Before settling down in his stylish townhome on the city's south side, actor, dancer and choreographer Keith Tyrone Williams performed for many years on Broadway and traveled the world in touring companies. The East St. Louis native and Kevin Kline Award-winner got his professional start performing in summer musicals at the Muny. "I got my union card working at the Muny," he says.

Keith has spent the past 16 years making an impact on the local theater scene in productions for Stages and the Black Rep among other venues and is currently working on his master's of fine arts degree in directing at Lindenwood University. When he's not performing, he likes to relax in his art-filled home.

A lover of all forms of beauty and expression, Keith says, "I see art in many mediums — to me my garden is art." The walls of his comfortable two-story townhouse are painted a rich and masculine palette of deep sage green and rust and adorned with colorful carved masks from around the world and works of art that are both beautiful and personal.

Some of his favorite artifacts include carved wooden masks from Cameroon among other places, an Egyptian bowl he purchased in Germany and a beautiful carved wood floor sculpture by Haitian artist Francois Sanon. Quite a few of Keith's masks and carvings were purchased locally at his favorite store, Gringo Jones, a unique import shop next to the Missouri Botanical Garden on Shaw.

Above the fireplace mantle hangs a lithograph of Miles Davis playing the trumpet, an ode to both Keith's local roots and his great love of music. Around the corner, in the dining area, he created a cozy solution to his small space by reupholstering an old restaurant corner banquette he purchased for $30, adding easy, comfortable and stylish seating.

A photo of legendary African-American choreographer, dancer and educator Katherine Dunham looks on from a thick, weathered frame, providing inspiration. Dunham founded the Performing Arts Training Center in Keith's native East St. Louis. He is one of the few people certified by Dunham herself to teach the Dunham Technique and has received the Katherine Dunham Dance Award.

Throughout Keith's home, it is evident that family and roots are very important to him. His coffee table is a glass 'shadowbox" containing numerous photos of family members and his youth. On the second floor landing is a framed copy of his great-grandmother's college diploma from Lane Institute in Tennessee — she graduated in 1888, just 23 years after Emancipation, a rare feat for an African-American woman at that time. Her photo sits above the diploma, reminding him that anything is possible.

This talented performing artist has created a sanctuary of inspiration to feed his soul in the heart of the city.

To see more photos from the home, click here.