Kia the Key & Company / The Era Footwork Collective

In this special split-bill performance, Jacob’s Pillow welcomes the local street and club dance company Kia the Key & Company and the Chicago footwork crew The Era Footwork Collective.

Kia the Key & Company is led by Shakia “The Key” Barron, a professor of dance at Mount Holyoke College who also serves as co-artistic director for Ladies of Hip-Hop Dance Collective and as faculty at The School at Jacob’s Pillow this summer. Established in 2022, this Western Massachusetts company is grounded in street and club dances, and brings together dancers across race, nationality, and background to explore the complexity and beauty of Black social dance: as cultural expression, political resistance, and collective healing. Barron explores how these forms carry cultural memory and wisdom that is deeply connected to the African Diaspora.

The Era Footwork Collective are pioneers of the battle dance known as Chicago footwork. Since 2014, they have expanded upon what it means to be a dance crew, addressing inequality and racism through their lyrics, panel discussions, and work to make women and girls more visible in the history and documentation of footwork. The Era has toured from Japan to Peru, performing and choreographing alongside leading artists such as Chance the Rapper, DJ Rashad, DJ Spinn, and Theaster Gates. The crew has been featured by VICE, CBC, and the Chicago Tribune, which declared that “The Era has taken footwork back for Chicago.”