Helena Kanini Kiiru

Helena Kanini Kiiru is a young dancer and teacher from Zagreb, Croatia. Her passion for music and dance goes back to her childhood, when she began playing the piano at the age of 7. With Kenyan family roots, Helena grew up with music, which stimulated her sensitivity to rhythm. She soon became interested in dances such as Hip Hop and Dancehall.

After 8 years of exploring different street dance styles, she plunged into Afro-American jazz and immediately felt that it spoke to her on a very deep level.

For Helena, Jazz offers us a space where we can unapologetically be ourselves while transcending body, mind and music. Helena finds it very important to recognize the historical context behind this dance and is constantly busy finding new approaches to bring the values of African-American culture to her classes.

Currently based in Amsterdam, Helena continues to teach locally, internationally and online, and her mission is to spread her aspiration and passion for African-American jazz dance in the hope of contributing to its existence and development. His great wish is to connect Jazz and Street and bring this dance to street jams and clubs!