Born in New York City, Karen came out of the womb tapping her tiny foot to the beat! She has always loved to dance. Though she never received any formal dance training, she has been told that she is a natural. Karen currently resides in the DMV. After Karen began attending Jessie’s Soul Line Dance (JSLD) classes in 2017, Director Jessie Barnes asked her to consider becoming a line dance instructor. She received training in the art of instruction from Jessie and other JSLD members and began instructing her own class in March 2018. She served as Administrator of JSLD from 2020 until 2024. She currently holds a certificate of completion of training by the Red Cross in pediatric and adult First Aid/CPR/AED.
Karen created her first line dance (Waterfalls) in December of 2018 and began using the nickname Mz KYS, which reflects the initials in her full name: Karen Y. Stewart. Karen “feels” the rhythm of the music, and thinks that this has helped her to choreograph original line dances. It probably doesn’t hurt that she played the violin as a child and sang in many choirs and chorale groups in New York. To date, she has created 63 line dances, 48 of which are published on YouTube and listed on the Urban Line Dance Connection website. Several of her dances have been nominated for awards by the Union Crew Star Awards, which is known as the “Academy Awards” of line dance. She was also honored by a nomination for Eastern Choreographer of the Year by the same group. Karen currently teaches six line dance classes per week. For more information, contact her at kystewart41@gmail.com.
