KLJ Movement, Performance and Dance Company Members

Kyra Johnson started dancing at the age of 10, however, her mother would say moving started in the womb. She began her training locally from studios and dance teams. Ms. Johnson continued her advancement in dance and earned a BA in Dance and a BS in Psychology from University of Wisconsin Stevens Point (UWSP). She has a foundation in styles of modern, jazz, and ballet. Following her Dance degree, Ms. Johnson has been a member and choreographed twice for Madison Contemporary Dance. She continues to develop her dance skills by training at Barrio Dance Studio in Madison, WI, where she performed in a music video for D Major Music. Outside of dance, Ms. Johnson is a graduate student at the University of Wisconsin, Whitewater in counseling education and works as a community restorative justice practitioner. 

Originally from Minnesota, I, Madalin (she/her) earned my bachelor of arts degree in Dance from UW-Stevens Point. After receiving a scholarship to study Early Childhood Dance Education in New York at the 92nd Street Y, I found my calling as an educator. I am now co-teaching at Preschool of the Arts in Madison, Wi. Over the past two years I have been a guest choreographer and teacher at Summit Dance Studio located in Detroit Lakes, MN. Eager to continue my professional performance career, I am currently training in the Madison area and performing with KLJ Movement. My main areas of study include modern, ballet, jazz, choreography, and improvisation. 

Ciara (she/her)  is a Madison Native who has been dancing since she was 9. Ciara has a background in Musical Theatre and has done a multitude of shows with Various Companies like House Madison Theatre, MPT, VACT, and many more. Ciara was studying Musical Theatre at Stevens Point and is now transferring to UW Madison to continue her Theatre degree. Ciara is so excited to be apart of KlJ. She believes all bodies are dance bodies and loves that KLJ provides a place for all bodies, people, and abilities. "I never had a place growing up where I saw people like me dancing, KLJ is providing just that. I'm so thankful to be apart of it"

Kandyce Anderson Amie (she/her) is a 5th year PhD student in Curriculum and Instruction where she specializes in artistic cultural production, multicultural education, and dance studies at University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her research interests include experiences of Black girl dancers, cultural theories of the black dancing body, and love and care pedagogies of teachers. She brings her passion for teaching, culture, and dance into KLJ Movement.

Kandyce Anderson Amie had been dancing for 12 years in various styles including ballet, modern, west African, hip-hop, jazz dance, and dance theatre. Kandyce has trained under Philadelphia native, Sabra Logan of Iibada Modern and African dance company in Indianapolis, Indiana and under Jennifer Hinshaw in 2008, now of Expressionz dance studio in Avon, Indiana. 

Before joining KLJ Movement, Kandyce was a member of award-winnning high school team, Avon Gold Dance, DePauw University's "X-Cell Hip-Hop and Step" dance team and Modern dance company, "Company Unspoken".  Kandyce was also cast as the female lead of DePauw University's 2014 theatre steampunk production, Bluebird, and most recently, Kandyce was honored to serve as dramaturg for the 2020 DePauw theatre production of Brainpeople. 

During her time as a dancer, she had various opportunities to receive instruction from local to celebrity artists such as rising artist Andre Williams to Broadway's Ariana Debose, however she mostly prides herself in being influenced mostly by communal spaces of social and team dance and brings that passion to KLJ Movement. 

Daniele Oblitas (she/her), originally from Houston, Texas, graduated from St. Olaf College in 2019 with a BA in Dance and Environmental Studies. While at St. Olaf College, she has worked with faculty and guest artists including Matthew Janczewski, Heather Klopchin, Karla Grotting, Janice Roberts, Stephan Koplowitz, and Shapiro and Smith.

With an emphasis in choreography, most of Daniele’s work centers intersections of the environment, justice, and sovereignty. Daniele uses a variety of mediums in her work including film, poetry, dirt, and others as inspiration. Daniele emphasizes collaboration and research as the root of her choreographic process.

Her senior choreography capstone “Raked,” chosen to be performed at the American College Dance Association Conference in 2019, explores the connection between food justice and sovereignty, indigenous community, and resilience for those who work on the land. Her solo performance “Weary like the sea” in the 2019 Companydance concert centers self-conflict and healing while navigating intergenerational trauma and the exhaustion that accompanies navigating all white spaces.

Since graduating, Daniele has been exploring dance film-- collaborating on a dance film for a local music artist (2020) and creating a dance film for the UW Madison P.O.W.E.R. Collective CYPHER performance for restorative justice (2021). Daniele Oblitas currently lives in Madison, WI and performs with Liz Sexe Dance, KLJ Movement, and volunteers at the Hancock Center for dance therapy