Today we’d like to introduce you to Kenna New.
Hi Kenna, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I started dancing when I was 13 years old in Oaxaca, Mexico, and from the beginning, movement became so much more than just a hobby for me. I’ve always been a passionate person, and I’ve always loved connecting with people, creating, performing, and helping others feel seen and confident in themselves. Over the years, I had the opportunity to train and perform with different Latin dance companies, work with incredible dancers and mentors, and grow both as an artist and as a leader. Those experiences taught me a lot not only about dance, but about the kind of environment I wanted to create for other people.
I had always known that I wanted to have my own dance company, and in January 2024, I took the leap and founded Ay Fuego Dance Company. My vision was to create a space where dancers—especially women—could come in, express themselves freely, make mistakes, challenge themselves, and grow without fear of judgment. I wanted dance to be an outlet from the craziness of everyday life, but also a place where people could build confidence, discover themselves, and form genuine connections. While Ay Fuego is women-owned and women-centered, we welcome dancers of all backgrounds and identities.
Building the company hasn’t always been easy. There have been plenty of trials, mistakes, growing pains, and moments where I had to figure things out on my own. But I kept going because I believed in the vision and because I had people around me who believed in it too. The dancers, friends, mentors, and community members who saw what I was trying to build gave me so much motivation to keep pushing forward.
Today, Ay Fuego has become so much more than the dance company I originally imagined. It has become a community of people who support one another, challenge one another, and give themselves permission to be fully themselves. That has honestly been the most meaningful part of this journey for me. I’m incredibly passionate about creating spaces where people feel safe, empowered, and encouraged to step outside of their comfort zones. I believe authenticity, hard work, and genuine connection can take you incredibly far, and I’ve tried to build Ay Fuego from that exact foundation.
I’m incredibly grateful for how far we’ve come, and especially for the people who have trusted me with a piece of their own journey. I knew I wanted to build a dance company, but I never could have imagined that it would grow into something that means this much to so many people including me.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Absolutely not. Opening my own company was one of the scariest things I’ve ever done, and if I’m being completely honest, I didn’t feel ready when I started Ay Fuego. There were circumstances that forced me to make a decision: I could either try to find another company to dance with, or I could take a huge risk and build the space I had always dreamed of creating. I chose myself, even though I was terrified.
A lot of that fear came from past experiences. I had been in environments that made me question myself, made me feel like I wasn’t good enough, and made me feel like I couldn’t fully express who I was as an artist. I knew I never wanted to recreate that experience for myself or for other dancers. I wanted to build something different, a company with a different energy, approach to training, and environment.
There were also people in my life who didn’t believe in what I was building or didn’t understand why I was choosing this path. That was difficult, especially when some of those people were close to me. Starting something new in a city that already has so many incredible dance companies brought its own layer of self-doubt and imposter syndrome. I constantly had to remind myself that I wasn’t trying to create “just another dance company.” I was creating a community and an experience that I felt was missing.
The business side was a learning curve, too. There were so many moments where I thought, “What the hell am I doing?” I had to learn how to make decisions, lead people, market myself, manage the business, navigate difficult situations, and keep moving forward even when I didn’t have all the answers. There have been classes and workshops where very few people or sometimes nobody showed up. I’ve questioned whether dance could really be a sustainable career for me. I’ve dealt with injuries, setbacks, financial uncertainty, and plenty of moments where putting myself out there felt terrifying.
But I’ve also been incredibly lucky to have people who believed in me when I couldn’t fully believe in myself yet. My support system gave me the push I needed to take that first leap, and my dancers and community have continued to remind me why I started in the first place.
I don’t think the road is ever supposed to be completely smooth. Building something meaningful requires being willing to fail, adjust, learn, and try again. I’ve had plenty of roadblocks, but I see them more as speed bumps than dead ends. Every challenge has taught me something about leadership, resilience, and myself. And honestly, I think some of the most important parts of Ay Fuego have been built during the moments when I had absolutely no idea what I was doing but I kept going anyway.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I’m a Latin dance educator, performer, choreographer, and the founder and director of Ay Fuego Dance Company, a San Diego-based Latin dance performance company specializing in salsa and bachata. Within Ay Fuego, I currently lead ladies’ teams focused on salsa and bachata, while also teaching classes and workshops throughout San Diego and beyond. Ive taught at different festivals as well outside of California and even in Mexico. I specialize primarily in ladies styling which is essentially feminine styling. This is an individual form of dance that focuses on how you move and express yourself through your own body rather than relying on a partner. It requires a lot of body awareness, musicality, technique, confidence, and self-trust. I also train and teach partner work in both salsa and bachata.
