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Chamber Dance Company

  • Chamber Dance Company Speaking Ill of the Dead
    Chamber Dance Company performing 'Speaking Ill of the Dead' by Robert Moses. Image by Warren Woo.
  • CDC Doug Varone
    Chamber Dance Company performing 'Possession" by Doug Varone. Image by Warren Woo.
  • Acts N II CDC
    Chamber Dance Company premiering new work choreographed by Noel Price-Bracey.

About The Chamber Dance Company

The Chamber Dance Company’s mission is to identify, restage, and archive modern and contemporary dance works of artistic significance and to create and produce new dance works created by and with UW Department of Dance graduate students. Under the Artistic Direction of Associate Professor Rachael Lincoln, CDC expands into the field of contemporary dance to highlight the MFA students, whose professional backgrounds include a wide range of dance styles. CDC has performed and recorded over 125 dances choreographed between 1985-2014, and produced and premiered multiple new contemporary works.

Integral to the degree program, company members learn repertoire from nationally renowned choreographers to be performed in the world-class Katharyn Alvord Gerlich Theater, and have the opportunity to create fully-produced new works as director, collaborator, or performer, with mentorship from the Artistic Director. 

Unique to the Chamber Dance Company, is its rare Archive of Modern and Contemporary Dance Repertoire. Founded by Professor Hannah Wiley in 1991, the Chamber Dance Company has performed and recorded over 120 dances from the modern dance canon, exposing audiences to work that they would rarely or never have the chance to see, and allowing the legacy of modern dance choreographers to live on past the end of their lives. 

CDC’s performing and educational reach is extensive. Audience members come from as far south as Portland, as far east as Spokane, and as far north as Vancouver, BC to attend the annual October performances.

The Company

Rachael Lincoln,
Artistic Director

Rachael Lincoln

Emily Schoen Branch,
Company Member

Emily Branch

Derek Crescenti,
Company Member

Derek Crescenti

Annie Franklin,
Company Member 

Annie Franklin

Chris Kaiser, 
Company Member

Chris Kaiser

Cameo Lethem,
Company Member

Cameo Lethem

Recent News on the Chamber Dance Company

Testimonials

"I saw such brimming versions of every dancer, each one determined to honor the space in their greatest capacities. It was fulfilling to watch such generosity."-  Meredith Pellon, SeattleDances

"Thank you for the opportunity to work with your beautiful and dedicated dancers." —Daniel Nagrin

"The dancers are really exceptional individually and as a group—each so distinctive—yet they blend so beautifully and dance with such a fullness and passion. The pieces look like they were made on those dancers—but the reality is that they made the dances!" —Sarah Stackhouse

"You have done a beautiful job with "Orfeo" and it is a special joy for me to see this poetic dance performed with such integrity and honesty." —Gary Masters

"I can think of no other company in Seattle that I'd rather see—no matter the repertory. The purity of the dance and music is remarkable... You are Seattle's White Oak and we are lucky to have you. Thank you for the respect you give Seattle audiences by producing such an intelligent, searching event. Bravo!" —Jean Lenihan, Seattle Dance Critic

"While the program notes inform us about the thematic ties between Alwin Nikolais and the other choreographers on the bill, as well as their place in the dance firmament, the UW Chamber Dance Company performances was not a dry, academic evening of dance history. Instead, it was a lively, often engrossing, celebration of an artform. From Oskar Shlemmer's experiments with bodies in space to the small worlds that Nikolais and Lubovitch present us, the evening was a unique opportunity to see some of the best that dance has to offer." — Marcie Sillman, KUOW

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