Kendra Kimbrough Dance Ensemble (KKDE) and the annual Bay Area community pillar, The Black Choreographers Festival (BCF). While the dance company’s repertoire addresses urgent, socially-conscious issues such as incarceration and sexual assault, the festival is a platform for emerging artists to be mentored, hone their artistic voice and take creative risks, in front of a wide-ranging audience that happens to feel like family.
It has been beyond Kendra’s expectations that so many artists who started with KKDE and BCF have expanded to produce their own work, found their own companies, perform and present on stages across the country to include on Broadway in NYC, and become international artists. But it is through this work that Barnes is not only fulfilled, but that she fulfills her commitment to the legacy she envisioned more than twenty years ago.
She is eternally grateful to the artists and audiences that have grown with her, and the funders who continue to support her undying commitment to the arts and Oakland artists in particular. And she is excited about the ever-evolving newcomers-turned-supporters, because it is a testament to the relevance, urgency, and viability of K-Star Productions, and the staying power of Kendra’s work.