I’m very passionate about technique and foundations. I want my dancers to understand what they are doing and why they are doing it not just memorize choreography or replicate steps. I’m also deeply respectful of the cultures and histories behind the dances we teach, and I believe that understanding where these styles come from is an important part of being a responsible Latin dance educator.
But what I’m probably most proud of is not a choreography, performance, title, or accomplishment. It’s the community I’ve been able to build through Ay Fuego.
I’ve watched dancers who started with me grow into completely different versions of themselves. I’ve seen students become teachers, dancers step into leadership, and people gain confidence that extends far beyond the dance floor. Some of my dancers have formed friendships that have become lifelong relationships, they’ve been there for each other’s weddings, baby showers, birthdays, milestones, and difficult moments. Seeing people who may have never crossed paths otherwise find each other through dance is incredibly meaningful to me.
I think that sense of genuine connection is one of the things that sets Ay Fuego apart. We train hard. I have high standards, and I care deeply about technique, musicality, performance quality, discipline, and growth. But I also believe that dancers are human beings before they are performers. There is an emotional and vulnerable side to dance that I never want to ignore.
That philosophy has actually expanded beyond Ay Fuego. I recently created a mental-skills coaching business specifically for dancers because I believe we have to train the mind just as intentionally as we train the body. We talk about things like burnout, perfectionism, imposter syndrome, performance anxiety, self-talk, and confidence. My work is centered around three pillars: awareness, self-trust, and self-love. I want dancers to understand themselves, understand their bodies, and learn how to support themselves instead of constantly fighting against themselves.
So while dance is at the center of everything I do, I don’t think I’m simply teaching people how to dance. I’m helping people build a stronger relationship with themselves through dance. That’s what I’m most proud of, and ultimately, that’s what I hope people experience when they walk into an Ay Fuego room: challenging themselves, being fully themselves, and realizing they are capable of more than they thought.
Before we let you go, we’ve got to ask if you have any advice for those who are just starting out?
The biggest thing I wish I had understood earlier is that nothing is as serious as we sometimes make it out to be. Don’t wait until you feel 100% ready, because you probably never will. Be willing to try, fail, make mistakes, feel uncomfortable, and figure things out as you go. Some of the biggest opportunities in my life came from saying yes to something before I felt completely prepared for it.
I also wish I had understood earlier that confidence doesn’t always come first. Sometimes you have to take the leap, trust yourself, and let the experience build your confidence along the way. You have to become comfortable with being uncomfortable and learn to trust that even if something doesn’t go the way you imagined, you will be okay.
For dancers specifically, I would say: don’t rush through the process trying to get to the next level. Dance has taught me so much about myself, and I think that’s one of the most beautiful parts of it. Pay attention to what you’re learning about your body, your confidence, your emotions, your creativity, and the way you connect with other people. Be present. Laugh. Make mistakes. Try things that feel scary. Let yourself be seen.
Most importantly, be authentically yourself. I spent a lot of my earlier dance journey learning how to give myself permission to express myself fully, and I wish I had known sooner that I didn’t have to fit into someone else’s idea of what a dancer should look or move like. There is so much freedom in realizing that you don’t have to become someone else to be successful.
So my advice is simple: go for it. Trust yourself. Let yourself fail. Let yourself learn. And don’t forget to actually enjoy the life you’re building while you’re building it!
Pricing:
- Performance Teams: $125/month
- Classes at Studio K Dance & Fitness (Wednesdays 7 & 8PM) $20 Drop In (packages available too)
- Classes at El Flow (Thursdays 6:30Pm) $20 drop in (packages available too)
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.ayfuego.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ayfuego.danceco?stkn=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ%3D%3D
- Other: https://www.instagram.com/kenna_new?stkn=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ%3D%3D
