Kyla Kikkawa

@kylasumiko_

Disciplines

Interdisciplinary ArtsActingDanceShow 2 Disciplines

Contact

Lives and Works

63101

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About

Kyla is a fusion dancer who lives between the concert and street dance worlds. She directed her college team WUHHU to a first-place win at Prelude New England in 2023, and she battles in the KRUMP and all-styles dance scenes in St. Louis, where she’s often one of, if not the only, female on the floor. In STL, she goes by Princezz X/O and is so grateful to find depth and community in both improvisational and choreographic works and worlds. She strives to be an active uplifter of the city and a player in the explosion of a more interconnected and truly passionate St. Louis dance and arts community. Kyla is a proud member of the St. Louis KRUMP community, Arch Maddnezz, Saint Louis Story Stitchers Artists Collective, Kode Redd Dance Company, and Leverage Dance Theater. Kyla enjoys pouring directly into or empowering those around her to be uniquely themselves and to move in the way that they prefer while doing it. She also recently graduated from RAC’s Community Arts Training, and she looks forward to further incorporating somatic education into her work as a community builder.

Artist Statement

Kyla Kikkawa’s work as a storyteller through movement seeks to empower and highlight those whose stories are not always told. Her work and educational approach seamlessly blends Hip Hop history, social dances, and legacy with street styles and techniques such as KRUMP and Animation to reflect musicality and humanity. Kyla seeks to express and transmit stories that deserve to be seen after being historically or systematically hidden, especially those of POC and survivors, while simultaneously empowering and inspiring others to live passionately through movement. As a fusion dancer, she doesn’t have a home in one particular movement style, but she aspires to intentionally combine street and concert styles, inspiration, and community. In due time, Kyla hopes to build bridges between art, science, and community, particularly regarding the accessibility and definitions of distinct forms of knowledge of the body, mind, and soul.