Kendra Unique
Kendra Unique (she/her/hers) is a performer, teaching artist, and organizer originally from the DMV area, where she attended Shenandoah Conservatory and graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting with a minor in Dance. Now based in New Orleans, she practices in ... nearly everything, including acting, singing, dance, choreography, and directing, all for both film and stage. Her favorite and most frequent discipline is karaoke in the garden! She has performed and educated with various companies all over the New Orleans area, including Tulane Summer Lyric Theatre, See ‘Em On Stage Productions, The Radical Buffoons, St. Martin’s Episcopal School, and Infringe Fest. She realized arts and activism were inextricably linked when performing at the New Orleans Shakespeare Festival at Tulane. When she and the cast were encouraged to be silent by festival leadership in the light of the overturning of Roe v. Wade, they protested by refusing to perform. In her heart, she knows Shakespeare would've been proud. Kendra can be found in several independent films such as Alien, Baby!, The God Inside My Ear, Pink Elephant, In the Wildwood, and newly-released The Sudbury Devil. Check her out in the music video for “Better Piece of My Heart” by Miss Mojo as well! As a dancer, she has performed with SHIFT Collective, Narcisse Movement Project, Melange Dance Company, and Queer Abundance Productions, in which she held the role of co-executive director for their inaugural show Resist/Rest/Revel. Kendra is also the financial officer for Southern Solidarity, a local mutual aid group focused on aiding our unhoused neighbors with material needs, retrieving housing, and liberation for underserved communities.
Kendra is absolutely jazzed to be taking on the role of Operations Director at Dancing Grounds. It is a true blessing to be able to combine her organizing, technical skills, and artistic passion into a job that can sustain - something all artists dream of! She hopes to lead with love for her communities and bring the joy and healing power of movement to all who wish to experience it.