Kenna Sarge started teaching West African dance when she got "the nod" from Youssouf Koumbassa, a master touring artist from Guinea. Kenna has been learning about West African dance from her family and community her entire life. Her mother, Beverly Cottman, is a storyteller, and one of the first African American women members of Nimley Pan African Dance Company. Led by Nimley Napla, NPADC welcomed Kenna as a member in 2007. Kenna is a member of Baato Askan Wii Drum and Dance in the Gambia, West Africa. Kenna has been trained in Wolof dancing by Koto N'Gum, artistic director of Baato Askan Wii and curator of the traditional instrument gallery at the Gambian National Museum. Kenna has trained with a host of West African artists, such as William Atchouellou and Henriette Gbou of Cote D'Ivoire; Fode Seydou Bangoura and Mamady Sano of Guinee, Zalika Reid of Jamaica, Rich Baba Faye and Muse Sarr of Senegal, and Francis Kofi and Christian Adeti of Ghana. Kenna currently teaches West African dance around the Twin Cities with various arts in education organizations, and directs Voice of Culture Drum and Dance in Minneapolis.

Kenna Sarge has been dancing, studying, teaching and organizing in the Minneapolis area for over 20 years. Her main area of focus is Black Dance, with an emphasis on West African and Hip Hop dance and culture. Kenna teaches dance at the University of MN: Thought & Motion, for WEWin Rites of Passage, and at BallareTeatro School of Dance. She is on the performing artist roster of COMPAS and Young Audiences of Minnesota, and teaches West African and Hip Hop dance to young people all over the state through school workshops and residencies. Kenna is the curator of Black Choreographers' Evening '03-'05, Minnesota's only showcase of Black dance. She has performed the work of Roxane Wallace, Leah Nelson, Aneka McMullen, and Morris Johnson - all Minnesota dance artists with national and international acclaim. Kenna hails from a dynamic artistic family - gaining inspiration for her filmmaking from her father's photography (Bill Cottman), and learning her first dance steps from her multitalented mother ("Auntie" Beverly Cottman). Kenna Sarge is the mother of Yonci(11) and Ebrima(3).

Kenna Sarge is the Artistic Director of Voice of Culture Drum and Dance. VOC is a collection of young artists who are interested in West African culture. We drum and dance in the tradition of our ancestors. We also create new and contemporary art that speaks to our generation of the greatness of African people. Our art is our offering to the creator, the ancestors and ourselves. Ashe!