2022 Impact

January: Emily guest lectured three Dance Management classes at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, where Emily shared self-production resources and some of RDC’s choreographic practices with undergraduate students to empower and support their professional careers.

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February: Commissioned as the Marcus Artist in Residence at Washington University in St. Louis to share five master classes and an hour-long informal performance, highlighting RDC’s unique and artist-first way of working, all provided free of charge to undergraduate and graduate students. Hosted Dance 24: a community event invited local dance artists to make a dance, from concept to performance, all in 24hrs. 

 

March: Taught self-production workshops at the American College Dance Association Conference, empowering 60+ students from regional universities with practical tools, resources, and advice for producing professional work. Completed a choreographic residency with Jennifer Medina, restaging “5 People”, which premiered on the company in May.

 

April: Held our first ever open Company Auditions, with 32 participants from six different states. Implemented a healthier audition model by eliminating cuts and audition numbers, and instead emphasizing bodily autonomy, consent, challenge by choice, and each individual's full self as an artist and human. Hired 4 new company artists and received immensely positive feedback from participants. Hosted Seen: STL - an informal showcase of works-in-progress for local independent artists that provides a platform for choreographers to share their work and network with the community.

 

May: Premiered All Times at Once, RDC’s third full-length work choreographed by Emily Haussler in collaboration with the artists, at Intersect Arts Center. Participated in Give: STL Day fundraiser and raised $1,500 in one day to support our mission of putting artists first. 

 

June: Toured to Columbia, MO for Missouri Dance Organization’s annual conference, where RDC taught self-production and partnering workshops, and was commissioned to perform “5 People” by Jennifer Medina. This was RDC’s first paid touring performance outside St. Louis! RDC furthermore received 501(c)(3) designation from the IRS, concluding our 1.5year journey to become our own nonprofit, and opening several new doors for fundraising, programming, and impact. 

 

July: Piloted half-day professional workshops in Improvisation, Composition, and Partnering for college students and local independent artists. Continued offering $5 drop-in Modern, Improv, and Ballet classes. Hosted Seen: STL for a second time this year, demonstrating ongoing community need and interest in this program. 

 

August: Launched our 4th Season as a professional company with eight company artists. Held choreographic residencies with Emily Duggins Ehling and David Marchant. Commissioned by Southeast Missouri State for an informal performance on August 26th in Cape Girardeau, representing RDC’s second paid touring experience this year. Raised over $7,000 with our annual Adopt an Artist campaign to support Dancer paychecks. 

 

September: Hosted choreographic residencies with Cassie Wang and Marcus Johnson. Performed at outreach events including The Big Muddy Dance Fest and Dance the Vote.

 

October: Premiered Entry Points 2022 and sold-out with our largest audience to date. Partnered with Intersect Arts Center and local businesses to host post-performance receptions in their gallery, incorporating visual art and conversation with the company into our performance model. 

 

November: Taught a master class at St. Louis University to beginning Modern students. Began work on our full-length piece, set to premiere April 14th - 16th, 2023. 

 

December: Hosted this year’s third Seen: STL event for local artists. Offered three drop-in Countertechnique classes with certified teacher, Omar Olivas, to our students - a rare offering with only a handful of certified teachers in the United States.