SubRosa Photo: Design by Goats
Portland is a burgeoning dance scene; you can find dance performances here almost every weekend non-stop throughout the year. But it isn’t entirely built on a legacy of its modern or postmodern dance forbearers. Those choreographers that created the scene here 10-20 years ago have almost all stepped down, and for the most part the independent work being made here now is by 20 and 30 something transplants from other cities. The “Modern Dance” scene is a mix of commercial contemporary dance in the style of “So You Think You Can Dance” and experimental postmodern dance/performance art. It is very eclectic and divided, and the more mature work tends toward a more cerebral focus.
How to begin:
The first organization to connect with would be Dance Wire, run by Emily Running. Ms Running is in the process of making Dance Wire a go-to site for all things dance related in Portland, i.e.: classes, auditions, workshops, performances, etc. Next you should connect with Regional Arts and Culture Council (RACC) and the Oregon Arts Commission (OAC). Both are good places to find grants and jobs and get a larger perspective on the arts in Portland.
If you want to get a more in-depth look at the artistic happenings in our community, check out the online publications, Oregon Arts Watch and Artslandia. They contain lots of wonderful reviews and reporting on theater, music, visual and performing arts.
Where to train:
Portland does not have a training center for modern dance.
We did have Conduit Dance Inc., whose mission was to support independent artists, but sadly they lost their space several months ago after 20 years. They still produce choreographers from Portland in their annual Dance + series and are searching for a new home.
There are a smattering of independent modern dance teachers around the town that teach a range of philosophies from somatic based classes to a more traditional form like a Graham/Limón mix. Those numbers of teachers I can count on one hand.
Debuting this fall is Dance Lab, an organization started by myself and my collaborator Taylor Eggan to create a community based around rigorous modern dance training. Dance Lab is committed to mentoring the growth of teachers and students while providing high caliber modern dance training in a welcoming, non-competitive dance environment. Classes will be twice weekly and will be taught by a new teacher every three weeks.
If you are interested in Contemporary Dance or Jazz, you can go to NW Dance Project, Polaris Dance Theater, BodyVox and Moxie Contemporary Ballet Company, which will be opening in the fall of 2015 and is about 20 minutes (give or take with traffic) outside of the Portland Metro Area.
For open ballet classes you can go to BodyVox, which has a professional rate, NW Dance Project, Oregon Ballet Theater, Portland Ballet and Moxie.
Where to rehearse:
There are a few places to rent for rehearsal, but the prices can be very high. The best rates are at Performance Works North West run by Linda Austin. The more time you rent, the cheaper it is.
Other studios to consider are, Studio 2, Center Space, BodyVox, Polaris and Flock. Flock is membership based, and you pay a monthly amount for so many hours of rehearsal time.
Linda Austin in her solo relay series, (Un)Made
Interviews with Portland Artists:
Emmaly Wiederholt and Gregory Bartning of Stance on Dance interviewed ten Portland artists as part of the Dancing Over 50 Project. Click on any name below to read the interviews.
How dancers get performing gigs:
This town is all about self-starters. If you want to perform here, then you need to choreograph and be prepared to pay for it yourself. That’s the bottom line.
There are a few full-time paying companies here: BodyVox and BodyVox 2, its junior company, NW Dance Project, Polaris and Moxie Contemporary Ballet. The opportunities to audition are rare.
There are occasional auditions for newer pick up companies, but they are few and far between as well. Choreographers that are making work here usually work with people they already know.
There are opportunities for dance in theatre as well that you can find through the Portland Area Theater Alliance.
Opportunities for emerging choreographers:
There are two studio residencies offered twice yearly to support the making of new work. One is at Performance Works Northwest, called the Alembic Resident Artist Program, and the other is through Studio 2 called N.E.W (New Expressive Works) – An Artist Residency Program.
Other opportunities for choreographers to show work are Conduit’s Dance +, Galaxy Dance Festival, Fertile Grounds Festival of New Works, 10 Tiny Dances, Pure Surface, Risk/Reward, Creative Music Guild; Improvisation Summit of Portland and PICA’s TBA festival.
Jamuna Chiarini in "Like a Corvette," choreographed by Linda K. Johnson
Photo: Chris Peddecord
Venues where out of town artists perform and organizations that present them:
There are three-organization that produce out of town dance artists: White Bird, PICA (Portland Institute for Contemporary Art) and Conduit Dance Inc.
Opportunities to teach dance, the amount of work in the area, and ages and settings for teaching:
There are not that many dance schools in Portland, and positions do not become available often. You can teach in privately owned dance studios as well as in city run dance programs within the public schools or in their community centers and community dance programs. Subbing for many of the established teachers is a good way to get your foot in the door. Many dancers here also teach yoga, Pilates, Gyrotonics, somatics, the Alexander Technique and ballet fitness classes like Barre3 and Pure Barre.
Local colleges and universities with undergraduate and graduate programs:
- Portland State University has a minor and a certificate in dance
- Reed College has a dance major
- Lewis & Clark has a minor in theater with a concentration in dance
- Portland Community College has dance classes, which transfer to a four-year college
Final thoughts:
The possibilities here are endless. Portland is here for the taking. If you are creative, motivated, love nature and are a self-starter, then Portland is for you. If you don’t see what you want here, then make it.
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Jamuna Chiarini is dance writer, producer, performer and choreographer living in Portland Oregon. She has performed with many choreographers including Subashini Ganeshan, Randee Paufve, Linda Austin and Linda K. Johnson. She is also the founder of The Outlet Dance Project, a showcase for emerging women choreographers in Hamilton, NJ and is a writer for Oregon Arts Watch and Artslandia.
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Life as a Modern Dancer 
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