UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Kikora Franklin, professor of theater/dance and associate director of diversity, equity and inclusion in the Penn State School of Theatre, is the recipient of the National Dance Education Organization’s (NDEO) Outstanding Leadership Award in the area of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. Franklin received the award at the 2022 NDEO annual conference in October, where she participated in a moderated panel discussion with other NDEO awardees, presented her research and led a dance workshop.
“I am honored and appreciative to receive recognition from the National Dance Education Organization. Over the course of my almost 20 years of teaching at Penn State and throughout the Centre Region, I have worked intentionally to create spaces in which all students feel like they belong and have a voice,” said Franklin. “I am grateful that I have the opportunity to share my passion for dance and expressive arts to positively impact individuals, communities and our broader society.”
Franklin’s creative work focuses on developing the Mojah dance technique, an original style that fuses elements of modern, jazz, West African and Hip Hop movement into one form. As a community artist, she engages with students of all ages using dance as a means of human development. She is the co-founder and director of Roots of Life Performing Arts Ensemble, an arts education program for students in grades 3–12 in the State College Area School District that introduces participants to West African dance and drumming. The ensemble performs at community and school events throughout the State College area.
At Penn State, Franklin teaches courses in jazz, West African and Mojah dance. She developed Theatre 420: Hip Hop Theatre and began teaching the course in 2013 as a General Education offering. In 2018, she was awarded a Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence Teaching Transformation and Innovation Grant, which supported its further development. The goal of the course is for students to develop their own artistic voice through exploring the elements and history of Hip Hop culture.
Rick Lombardo, director of the School of Theatre, said Franklin is valued as a leader.
“Professor Kikora Franklin’s contributions to the School of Theatre have dramatically helped us to forward our initiatives and planning to create a more anti-racist and inclusive community in the school. She has become a trusted voice to our faculty, staff and students, and has led the way as we have navigated challenging and invigorating terrain to create a healthier community of artists.”
Franklin has performed, choreographed and taught in cities across the globe, including Linz, Austria; Grahamstown, South Africa; Dakar, Senegal; Minas Gerais, Brazil; and throughout China, Europe and the United States. In addition, she has choreographed and performed for the Atlanta Hawks Dance Team, Grammy Award-winning group Arrested Development and renowned poet Sonia Sanchez. Franklin was also a collaborator and choreographer for Dominique Morisseau’s “Blood at the Root,” which premiered at Penn State in 2014 and later played at the National Black Theatre, other Penn State campuses and the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., as well as theater festivals in Africa, Scotland and Australia.
She holds a bachelor of arts degree from Howard University and dual J.D./M.P.A. (juris doctor/master of public administration) from the Georgia State College of Law and Andrew Young School of Policy Studies in Atlanta, Georgia.