SHANESS D. KEMP, MFA

Shaness D. Kemp is a native of Nassau, Bahamas and holds both a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree and a Master of Fine Arts from Temple University. She is an Assistant Professor of Dance at the University of Maryland Baltimore County, and continues to work as a freelance dancer, choreographer and dance educator. Most recently, Kemp was invited to be a guest performing artist with the Tabanka African & Caribbean Peoples Dance Ensemble which is Northern Europe's largest all black professional dance company.  Kemp has trained and performed with several notable artists and professional dance companies, including Deeply Rooted Dance Theater, Kariamu & Company: Traditions, Kun-Yang Lin/Dancers, Eleone Dance Theatre, Philadanco! The Philadelphia Dance Company, Urban Bush Women, Complexions Contemporary Ballet, Rennie Harris Puremovement, The Katherine Dunham Seminar and The American Dance Festival to name a few. As a Master Teacher of the Umfundalai technique, she has taught at numerous institutions, festivals and intensives and her work has been presented both nationally and internationally; some of which include, the International Association of Blacks in Dance Conference, the 37th Annual Choreographers Showcase where she received the Audience Choice Award for her choreography and the 2019 Womens in Dance Leadership Conference as an invited performer and instructor. She is also the 2015-2016 recipient of the Ellen Forman Memorial Award.