Honoring the Legacy of Kelly Burgét: Reflections from UZIMA!

Through UZIMA! Drum and Dance, founder Kelly Burgét built more than a performing arts organization—she created a community rooted in faith, culture, connection, and the transformative power of the arts. As UZIMA! prepares to present Ndyio ya Milele (“Eternal Yes”), a special tribute honoring Kelly’s life and legacy, members of the UZIMA! family reflect on her impact, the values she instilled, and the enduring spirit that continues to guide the organization today.

For those unfamiliar with UZIMA!, can you share a little about Kelly Burgét’s role as founder and the impact she had on the organization?

Pierre Batiste (Artistic Director for UZIMA!): You know, you hear people say that “dance is life,” but I haven’t met anyone that embodied it quite like Kelly. She served in art through her greatest joys and in some of the lowest moments in her life. To her, it was, and is, her privilege and honor to create. And she didn’t waste a single one of her talents. I’m honored to know her and to have been a part of her life and journey. It truly shaped the person that I am today. In many ways she saw more in me than I’ve seen in myself, as I’m sure is the case with many others. 

In addition to her artistic gifts, she carried a great gift of discernment. Her ability to see what others couldn’t is what earned her the title of not just visionary but also mother, friend, and leader. The discernment she carried made room for grace for others. She never let you stay where you were. She always pushed you to be better and never settled for anything less because she herself lived a perpetual life of evolution. At no point did she ever assume that she had “arrived.” Whether it was in her craft or in her personal life, she continued to show herself that the work doesn’t stop. All of this is a testament to how she chose to love and show up for people. I’m personally grateful for her choice to love me in such a way. 

What inspired the creation of Ndyio ya Milele, and what does “Eternal Yes” mean in relation to Kelly’s life and legacy?

Mia Daly (Managing Director for UZIMA! and Kelly’s daughter): The title of this concert, Ndyio ya Milele, reflects the spirit behind my mom’s life and work. Her “yes” was not limited to one moment, one role, or one season. It became a way of living: a steady commitment to faith, to art, to culture, to teaching, and to building something rooted in purpose and carried forward by community. Through UZIMA!, Kelly gave form to that yes by creating a company rooted in African dance and music, but also in worship, discipline, joy, and connection.

“Eternal Yes” speaks to the way that commitment continues. It lives in the dancers she trained, the students she guided, the audiences she moved, and the community she formed. This concert honors not only what Kelly created, but what she set in motion: a legacy of life, movement, faith, and belonging that continues to answer “yes.”

Zoe Morgan (Creative Collaboration Manager for UZIMA! and Kelly’s daughter): My mom lived her life as a daily act of faith, responding to each new season, opportunity, and challenge with trust, courage, and an openness to God’s leading.

For her, “yes” was more than a response; it was a way of being. It was the foundation of how she served others, nurtured community, and pursued her purpose. Through UZIMA!, she invited others into that same practice, asking them to say yes to growth, healing, unity, peace, wellness, and wholeness.

Ndyio ya Milele, meaning “Eternal Yes,” reflects the spirit that guided Kelly’s life. It celebrates her enduring faith and the invitation she leaves with us all: to continue saying yes to the things that bring us closer to our purpose, to one another, and to something greater than ourselves.

Can you share a meaningful memory of Kelly or a lesson from her that continues to guide UZIMA! Today?

Eileena Davidson (Assistant Company Director for UZIMA!): I wouldn’t be half the dancer I am today without Kelly. While I am eternally thankful for all the expertise she shared, the greatest thing she ever taught was love. Even if it sounds like a broken record, you can’t overstate the love Kelly had for everyone she met, and it’s impossible not to emulate it in what we do. Every audience we perform for leaves feeling what she instilled in us, because it’s not just about the music and dance we create, but the energy we make. The love that we have for each other, for our UZIMA! family, starts with her. I can’t begin to explain the kind of care and intention she’s put into how we work as a company and how it’s permeated through us all, but I can tell you that when you see us, you’ll know we are her UZIMA! by our love. 

Kelly was known for promoting unity, community, and connection through the arts. How do those values continue to shape UZIMA! and this performance?

Michelle Jewell (Executive Director of UZIMA!): This performance, in honor and tribute to Kelly herself, is completely shaped by the template she created for bringing people together. UZIMA! welcomes back previous dancers, singers, and musicians who are not current company members as a way for them to honor her, but also in the spirit of community that she created. Once UZIMA!, always UZIMA!. In the same vein, Kelly’s singular goal for any production she envisioned was that those in the audience did not “watch” a performance, but “experienced” a moment. This concert will be no different, and perhaps even the quintessential experience of Kelly’s vision to date.

Kelly had such a unique gift for crafting artistic programs that spoke to people on levels that they were not expecting but moved something in them nonetheless. Kelly would never take credit for her vision, always giving the glory to God for allowing her to see what was needed and how she could impact that need. And, while I fully believe in the truth in Kelly’s deferral to a higher plan, there is no doubt that she was the only one who could have carried out such a directive. Her faith shaped everything she did, but her depth of understanding the human condition combined with her innate artistry and talent gave voice, movement, and sound to pieces that found, and continue to find, their way into people’s hearts and souls. Her impact on our UZIMA! family (past and present), this community, and all those she encountered will never be lost. 

What do you hope audiences will take away from this special tribute performance?

Laurisa LeSure (Director of Sauti ya UZIMA!): My hope for each of the UZIMA! performances is that audience members will leave with more joy than they first entered with, although it may pose more of a challenge for this specific performance than others. For a lot of us—both on stage and off—spending time journeying through this particular body of work will bring up feelings of grief. The loss will be felt a bit more keenly than it was the night before, and that is ok. For those people, I wish healing, wholeness, and gratitude, as they’ve had the opportunity to be blessed by Kelly’s “YES! ASHE!”

Vincenzo Carrasco (Lead Drummer for UZIMA!): I hope each audience member feels overcome and overwhelmed by love, because that’s what Kelly’s memory and UZIMA! are all about…our love for her, her love for us, and for everyone who has ever been privileged enough to know her. She always wanted every UZIMA! performance to be an act of love transmitted to the audience and the world through art.

As these reflections make clear, Kelly Burgét’s influence extends far beyond the stage. Through the artists she mentored, the community she nurtured, and the countless lives she touched, her legacy continues to inspire and unite others. Ndyio ya Milele stands as both a celebration of that legacy and an invitation to experience the joy, love, faith, and connection that remain at the heart of UZIMA!’s mission.