Rainbow Dance Theatre

“deeply satisfying…..combines artful stagecraft with physical prowess…in intricate, balance-shifting acrobatic maneuvers.” Seattle Times

Rainbow Dance Theatre’s (RDT) ensemble of eight virtuoso dancers transforms the concert stage into a world of mystery, pathos and humor.  Delighting audiences of all ages with its athletic “pull-out-the-stops celebration of … dancing that pays homage to world-dance and –music influences” (Sheryl Dare, Honolulu Advertiser), RDT’s repertory features modern works with roots in the traditions of many world cultures.  Combined with innovative aerial choreography, visually stunning interactive sets, and the latest innovations in fiber optic and electro-luminescent technology, the distinctive choreography of artistic directors Darryl Thomas and Valerie Bergman creates “an exotic feast for the senses”.  (Isamu Jordan, Spokane Spokesman Review)

Founded in Honolulu, Hawaii, Rainbow Dance Theatre (RDT) has been based in Monmouth, Oregon since 2000.  The Company has toured throughout the world, performing in Europe, Asia, Canada, Mexico and throughout the United States to widespread critical and popular acclaim.  At the invitation of the United States Pavilion, the Company presented four standing-room-only performances at the World Expo in Shanghai, China.  Other international festival performances include the Second International Dance Festivals in Taegu and Pusan, South Korea; World Expos in Nagoya, Japan and Seville, Spain; Concurso Continental de Danza Contemporanea in Mexico City, D.F.; Dance Tanz in Osaka, Japan; IAS Festival in Bangkok, Thailand; Men Dancing and Cultural Slam in Honolulu, Hawaii; US Embassy Festival in Kolkata, India; and the National ACD Festival and International VSArts Festival both held at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC. During its extensive annual touring season, RDT presents over 60 concert performances for audiences of all ages.

As a roster company with Arts for Learning Northwest and KBAM, RDT performs in the schools for over 40,000 children in the United States and Canada each year, fulfilling its mission of inspiring in youth a love of the arts and technology.  RDT’s international professional residency program includes past and current residencies in Thailand, Mexico, the Philippines, Taiwan, El Salvador, India, China and Costa Rica.

The Company and its Artistic Directors have received numerous grants and awards including a Creative Heights Grant to create an original dance work incorporating motion tracking technology.  In SELFIE projected images respond to the dancers in real-time during the performance. Images and text from audience members are incorporated into the work during the live performance, creating a new vehicle for audience participation in an artistic work. RDT’s newest show iLumiDance has been performed in over 300 venues throughout the US and Canada. Its companion residency Code Can Dance, which inspires students to learn coding and engineering design concepts through interaction with the arts, is supported by Walmart Foundation, Willamette University’s Center for Community Innovation, the Stimson-Miller Foundation, and the Oregon Community Foundation.  Additional grants and awards have been received from the National Endowment for the Arts, The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the Oregon Arts Commission, the James F. & Marion L. Miller Foundation, Hawaii State Foundation on Culture and the Arts, Atherton Family Foundation, Fred Meyer Foundation, Persis Corporation.