Kansas City Friends of Alvin Ailey’s Three-Day Fall Intensive
Join KCFAA for a free world class dance classes taught by dance masters from the Alvin Ailey Dance Foundation. Students ages 10 to 19 are welcome to sign up for this Dance Intensive.
This 3-day Fall Intensive is taught by Alvin Ailey Dance Foundation Master Teaching Artist Nasha Thomas and Teaching Artist Roderick Jackson .
  • This is a unique opportunity to work with world class master teachers.
  •  The classes are free of charge.
  •  Students do not have to commit to all three days of the intensive or participate in the culminating community share.
  • Classes are separated by age: Silver (ages 10 – 13 ) & Gold (ages 14 – 19)
  • Classes are held at the KCFAA studio: 1714 E. 18th St, Kansas City, MO 64108.
The Fall Intensive Community Share is a showcase for the intensive participants.
 

INTENSIVE 

Wednesday & Thursday 18th – 19th, 2026

KCFAA Studio

1714 E 18th Street, Kansas City, Missouri 64108

COMMUNITY SHARE*

Friday, November 20, 8:00 PM
Lincoln College Prep Academy
2111 Woodland Ave.
Kansas City, MO 64108

*Sharing performance, free admission

FALL INTENSIVE SCHEDULE

WEDNESDAY 11/18

Silver (ages 10 – 13) Modern  – 5:00 PM – 5:45 PM
Silver (ages 10 – 13) West African – 5:50 PM – 6:40 PM
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Gold (ages 14 – 19) West African – 6:45 PM – 7:45 PM
Gold (ages 14 – 19) Modern – 7:50 PM – 8:45 PM

THURSDAY 11/19

Silver (ages 10 – 13) Modern – 5:00 PM – 5:45 PM
Silver ( ages – 10 – 13) West African – 5:50 PM – 6:40 PM
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Gold (ages 14 – 19) Modern – 6:45 PM – 7:40 PM
Gold (ages 14 – 19) West African – 7:45 PM – 8:45 PM

FRIDAY 11/20

All students Friday, November 20, 5:00 PM – 9:00 PM Lincoln College Prep
Studio Program Director Bio
Tyrone Aiken (Amityville NY) is the Chief Artistic Officer for Kansas City Friends of Alvin Ailey. He is a choreographer, teacher, dancer, and arts administrator. Tyrone is a graduate of the Ailey School’s Certificate Program in 1983 and a 2020 MFA in Dance graduate from Hollins University. Tyrone began his professional dance career with the Cleo Parker Dance Ensemble in 1983. Tyrone’s choreographic credits include “Summerland” commissioned by Dance Theater of Harlem’s Virginia Johnson. In Kansas City Tyrone has choreographed for The Lyric Opera, The Coterie Theater, The KC Symphony, Wylliams/Henry Dance Theatre, KC Ballet, the KC Rep, and the Nelson Atkins Museum. Tyrone created AileyCamp the Group in 1995, Setting the Stage in 1997 and a second AileyCamp serving Kansas in 2000. He successfully launched KCFAA’s move to the Jazz District in 2007 and lead KCFAA through a strategic plan with Michael Kaiser creating a new Symposium series. It is through that series that Tyrone reaffirmed his commitment to racial equity, diversity, and inclusion in the arts and our society. This is Tyrone’s 31st year with Kansas City Friends of Alvin Ailey.

Instructor Bios
NATIONAL DIRECTOR OF AILEYCAMP
MASTER TEACHER & SPOKESPERSON FOR AILEY ARTS IN EDUCATION
Nasha Thomas has been involved with AILEY for close to 40 years and has worked with Ailey Arts In Education & Community Programs (AAIE) since 1999. Thomas is the national director of AileyCamp and designs and oversees the national outreach programs for AAIE. As a primary liaison between the Ailey organization and the national arts-in-education community, she plays a central role in working with local communities to develop and run AileyCamp in cities across the U.S. Thomas also manages national residencies, leads workshops, and teaches master classes, helping Arts In Education reach over 100,000 people each year through education and community initiatives. A graduate of New York’s High School of the Performing Arts and Southern Methodist University, she received the prestigious Presidential Scholar of the Arts award. At the invitation of Alvin Ailey and later under the direction of Judith Jamison, Ms. Thomas danced with Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater from 1986 to 1998.
Highlighted as one of Good Housekeeping’s “Humanitarians Who Are Our Heroes,” Thomas combines her passion for inspiring the next generation and personal experiences as a performer and Master Teacher to lead Ailey Arts In Education programs. From public school classrooms to the Lincoln Center Plaza and from Gracie Mansion to the White House, and more, she shares dance and Alvin Ailey’s legacy with people across the country. In 2020, Thomas reached students around the world virtually as she helped kicked off the 60th anniversary of Alvin Ailey’s iconic Revelations with a workshop streamed from the Rockefeller Center rooftop and virtual programs for TED Discovery Series. She also led the Revelations Virtual Dance Workshop Series, designed for middle school students blending dance with poetry, history, and music, which builds a foundation of artistic exploration that will enhance any students’ academic experience.
Most recently, Thomas shared her personal journey with AILEY for “Alvin Ailey and Me,” a public project with the Whitney Museum of American Art as part of Edges of Ailey, the first large scale museum exhibition to reflect on Mr.
Ailey’s life and legacy.
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AILEY TEACHING ARTIST & MUSICIAN
RODERICK JACKSON
Roderick Jackson (Cleveland, OH) is currently a Teaching Artist and Percussionist for Ailey Arts In Education & Community Programs. He began his interest in percussive music at age 10. In 1990, his relocation to New York City propelled intensive study of the rhythms, dances, and instruments involved in multiple cultures, including those of Afro-Brazilian, West African, South African, Angolan, Korean, and Haitian origin.
Mr. Jackson was formerly the music director for Batoto Yetu Children’s African Dance Company and has collaborated with several additional dance companies, including Chet Walker’s Eight and Ah 1 Dance Ensemble, Omar Edwards’ Jeremiah Funk Ensemble, David Pleasant’s Riddim Athon Percussion Ensemble, and Young Soon Kim’s White Wave Rising Dance Company. Mr. Jackson has also recorded commercial works for The Children’s Television Workshop, Sesame Street, Rabbit Ears Productions, Nickelodeon, Angelina Ballerina, The Smithsonian Institute, and the motion picture Beloved. He understudied for the lead percussionist role of Chaka in the Broadway musical Marie Christine, starring Audra Mc Donald.
Mr. Jackson has been a faculty member at several notable dance institutions, including Jacob’s Pillow, the Department of Music and Performing Arts Professions at New York University and The Ailey School. He currently teaches Percussion and African Dance for Earl Mosely’s Institute of the Arts. Roderick is the
founder of Palms Down
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TRADITIONAL MUSIC SOCIETY MUSIC DIRECTOR
Xavier Fleming
Xavier Fleming, multi-instrumentalist, and music producer has been involved in music since childhood when began by learning and performing traditional jazz saxophone styles, West African, Caribbean, and Brazilian percussion styles. He began performing professionally with local groups before the completion of high school. Xavier earned his Bachelor of Music from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia and his Master of Arts in Music, from the University of Missouri-Kansas City and has 14 years of experience as an active musician in Philadelphia and Kansas City. He is now an active musician and board-certified music therapist in Kansas City, performing and teaching with the non-profit group Traditional Music Society and other various performance groups playing various contemporary and traditional music genres.