Kayla Harley

It was an honor and privilege to witness Founder and Senior Director of Dance Theater of Harlem Company + School, Arthur Mitchell in action at the Wallach Art Gallery in New York City. A special exhibition hosted by the Lenfest Center for the Arts celebrates his life and career as New York City Ballet's first African American star and his contribution to the Black History by introducing the first Classical Ballet Company for people of Color. The panels were adorned with images, billboards, newspapers, and writings from Mr. Mitchell himself. On this day, the man himself makes an appearance for a group of young students who have come to tour the exhibit and experience history. What he is doing is quite magical. Accompanied by his assistant--loyal company member of Dance Theatre of Harlem Paunika Jones who brings his world to life. She explains what is to means to wear pointe shoes or"toe shoes" as Mr. Mitchell describes it as she wraps each ribbon carefully around he...

The sound, the energy, the life of the island of Trinidad and Tobago.....or any other land in the Caribbean is the PEOPLE. Soca Music, a popular movement today by way of artists such as Machel Mantano, SuperBlue, Kes, Patrice Roberts and others derived from the sounds of Calypso....steel pan playing an instrument that is historically unique to the islands made from industrial waste: paint points, dustbins, oil drums, biscuit bins, car parts, and others. To be a Calypsonian is to embrace the richness of life on the islands, tell stories amongst family and friends, recall events of the day, make jokes and carry on with people in the community. After storming the band, dancing liming and feting with friends during Carnival the feathers began to weigh in on me. The sounds of popular songs played on the radio, the mention of Soca Kingdom and the familiarity of it all began to dull my excitement and enthusiasm. I felt like there was a part of that was missing, The Spirit of Carnival and...

The Makers arise early this morning to receive a local news reporter in Alberquerque KQRE Channel 13 doing a feature story on the Keshet Center for the Arts. I had the privilege of leading the dancers in a GYROKINESISⓇ seated class. It turned out to be just what we all needed to prepare our minds and bodies for a day of finalizing material and preparing for this evening's tech run. I took more time on my knees to acknowledge Most High and restore my spiritual and mental welfare.  I'm learning the ins and outs of social media marketing--balancing it out with my pursuits in academia, business planning, outreach, work life all while planning a vacation. WHEW! Talk about being a real Woman with real things going on: All At Once. Here's video of a more extensive description of what's to expect in the premiere of my work: " #blackgirlmagic " Art Work by JC Holland & Renee Colbert Look to the left! If you've got a Google Account Fol...

 There are so many possibilities and today as I integrate the artwork. I discovered during tech time new ways to interact with one of the posters that addresses girlhood, adolescence and the use of technology in an intimate space. There are 3 poster boards that depict the social trending hashtag sites: Brown Girls Do Ballet, Travel Noire and Black Girls Rock of which will be focused on in this piece. The story animates the still narratives of social media: Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, SnapChat exploring the moments that actually occur in real time. A childhood Fable Story poses the question: "Sugar and Spice and everything nice....that's what little Girls are made of..." but, What is a Black Girl made of? I've never read the book the Alchemist, popular literature that was a popular canon of work being passed around during my undergraduate college years. The word Alchemy simply means- the makings of of thing. It is my belief that Black Girl Magic is the comb...