REAson d'etre dance productions

REAson d’etre dance productions strives to provide artistic expression through movement, inclusive of age, ability, level background. We stage and program works based on Contact Improvisation so we can utilize the inclusiveness that can be a part of this dance form. Our vision is for both professional dancers and everyday people to be inspired and invigorated by Contact Improvisation. This mandate includes initiatives that work to dismantle racism and ablism and other “isms” as their existence hinders us in achieving our mandate. We are committed to examining the art form of contact improvisation and acknowledging its history of inequity, ablism, and racism. We strive to engage in a continuing process of educating ourselves and acting for change.

We believe that increasing accessibility breaks down barriers to dance, creating a stunning humanity that is the heart of the artistic aesthetic we reach for.

Our contact dance jams are the root from which all our programming grows. Our jams are a mix of performance, research, rehearsal, and incubator. A musician improvises, sweeping dancers into explorations of different themes. Teaming Contact Dance with exceptional live music deepens the form. People alternate between dancing and watching the performance. The jams build community. It’s about relationships, with the quality of communication being the aesthetic measure.

Classes in functional movement help Contact Dancers move with ease and prevent injury. We see healthy movement as beautiful and reach for it as an artistic aesthetic.

The creative meeting of dancers and musicians at our Jams gives birth to ideas and collaborations that become main-stage professional works. Our productions use multi-disciplinary story-telling involving dialogue, music, and song, with Contact Dance at their heart. Professional dancers, ranging in ages, enable inter-generational story-telling that brings meaning to people’s lives.