“The beauty of dancing with people who really appreciate the simple ability to move! After spending the past twenty-two years with dancers, I’ve become pretty jaded; in the DanceAbility workshop I was in a sea of people lapping up movement, and I found myself appreciating not only my own functionality but even more so the basic sensation of movement, not clouded by aesthetic concern or performance worries. ”

~Workshop Participant,

able bodied professional dancer

Projects & Workshops

Mission

Our mission is to encourage the evolution of contemporary dance by cultivating a common ground for creative expression for all people regardless of abilities, economic status, age, or race. The work of JFDC helps decrease the prejudice and misconceptions about diversity in the field of dance, and by extension in society.

The mission is accomplished through DanceAbility, educational programs, workshops, choreography, and performances.

DanceAbility Workshops

DanceAbility Workshops vary in length depending on the needs and interests of groups and communities, ranging from one hour to multiple days or weeks. To learn more about DanceAbility, click here ».

Choreography

JFDC has choreographed pieces for and performed and/or taught at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (Washington, D.C.), at the International VSA Arts Festival, the Governor’s Arts Awards in Eugene, Portland’s “Artquake” and at many festivals, schools, universities and other venues around the world, including Dance Umbrella in Boston, Jacob’s Pillow (U.S.A.), Vienna International Dance Festival, International Festival of New Dance (Brasilia), Bern Tanz Tage Dance Festival (Germany), “Festival of Freaks” (Switzerland), and Contact Arte (Italy). To commission JFDC for choreography, please contact us at: jointforcesdance@yahoo.com ».

Young Audience Performances

Joint Forces Dance Company offers educational performance events for schools in the state of Oregon. The intention of these performances is to educate teachers and young people about disabilities. To learn more, click here ».

Breitenbush Jam Event

Breitenbush Jam is an annual nine day Contact Improvisation event produced by JFDC. To learn more, click here ».

Contact Improvisation Workshops

Contact Improvisation workshops introduce participants to both the roots of the movement combined with a contemporary approach to the form. To learn more, click here ».

Bodywork Workshops

Workshop includes bodywork preparation, application, and integration techniques for alignment of the shoulders, neck, spine and pelvis combined with cranial sacral work. To learn more, click here ».