Kia S. Smith
Choreographer/Director/Educator/Organizer
In The Press
In The Press
2022 “Kia Smith is a south side diplomat of dance.” .- Chicago Reader
2021 "Language of dance transcends cultural borders in South Chicago Dance Theatre’s third annual festival"-See Chicago Dance
2021 Choreographic Premiere and Curatorial Work featured in New City Magazines "Top 5 Events for November".
(Print Version)
2021 “Notably, all these collaborators are Black women at the top of their games playing on fields that have long been dominated by white men.” New City Magazine
2021 “One of Smith’s strengths is her ability to match movement to music. The legato lines in Montgomery’s music had long, smooth movements to match, at times spiced up with jerky physical interjections as punctuation points. There was great quivering and lots of rapid movement to complement the baroque section, which featured “Winter” from Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons”. Hyde Park Herald
2021 “Cartography,” Smith’s second evening-length work for SCDT, weaves structure and spontaneity, set scores and improvisation, all inspired by surrealist assemblage, the technique of incorporating everyday objects into a work. A surrealist poem by Smith provides connective tissue and an overall trajectory to the piece.” Hyde Park Herald
2021 “Kia Smith’s two new premieres, “I Too Sing America” and “Architect of a Dream,” nail down the flow and meter of the chosen works of language and speech, proving that these dancers and choreographer are, indeed, poets themselves.” See Chicago Dance
2021 New Premieres “I Too Sing America” and “Architect of a Dream” featured in Dance Magazine (Print Version)
2020 Online feature in PBS American Portrait
2020 “With virtual South Chicago Dance Festival, Kia Smith is dancing cultural diplomacy.” See Chicago Dance
2019 “Kia Smith’s young company has built a vibrant dance community that extends far beyond city limits.” New City Magazine
2018 “What may not be immediately clear is that Smith is an exceptional leader with the patience, fortitude, and creativity that will encourage the growth of SCDT and enrich each of the communities it touches.” Dancermusic.com
2016 “Kia Smith is one with the music.” Parisian Online Publication Tous Les Festivals
2013 “Choreography strong.” Chicago SunTimes