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From Lincoln Center to Local Beaches: Key West Dancer Kyla Piscopink Transforms Community with ‘ReMARCable’ Outreach.


Key West, FL — Kyla Piscopink, a dancer who once graced stages from New York Fashion Week to Lincoln Center and NFL sidelines, has rooted her most profound work not under Manhattan spotlights but in the community halls and studios of the Florida Keys. As the founder and artistic director of Dance Key West, a nonprofit established in 2008, Piscopink has spent the last decade making dance accessible, healing, and transformative for the local community, especially for underserved populations.


“I knew I wanted to keep creating and performing, but I also felt the pull to establish stronger roots within the community and to share my love of dance with others,” Piscopink reflects. “Dance is such a transformative art form and I know firsthand how healing and powerful it can be”.


This dedication is best embodied in The ReMARCable Dance Project, an innovative outreach program that began over 10 years ago. The project partners Dance Key West with MARC (Monroe Association for Remarkable Citizens), a local nonprofit serving adults with developmental disabilities. Clients, affectionately known as the “ReMARCable Dancers,” participate in onsite classes, choreography creation, poetry writing, and mild physical activity, culminating in annual performances alongside professional dancers. Recent collaborations have included productions like Peter & The Wolf.


The spark for ReMARCable came from her husband, Dennis, who told her about the organization. “He told me about how the MARC clients understood the meaning of life better than any of us, and that we had so much to learn from them,” she recalls. Friend and former Dance Key West board member Aileen Rowe helped bring the idea to fruition.

A consistent and vital collaborator since the early days has been Steve Burns, the original host of Blue’s Clues, who often serves as the narrator. Burns joined the project organically after Piscopink mentioned the idea while working on a show with MARC clients.


Piscopink’s own dance journey began in Cassadaga, Western New York, and led her to a professional career in New York City after earning a BA in Sociology from SUNY Fredonia. Her relocation to Key West was unexpected; a planned short break led to meeting her husband, and she never returned to NYC. “It wasn’t the plan, but that’s love and life!” she says of her move. The couple now lives in Key West with their two children, Hendrix (nearly 11) and Polly (4).


In 2025, Piscopink expanded her community footprint by opening The Track Dance Studio on Stock Island (5550 5th Ave, Key West). While The Track is a for-profit studio offering classes for all ages, it crucially serves as the welcoming home base for the nonprofit Dance Key West, allowing both entities to thrive side-by-side.


At the heart of her work is a philosophy of service. “To put it simply: I believe we’re put on earth to serve others, and that the act of serving others produces a sense of purpose, and such a deep and meaningful joy. It creates a beautiful cycle of joyful reciprocity,” Piscopink states. She remains connected to her roots through local organizations and continues to teach and describe herself as “a forever-student of dance”.


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Two dancers practicing high kicks at a ballet barre in a dance studio with red accents.
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Free Press – Dance Dance Key West

Dancing for Joy, Healing and Community

By Nada Khalaf-Jones, Special To The Free Press

KEY WEST — Jun 4, 2026


Kyla Piscopink has performed and choreographed across prestigious stages and high-profile venues — from NFL sidelines and “The Nutcracker” to Lincoln Center, Dixon Place, New York Fashion Week and Triskelion Arts.


For more than a decade, however, her most meaningful work has unfolded in the Florida Keys. As founder and artistic director of Dance Key West, a nonprofit she established in 2008, Piscopink has focused on making dance accessible, healing and inclusive — especially for underserved populations.


“I had started Dance Key West and, while creating and performing were satisfying, it felt a bit selfish,” she said. “I wanted to share dance’s transformative power with others, especially those who might not otherwise be exposed to the art form.”


That desire led to The ReMARCable Dance Project, a partnership with the Monroe Association for ReMARCable Citizens (MARC) serving adults with developmental disabilities. Launched more than 10 years ago while Piscopink was pregnant with son Hendrix, the program offers onsite classes, choreography creation, poetry writing, socialization and annual performances. Participants, known as the ReMARCable Dancers, craft pieces and share the stage with professionals. Recent collaborations have included “Peter & The Wolf,” with clients actively shaping the show. Piscopink credits her parents for early inspiration.


“From the youngest age, they taught me to include everyone, stand up for others and make sure no one is left out,” she said.

Her husband, Dennis, first told her about MARC.


“He said the clients understood the meaning of life better than any of us, and that we had so much to learn from them,” she recalled.

Friend Aileen Rowe, then on Dance Key West’s board, helped bring the idea to MARC staff.


“It was off to the races,” Piscopink said.


Steve Burns — beloved as the original host of “Blue’s Clues” and a close friend of Piscopink’s — has been a key collaborator since the early days, often serving as narrator. The connection happened organically. While working on a show called “Where The Sidewalk Ends” with MARC clients, Piscopink casually mentioned to Burns how great it would be if he narrated.


“He actually didn’t hesitate for even a second, and he’s been a huge part of the project every year since,” she said. She also choreographed a STEVENSTEVEN potty-training video with Burns and Flaming Lips’ Steven Drozd that helped train her own children. Born in Cassadaga, a small town in western New York about an hour south of Buffalo, Piscopink trained at Collage Performing Arts Center in Fredonia. She earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology from SUNY Fredonia, is Pilates mat certified and describes herself as “a forever-student of dance.” A short break from New York City brought her to Key West, where she met her husband.


“I never moved back to NYC because I fell in love with him,” she said. The couple has two children: Hendrix, who turns 11 this September, and Polly, 4.

In 2025, Piscopink opened The Track Dance Studio on Stock Island at 5550 Fifth Ave., Suite 5, as a for-profit complement to her nonprofit efforts. It serves as a brick-and-mortar home for Dance Key West and its outreach programs.


The studio emphasizes private lessons, duets and small groups for personalized training in ballet, jazz, tap and more. It is open to all ages, levels and abilities. Inquire at trackdancestudio.com. She also teaches performing arts and dance at Grace Lutheran School and remains active in her hometown through the American Legion Auxiliary and the Daughters of the American Revolution. At the core of her work is service.


“I believe we’re put on earth to serve others,” Piscopink said. “It creates a beautiful cycle of joyful reciprocity.”

From New York spotlights to Key West community stages, Kyla Piscopink has turned dance into connection, inclusion and healing — one joyful step at a time.