Kenneth D. "Ken" Ard (born June 30, 1960) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

dancer, choreographer, actor and singer.

Early life

Ard was born in

Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...

in 1960. His mother exposed him to jazz through frequent visits to musical in San Francisco and Oakland. Ard also proved to be an especially good gymnast, winning the California youth gymnastics championship at 16. After dancing at the

Oakland Ballet The Oakland Ballet Company is a non-profit ballet company based in Oakland, California. OBC was founded in 1965 by Ronn Guidi, an Oakland native, and gained international recognition through its historical reconstructions of ballets from the leg ...

and

San Francisco Ballet San Francisco Ballet is the oldest ballet company in the United States, founded in 1933 as the San Francisco Opera Ballet under the leadership of ballet master Adolph Bolm. The company is currently based in the War Memorial Opera House, San Franc ...

, he was approached by

Jon Hendricks John Carl Hendricks (September 16, 1921 – November 22, 2017), known professionally as Jon Hendricks, was an American jazz lyricist and singer. He is one of the originators of vocalese, which adds lyrics to existing instrumental songs and rep ...

for a lead role in his show, ''Evolution of the Blues'', to be presented in the

Golden Gate Theatre The Golden Gate Theatre is a performance venue located at 1 Taylor Street at the corner of Golden Gate Avenue in San Francisco, California. It opened in 1922 as a vaudeville house and later was a major movie theater. In the 1960s it boasted a Ci ...

in San Francisco.

Career

Ard was asked to choreograph for shows in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

. When

Alvin Ailey Alvin Ailey Jr. (January 5, 1931 – December 1, 1989) was an American dancer, director, choreographer, and activist who founded the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (AAADT). He created AAADT and its affiliated Alvin Ailey American Dance Cente ...

came to Hawaii, he asked Ard to dance in his American Dance Theater. But after a few months, Ard missed the dynamic of the combination of song and dance, and auditioned for a Broadway show for which he was selected, ''

Cats The cat (''Felis catus'') is a domestic species of small carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae and is commonly referred to as the domestic cat or house cat to distinguish it from the wild members of t ...

'', ''

Starlight Express ''Starlight Express'' is a 1984 British musical, with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Richard Stilgoe. It tells the story of a young but obsolete steam engine, Rusty, who races in a championship against modern engines in the hope of ...

'', ''

Song and Dance ''Song and Dance'' is a musical comprising two acts, one told entirely in "Song" and one entirely in "Dance", tied together by a unifying love story. The "Song" act is ''Tell Me on a Sunday'', with lyrics by Don Black and music by Andrew Ll ...

'', ''

Jelly's Last Jam ''Jelly's Last Jam'' is a musical with a book by George C. Wolfe, lyrics by Susan Birkenhead, and music by Jelly Roll Morton and Luther Henderson. Based on the life and career of Ferdinand Joseph LaMothe, known as Jelly Roll Morton and general ...

'' and ''

Smokey Joe's Cafe Smokey Joe, Smokey Joe's or Smoky Joe's may refer to: Nickname * Joe Barton, Texan Congressman, nicknamed "Smokey Joe" for defending industries against pollution controls * Smokey Joe Baugh (1932–1999), American rockabilly musician * Happy Finne ...

''. Ard appeared in the 2002 film ''

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and'' 1996 film '' Seven Servants.'' Ard collaborated with many of Europe's notable jazz artists. The beginning of 2009 marked the release of ''Ballads, Blues & Cocktails'', Ard's first jazz CD. Ard teaches jazz dance and musical dance at the Frank Sanders Musical Academy and

Codarts Codarts University for the Arts ( nl, Codarts hogeschool voor de kunsten) is a Dutch vocational university in Rotterdam that teaches music, dance and circus. It was established in its present location in 2000. History Codarts can trace its origin ...

in the

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. Since 2014, he has also taught at the

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (AAADT) is a modern dance company based in New York City. It was founded in 1958 by choreographer and dancer Alvin Ailey. It is made up of 32 dancers, led by artistic director Robert Battle and associate a ...

Filmography

Film

Television

External links

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ard, Ken 1960 births Living people Crooners American male dancers American male film actors American male singers Male actors from Oakland, California Musicians from Oakland, California American male television actors Singers from California