Today we’d like to introduce you to Kimaiya Hall.
Hi Kimaiya, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself
Absolutely. I am Kimaiya Hall, a professional dance artist choreographer & creative director. I am the founder of Kimaiya HallLlC KHDC (Kimaiya Hall Dance Company) & Subtle Stilettos. My journey really started at around 2/3 years old. I always strutted around the house in my aunties’ & mommy’s high heels shoes. I was obsessed with learning choreography from music videos from Michael Jackson, Tina Turner, Mya, Destiny’s Child, Beyoncé, Ciara & many more. I continued to be inspired by art & artist around me & eventually obsessed over competition dancers & studios Jacquelin Harris was my favorite. I watched her videos and the movie Center Stage & taught myself as much as I could until about 11 years old.
I attended Marian Middle school where we had mandatory “enrichment” which was study hall & an art and/or club of your choice. Of course, I choose dance, our instructor Zhanda Clarke saw potential in me & graciously welcomed me to train at her studio New Era Productions Academy on scholarship.
Once I entered high school at Central Visual and Performing Arts High School I began training as a dance major under the direction of Raymond Parks Chaz Holloman & Mrs.Lauren. We were blessed to have residencies from world-renowned dance companies through Dance St.Louis & fabulous guest artist & alum to inspire us in our program on a regular basis. I also began to train with JAM (Jay & Monique). Throughout my high school career, I had many opportunities. I got to travel to NYC being featured as a background dancer on MTV’s MADE, I received the Dance St.Louis Dance Career Award, Co-Choreograph a 2nd place winning number in the Fabulous Foxs Teen Talent Showcase. & more. I grew so much in that period because of amazing inspirations on & off the dance floor and my high school being amazing to me!
After graduating high school in 2015 I began training in as many styles as I possible as well as starting my heels dance class & training program that has developed into Subtle Stilettos. I got a camera soon & began to curate & create photoshoots, & concepts videos for myself until I began to connect with other like-minded cinematographers, photographers, dance contractors, etc, especially black women & people. Which inspired me to do something I always wanted to do, attend an HBCU. I traveled to Alabama and gained more knowledge experience and inspiration. Dropping out of college wasn’t necessarily part of the plan but here we are! (Lol)
After deciding to put my college education on pause I began to travel between New York City & my hometown St.Louis USA networking, creating & working as a professional dancer. Basically just developing myself as an artist. I started my self-titled company around 2019 which now houses KHDC & my athleisure wear line Body by Kimaiya. Throughout my years of growth, I’ve had tremendous opportunities. Besides continuing to build my dance company I’m growing with my students at All Starz Elite Dance Company & New Era Productions Dance Academy.
In 2022 (and forever) my goals are to:
– Soak up every single style of dance I can as well as dance history and Continue to be a humble & confident student.
– Provide paid opportunities to professional dancers in St.Louis Mo as well as safe, professional spaces & environments.
– Give Back to the community.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It hasn’t been a smooth road. In dance, I’ve had to develop a thick skin. Firstly because of all the “isms” & being in a world that has had a culture of being so political, so biased, etc and just the fact that the dance world can be hard. You hear “no” a lot more than yes. (But those yes’s are everything & absolutely always outweigh the No’s) I’ve been hospitalized for MDD (Major Depression Disorder) & anxiety.
I’ve dealt with & I’m still dealing with the death of my father, as well as other loss in my family. I’ve experienced & seen a lot in my life good & unfortunately bad or just the not so fuzzy parts of life as well. I still have many “struggles”.
However like I’ve mentioned before I feel truly blessed that I’ve had amazing influences around me not only dancers, but my aunts my older sister & my mom. People to keep me grounded, humble, hungry etc because I’ve definitely had to get back up many times. Also for me, it’s all mind over matter, I don’t necessarily think of my struggles as struggles, because I see both sides of things. I’m growing, learning, facing the consequences of my actions loving myself, healing, dealing with trauma & grief and forgiving, etc it’s all part of the journey I feel.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
The Kimaiya Hall Dance Company aims to institutionalize & standardize dance styles such as majorette, “Heels”, and Jazz-Funk while keeping the styles open for interpretation as they were designed. Often times the essence and true history of these styles are lost & overlooked. We aim to highlight & respect it’s true history while building on that history, by studying & staying true to the fundamentals & being creative in doing so! After leaving Alabama I was very inspired by what I saw in college & learned in dance class there. I also was & continue to be inspired by the natural talent & swag I saw at home in St.Louis. I began to have dance sessions & privates with my sister Danae to develop our original style.
We are a professional heels dance company based in St.Louis USA. Our style is inspired by the fundamentals of “heels” dance, Vegas showgirls, Beyoncé, Eartha Kitt, SU Dancing Dolls, Alabama State Stingettes, Bob Fosse and the black “female” dancer and so much more.
Our aim is to provide professional safe environments & performance opportunities for adult dancers in St.Louis, professional dancers should highly respected for the priceless art they give & our company stands on that.
We are also huge on giving back to the community & partnering with like-minded companies & organizations!
We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up?
My first time going to a dance studio or one time my sister won a 104.1 contest where we got to meet B5 at imos like we got to hug them and everything, lol. Still got the pics of that. We also chased B5 on a float before (me and my sister-cousins). lmao!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.kimaiyahallllc.com/
- Instagram: Khdancecompany
- Youtube: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=RfaZT_s71sw
Image Credits
Erica Love Jones
Philip Elliginton Media
Gerald R Watson
March 24, 2022 at 5:38 pm
Remarkable, exciting to see the vision of young African American women come to fruition. I find it very important for youth to have a role model that looks like them. If they can see it, they can be it. Thanks to VoyageSTL for being a great platform for inspiration and determination.