CiCi Kai (they/them) is a contemporary movement artist whose journey is deeply rooted in resilience, identity, and transformation. Born at 27 weeks and weighing just one pound and eleven ounces, CiCi overcame life-threatening medical challenges, including collapsed lungs, blood clots, and proudly embraces their scars. With profound-severe hearing loss CiCi wears a Cochlear Implant on the left ear and a Phonak hearing aid on the right. After completing physical and occupational therapy, CiCi was introduced to dance at the age of four and from that moment on, movement became both a healing tool and a lifelong language of expression. CiCi has also performed at the Bay Area International Deaf Dance Festival with Antoine Hunter and returns to their foundational school the Moog Center for Deaf Education, deepening their commitment to advocacy and representation within the deaf community.

CiCi trained at the Center of Creative Arts (COCA) in St. Louis, MO, where their artistic voice was nurtured by mentors including Lee Nolting, Alicia Graf Mack, Jennifer Welch Cudnik, Gina Bon-Perez, Mariko Kumanomido, Carrie Fernandez, Kirven and Antonio Douthit-Boyd. CiCi’s training expanded through intensives at Dance Theatre of Harlem, Alonzo King LINES Ballet and Boston Conservatory. They have worked with artists such as Matthew Rushing, Ron K. Brown, and Norbert De La Cruz III. In 2024, CiCi earned a B.F.A. in Contemporary Dance Performance from Boston Conservatory at Berklee, where they received Dean’s List honors and the Dance Division Faculty Scholar Award. Their performance credits include works by Jawole Willa Jo Zollar restaged by Maria Bauman, Crystal Perkins, and student choreographers.

Following a full torn ACL and meniscus injury during senior-year of college, CiCi focused on recovering while deepening their self exploration of the emotional and psychological dimensions of healing, identity, and artistry through Dancers Making Moves with Carly Vanderheyden and working as an Administrative Assistant for Saint Louis Dance Theatre. CiCi’s feature on the Dancers Making Moves podcast and their poetry offer a powerful reflection on injury, reinvention, and inner strength. Their work lives at the intersection of dance, storytelling, self-reclamation, and resilience.

Now healed, CiCi Kai stands at the edge of their next chapter—with clarity, strength, and an unwavering sense of self. Their time away from the stage became a period of profound introspection and creative renewal. Today, they move forward not just as a dancer, but as an artist grounded in purpose and possibility. CiCi is ready for their next collaboration, their next creation, their next calling—carrying with them the fullness of who they are.