Kennedy Moore can't remember a time when dancing wasn't part of her life.
Moore tells people it began officially when she was two years old, when her mother, Holly Moore, the owner of Show Stoppers Studio of Dance on Industrial Park Road in Brookhaven -- first started bringing her to work regularly. Moore, however, will show you pictures of herself as a baby, many months removed from learning to walk and taking her first dance steps, in a basket carrier at the studio. She has been there ever since, where a career is now blossoming.
She has just joined Co-Lin as the new director of its band program's Colettes dance team.
Moore started dancing as toddler, perfected her style before her teenage years and taught dance under her mom's tutelage as a young teen and on her own at Show Stoppers by the time she graduated from high school. She danced as a Colette at Co-Lin and was captain of the collegiate group in her sophomore year.
"I learned to walk, assisted by the bars on the walls at mom's dance studio, and stayed in a crib in her office," she relates. With that kind of start, Moore was just naturally ready to return to the Colettes as their new director even before officially completing her college studies.
Growing up with her parents only a two-minute ride from her mom's studio, Moore has never been far away from dancing throughout her short life. She went to elementary and junior high school at Brookhaven Academy and completed her secondary education at Brookhaven High School, where she graduated in 2015.
"At Brookhaven Academy, I competed in track, but dance remained my focus," she recalls. After school, the dancing part of her life continued at her mom's studio. "It was at Brookhaven High School (BHS) that I found people as serious and passionate about dancing as I was," she says. Yes. There was a life outside Show Stoppers Studio of Dance.
On to Co-Lin, she found the Colettes, the encouragement of Juanita Proffitt, the college's director of bands, and more people who had similar interests in dance. She was even able to room in a dorm with her best friend. "I loved Co-Lin," she affirms. When she left Co-Lin, Proffitt told her the school would always be there for her -- an assurance she remembers in the light of her new job.
After Co-Lin, Moore went to the University of Southern Mississippi, where she has completed work on her major in Child Development and will graduate in December after finishing requirements of her minor in dance. Preferring her dancing life in Brookhaven to the life in Hattiesburg, she has been commuting to her classes and working at Show Stoppers. She is considering Master's Degree studies so she can also teach at Co-Lin.
At Co-Lin, Moore will work with fifteen Colettes, possibly a couple of more, as the choreographer for their performances at football and basketball games and special events at parades, commercial promotions and schools. She directs their regular workouts, and even selects the music for the basketball game performances. Moore wants to continue to raise the Colettes to "a collegiate level," focusing them on the technique foundation of dance, the art of performing and dancing with live music.
Moore isn't leaving her mom, though. She will remain on the staff at Show Stoppers as the primary teacher of hip hop dance and an assistant instructor for ballet, tap, jazz, contemporary and point dancing.
What are your hobbies? I enjoy working out at the gym, where I can also hang out with friends.
Since I was nine years old, I've been visiting Disney World in Florida -- after dance camps and on family vacations. I've been there 19 times. In 2017, I danced in the Disney World Magic Kingdom parade.
Are you reader? I am a listener to podcasts, mostly devotional and spiritual.
Do you enjoy movies or theater? I really enjoy movies -- those produced by Disney and mysteries. My favorite actor is Liam Neeson. My favorite movies are High School Musical and Breakfast Club.
I've also become involved in Brookhaven Little Theater -- first as part of the cast of Newsies, and subsequently Little Mermaid and Matilda. I did the choreography for Frozen and will play the feather duster in Beauty and the Beast. It's a bit of a diversion from dance.
How about music? I'm eclectic. I will listen to almost anything. I am into 1980s music. I like Whitney Houston a whole lot. My father got me into country music, but I like the modern -- Sam Hunt's music, not the twangy sound.,
How would you spend your lottery winnings if you were so lucky.
I am a saver, but I would take a trip to Disneyland in California, and invest some money in expansion of Show Stoppers Studio of Dance.
How would you change the world?
People need to understand that they are equal to one another. No one is superior. Everyone has a talent and can make a different contribution.
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