Kendra J. Bostock Founder/ Director
Kendra Bostock is a professional dancer, choreographer, teaching artist, pilates instructor, and community organizer from Detroit, MI, who now lives in Bedford-Stuyvesant. She is a facilitator for Urban Bush Women’s Builders, Organizers, and Leaders through Dance (B.O.L.D.) network. Kendra has worked as the Director of Programming and Artist Development and Teaching Artist at Cumbe: Center for African and Diaspora Dance.
As a performer, Kendra has traveled the world dancing for Urban Bush Women, D.J. Kid Koala, MBDance, Andrea E. Woods, and many more. Kendra presented choreographic work at the Florida A&M University, the off-Broadway show 7 Sins, Museu de Arte in Salvador, Brazil, Dixon Place, Ailey Citigroup Theater, and Actors Fund Theater. She has been an Artist in Residence at Brooklyn Studios for Dance, Bates College, and The Neighborhood Project Through 651Arts, a B.A.X. Space Grantee, and a Visiting Artist at Atlantic Center for the Arts. She was recently the Inaugral BedStuy Artist in Residence at The Laundromat Project. She is currently a Jerome Hill Artist Fellow.
Kendra moved to Bed-Stuy at the height of the nationwide conversations concerning gentrification. She was immediately concerned about how she could get to know her new neighborhood and make a positive impact. Bostock wanted to create a way to connect more established entities like homeowners and business owners to other newer residents and artists like herself. So she decided to use what she knew best- art- and place that on stoops, traditional spaces of gathering in BedStuy accessible to everyone. Thus STooPS was born. Kendra still serves as the Founder & Director of STooPS. Learn more at www.thekendrajbostock.com
Caryn Cooper
Developmental Associate
Caryn Cooper is a dance performer, writer, educator and administrator from Long Island, NY. She studied ballet in the Royal Academy of Dance (RAD) for ten years and has performed throughout NYC at venues such as Lincoln Center, Central Park, the Tilles Center for the Performing Arts, and Radio City Music Hall. As an administrator, Caryn has done work in programming, public relations and development at organizations including Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, ArtsConnection, 92Y and Flushing Council on Culture and the Arts. She is also a Fitness Instructor who specializes in working with older adults. Caryn holds her MA in Dance Education from NYU and her BFA in Arts Management from LIU Post.
Tareya Eason
Administrative Associate
Tareya Easton has been a STooPS volunteer since 2013 and is excited to have more of an impact on STooPS' success. Tareya has been integral to creating systems for STooPS ensuring funding requirements, communication, and the transition of paid staff members in 2023.
With a B.S. in Exercise Science from Georgia State University, Tareya is passionate about nutrition, fitness, and wellness. She has worked with the U.S. National Guard giving youths fitness workshops, and has a Personal Training background. Tareya is completing a 200-hour yoga teacher training while exploring various career paths.
Pia Monique Murray Producer
Pia Monique Murray is a choreographer, performer, installation artist, teacher, and creative producer. She leads Pia Monique Murray Dance Collective (PMMDC), producing movement-based multidisciplinary performance works that include community engagement and audience interaction as an artistic practice. Pia was a 2022-23 CCI 2.0 Producing Fellow with Urban Bush Women and currently is Associate Producer of Haint Blu by Chanon Judson and Mame Diarra Speis, co-producer of When Black Women+ Speak, and Associate Producer of the 40th Anniversary season.
As Bailey’s Cafe’s Producing Artistic Director she produces and curates As Quiet as It’s Kept, a multidisciplinary ethnography project about longtime residents in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. Additionally, Pia is Creative Producer of Kendra J. Bostock’s KJB Works company and the STooPS Summer Festival in Bedford-Stuyvesant. She is also the creator of Black Daisies, an interdisciplinary project that centers joy as political activism.
Aaron Allen, Jr. Marketing Specialist
Aaron Allen, Jr., is a contemporary dance artist from Chattanooga, Tennessee, whose research and choreographic practices center around transformative ideologies rooted in identity, the African Diasporic lens, and the underground ball scene of the 1960s and 1980s. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Liberal Studies with a concentration in Dance Performance from Middle Tennessee State University and a Master of Fine Arts in Dance Performance and Choreography from the University of Colorado Boulder.
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Thematically, Aaron’s creative work explores the intersections of personal experience, social justice, and African-American history. These influences shape his approach to creating, presenting, and discussing work across various artistic spaces. He has performed in numerous cities, including Shanghai, China; Chicago, Illinois; Washington, D.C.; Oberlin, Ohio; and Tallahassee, Florida. Over the past six years, he has also collaborated with musical artists, most notably performing with The Weeknd at Super Bowl 55 in Tampa, Florida. Additionally, Aaron has worked commercially with major brands such as Ford Motors, McDonald’s, and Apple TV.
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In the summer of 2022, Aaron was awarded an Individual Arts Fellowship through the TN Arts Commission. Beyond his work in dance, he brings six years of marketing experience and is excited to step into his new role as Marketing Specialist for STooPS. Currently, Aaron is a dance educator in New York City and a doctoral candidate in the early stages at Middle Tennessee State University.