About

Lily Kind (they/she) is a dance-maker, performer, and writer. As a DIY organiser, they were at the heart of grassroots dance scenes in Baltimore and Philadelphia — founding Effervescent Collective (Best Choreographer, Baltimore Magazine, 2014; Best Dance Company, Baltimore City Paper, 2010, 2012; ), serving as Associate Director of Urban Movement Arts (2017–2022), co-founding Ragtag Empire (2016–2023), and directing their own critically acclaimed ensemble and solo dance theater works .Their work has been presented by Resolution Festival at The Place (London), Breaking Walls Festival (Cairo), Philadelphia Dance Projects, Table Gallery (Chicago), Miami Light Project, Sarasota Contemporary Dance Company, Le Mondo (Baltimore), Creative Alliance (Baltimore) and the Baltimore Museum of Art. Kind was a 2023 PEW Fellowship nominee.

Lily has taught Flying Low & Passing Through at LCDS since 2025, and in 2026 joined as Unit Leader in Community Dance Practices. From 2023–2026, they were Senior Lecturer at De Montfort University, where they taught screen dance, site-specific dance, dance history, and improvisation. Lily also taught widely, including at Royal Central School of Speech & Drama, Princeton University, Tulane University, Marymount Manhattan, and Ursinus College, and holds FHEA accreditation.

Lily’s movement languages cohere around improvisation and collaboration, with roots in Vernacular Jazz (including Lindy Hop) and scholarly interests in 20th century Black American Popular Dance. Lily specialises in the methods of David Zambrano — Flying Low & Passing Through — trained and taught internationally for over a decade, including Zambrano’s 60 Days Project (Brussels, 2019). They have trained closely in Black American dance styles with Ron Wood, The Hood Lockers, Vince Johnson, and Breai Mason-Campbell. Lily also trained in physical theater, clown, and collaborative devising with Headlong Dance Theater. Lily joined House of Suraj (London) as a Waacker in 2023 and previously served as rehearsal assistant for Kumari Suraj.

Lily holds an MFA in Interdisciplinary Art Practice from Goddard College, where they were advised by Deanna Bowen and Dr. Gale Jackson. Lily also worked with Stephan Koplowitz, Raphael Xavier, Mark “Metal” Wong, Chelsea Murphy, Baltimore Rock Opera Society, Bosley, Dan Deacon, Adam Stone, Bosley, Carsie Blanton, Sianna Plavin and others.

Lily’s writing can be found at Dance Art Journal, Dance Chronicle, Culturebot, thinkingDance, Phindie, and ArtBlog and a short-lived “pandemic” podcast with Mel Cotton, called Tracing Steps. Their DIY zine, How to Make A Dance In America, is available for free at The Voxel.

Lily’s frequent collaborators and closest thought partners, who perhaps could be considered a Philadelphia-centric school of thought:

Chelsea Murphy, Dylan Smythe, Chloe Marie, Alex Brazinksi, Maddie Hopfield, Vince Johnson, Lillian Ransijn, Eva Steinmetz