Upcoming Events

Sukie will be setting new work with California State University’s Theatre and Dance Department, to be performed in December 2024. She will be welcomed by The Sacramento Black Art of Dance, an undergraduate and community-based company with a long tradition!

Recent News

The 2024 Dunham Technique Certification Workshop and The 2024 Dunham Technique Intensive took place at The Ohio State University in July. Sukie taught Dunham Jazz and more.

Sukie’s Choreography Reel is available on Vimeo!!! It features the talented students of GCU’s Original Dance Department (2010 – 2020) including Ted Williams, Michelle Bissonnette, Monique Streety, Janessa Hill, Jillian Nelson, Elijah Figueroa, Destiny Magee, Savannah Hale, and more.

Who is Sukie Keita?

“Sukie Keita’s dedication to diversity, equity, and inclusion shines in all her actions. She is passionate around developing relevant artists who are cognizant of the depth of history around the art of dance, especially in the specialties of jazz and modern dance.”

— Rachel Velarde, DMA

Biography

Inspiring people to get up and groove for decades, dance educator and artist Sukie Keita grew up as a ballet-trained bunhead with a split-tap personality. She began her performance career in New York City, appearing in a range of productions including an off-Broadway house musical and a music video with Whitney Houston. She became hooked on the Dunham Way of Life after meeting Katherine Dunham at a New York City Public School teacher-training conference in 2000 and earned her Dunham Technique teaching certification in 2012.

Returning to Michigan and performing with InSync Dance Theatre, Sukie earned an MFA at the University Of Arizona School Of Dance. She performed with Orts Theatre of Dance, Thom Lewis Dance, and New Articulations in Arizona as well as projects with Jenny Showalter, Suzy Guarino-Hall, and Ojeya Cruz Banks. After leading several K-12 public school dance programs. Sukie went on to found degrees in dance and dance education at Grand Canyon University, training culturally competent dance educators and blazing a trail as a social practice dance artist and decolonizing dance pedagogue within a socially conservative setting.

Sukie serves with the Institute for Dunham Technique Certification as Chair of the Portfolio Committee, supporting candidates in the process of becoming certified teachers of Dunham Technique. She also served for 10 years on the board of the Arizona Dance Education Organization as president and higher education representative, establishing empowering dance programs for youth including Dance @ The Core, the AzDEO College Expo, and the AzDEO Summer Leadership Camp.

Sukie lives in Phoenix and teaches at Spisak Dance Academy and Laveen Dance. She also creates, produces, and consults with @SukieDance.

“After many efforts to arrive at some conclusive decision when thinking of dance, I have decided upon this, that dance is not a technique but a social act and that dance should return to where it first came from, which is the heart and soul of man, and man’s social living.”

— Katherine Dunham

Sukie Keita: Selected Repertory on Vimeo

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