Andrea Peoples is a premier dancer &  visionary

Andrea Peoples is making quite the name for herself in the  dance community as a dancer, choreographer, dance events coordinator, and arts manager. After having the opportunity of studying African and modern dance with Deborah Ahmed, Weedie Braimah, Theodore Jamison, Diadie Bathily, Yousouf Koumbassa, Djeneba Sako, and Abdul Doumbia, she went on to start her own community African dance class, under the musical accompaniment of Braimah, which grew to be one of the highest attended classes in St. Louis drawing an average of 30-40 students regularly. In 2007 she was invited to become a committee member for Black Dance USA under the direction of her mentor Deborah Ahmed, and was recently promoted to the assistant coordinator.

In 2008, Peoples and partner Weedie Braimah founded KP (Kreative Pandemonium), a big-band complete with two dancers, which blends traditional African rhythms and instrumentation with funk, jazz, hip hop, and rock to create a sound called "Djembe Soul." Peoples is currently the manager, choreographer, and artistic director along with being responsible for coordinating workshops presented under the KP umbrella.  As a workshop coordinator, she was proud to bring world renowned West African dancer Yousouf Koumbassa to St. Louis for the first time ever, for a series of dance workshops which drew a crowd of over 100 people locally and nationally in April of 2013. In January of 2014 she was responsible for bringing yet another world renowned artist, Afro Cuban dancer and musician, Miguel “Michelito” Herrera to St. Louis for another successful cultural event. After organizing two well received events, Peoples began to coordinate classes for local instructors such as; musician, Weedie Braimah, Dunham Technique instructor, and Theodore Jamison just to name a few.

Peoples has had the honor of working with Washington University, Webster University, St. Louis University, St. Louis Community Colleges and University of Memphis. In 2013 and 2014 Peoples was thrilled to team up with University of Missouri St. Louis’ theatre department as choreographer for their production of For Colored Girls and In the Red and Brown Water. In August of 2014, Peoples want to Matanza, Cuba to study Afro Cuban folkloric religion, music and dance with Los Munequito’s de Matanza and Afro Cuba de Matanza, in an effort to gain a better understanding of Afro Cuban folkloric culture, which was implemented in her creative vision for In the Red and Brown Water.