"Your life is your canvas and your body of work is your legacy,” says Ms. Kenya Joy Gibson to all her students and emerging artists. Born and raised in Brooklyn, the researcher is committed to provoking a conscious thought in African-American history, and spirituality, to all people through storytelling and movement.

A former Dance Theatre of Harlem student, and one of the last to experience the tutelage of the late Arthur Mitchell, Ms. Gibson fuses classical ballet and modern with the polyrhythmic movements of West African Dance. She has performed masterworks such as “Dougla” by Geoffrey Holder and “Forces of Rhythm” by Louis Johnson. A conduit for retaining and reclaiming the legacy of the African Diaspora, Kenya visits West Africa yearly to bring our ancestral history, “home from home;” she is currently working towards ending education equity in Senegal as a Fellowship Fundraiser Ambassador for Teach For Senegal.

As a performer, Ms. Gibson is a company member with Forces of Nature Dance Theatre. With Forces, they won the 2017 Bessie Award for ‘The Healing Sevens’ for Outstanding Performance at DanceAfrica 2017 at BAM. She was also featured in the New York Times for her performance in Saya Woolfalk’s “ChimaTEK” installation, and in Spike Lee's “Art of Daring” campaign for Cadillac. As a choreographer, her works were presented at the Kumble Theatre for the Performing Arts, Symphony Space, the Ailey Citigroup Theatre, and the Salvatore Capezio Theatre, to name a few.

In May 2020, Kenya graduated Summa Cum Laude with a Master's in Dance Education from the Arnhold Graduate Dance Education Program (CUNY-Hunter College), with special recognition for “Outstanding Choreography.” She now returns to Dance Theatre of Harlem as a West African Dance Teacher, grooming the next generation of young dancers to establish their legacy. Ms. Gibson is currently a Guest Choreographer for the Hunter College Dance Department. Her latest works, Honor and Rebirth, are captivating virtual audiences. #BlackExecllence