A native of Brooklyn, NY, Kenya Joy Gibson, a former student of the Dance Theatre of Harlem, and one of the last to experience the tutelage of the late Arthur Mitchell, she has performed masterworks such as “Dougla '' by Geoffrey Holder and “Forces of Rhythm” by Louis Johnson. In 2016, she joined Forces of Nature Dance Theatre as a company dancer under the direction of Abdel R. Salaam. With the company, she won the 2017 Bessie Award for Outstanding Performance at DanceAfrica 2017 for “The Healing Sevens”. Kenya has been 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. Kenya graduated Summa Cum Laude with a Master’s in Dance Education from the Arnhold Graduate Dance Education Program in 2020. As a choreographer, Ms. Gibson is committed to cultivating new methods of reclaiming and retaining, the legacy of the African Diaspora. Ms.Gibson is the Founder and Artistic Director of TORCH Dance Theatre and is providing artists of color the opportunity to share their stories on stage. Her message to all is, “Your life is your canvas, and your body of work is your legacy.” ,