09/09/2026
🎂 Happy Birthday, Ken! 💙
Today we celebrate Ken Phifer — one half of the partnership that started it all.
A dancer. A musician with perfect pitch. A WWII veteran. A teacher, choreographer and innovator whose work took him across the country — yet whose heart always remained right here with his students.
In 1948, Ken and Jean opened the doors to a little dance studio with no way of knowing just how many lives would eventually pass through them. Ken would go on to create his own music for dance teachers, found Kenn Records, teach nationally for the top dance organizations, and inspire generations of dancers and teachers.
But perhaps our favorite part of Ken’s story is one of the simplest: until the week before he passed away, he was still at the studio — sitting in his familiar chair, making jokes, and handing out quarters to students for doing something special in class.
Decades later, after Ken & Jean began, his name is still on our building, his ideas are still part of how we teach, and his legacy is still heard every time a pair of tap shoes hits the floor.
Today, thousands of dancers later, we are incredibly proud to keep what Ken and Jean started moving forward.
Happy Birthday, Ken 💙
