Kenneth D. "Ken" Ard (born June 30, 1960) is an American dancer, choreographer, actor and singer.
Early career
editArd was born in Oakland, California in 1960. His mother exposed him to jazz through frequent visits to musical in San Francisco and Oakland. Ard also proved to be an especially good gymnast, winning the California youth gymnastics championship at 16.[1]
After dancing at the Oakland Ballet and San Francisco Ballet, he was approached by Jon Hendricks for a lead role in his show, Evolution of the Blues, to be presented in the Golden Gate Theatre in San Francisco.
Personal life
editHe is openly gay and married to puppeteer Basil Twist[2]
Career
editArd was asked to choreograph for shows in Hawaii. When Alvin Ailey came to Hawaii, he asked Ard to dance in his American Dance Theater. But after a few months, Ard missed the dynamic of the combination of song and dance, and auditioned for a Broadway show for which he was selected, Cats (in which he originated the role of Macavity), Starlight Express (in which he originated the role of Electra), Song and Dance, Jelly's Last Jam and Smokey Joe's Cafe.
Ard appeared in the 2002 film Chicago and 1996 film Seven Servants. by Daryush Shokof.
Ard collaborated with many of Europe's notable jazz artists. The beginning of 2009 marked the release of Ballads, Blues & Cocktails, Ard's first jazz CD.[3]
Ard teaches jazz dance and musical dance at the Frank Sanders Musical Academy and Codarts in the Netherlands. Since 2014, he has also taught at the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.[4]
Filmography
editFilm
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Seven Servants | African Man | |
| 2002 | Chicago | Wilbur |
Television
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | New Amsterdam | Mason | Episode: "Every Last Minute" |
| 2020 | Stars in the House | — | Episode: "Smokey Joe's Cafe Reunion" |
| 2020 | Wait in the Wings | Electra | Episode: "The Painful Spectacle of Starlight Express" |
External links
editReferences
edit- ^ "Nightlife in NYC: Ken Ard with Mark Berman at Pangea Club | arts-ny". 2018-02-02. Retrieved 2022-04-19.
- ^ https://www.instagram.com/p/C9clWVBuQVY/?igsh=b3owMng1cmhiN3U2
- ^ "Jazz Artist Biography - Ken Ard from Broadway to a Jazz stage@ jazzreview.com". 2010-05-08. Archived from the original on 8 May 2010. Retrieved 2022-04-19.
- ^ Brooks, William (2021-08-19). Experience Music Experiment: Pragmatism and Artistic Research. Leuven University Press. ISBN 978-94-6270-279-0.