NW Dance Project was founded in Portland in 2004 by acclaimed dancer, mentor and choreographer Sarah Slipper. NW Dance Project is dedicated to the creation and performance of innovative, new contemporary dance works from established and emerging dance makers created in an open and artistically stimulating environment. NW Dance Project has fostered the creation and Portland premiere of nearly 300 original contemporary dance works to date. Our dedication to providing dancers and dance makers the resources and creative room needed to realize new, inspired dance works led Dance International Magazine to proclaim that we are “changing the way dance is created” and that NW Dance Project has become “a laboratory, factory and repository for risk-taking new works from the next generation of choreographers from Europe and North America.” In order to produce the next wave of significant dance works, we are also committed to advancing dance education and community involvement. In March 2014, NW Dance Project opened our beautiful new 8,500 square foot well-appointed Creative Center in the heart of Portland’s Inner Eastside, where we lead dance education for adults and children through our various projects, intensives, workshops and classes as well as opportunities for established and emerging dance makers to choreograph and refine new works set on our company of classically trained, fearless contemporary company dancers. Because dance cannot survive without new audiences and a deepened appreciation of the art form, we strive to engage individuals and communities with dance through accessible performances by our company, studio sessions, dance samplers, outdoor performances, special events, master classes, collaborations with artists of other performing arts and visual genres and conversation with artists. We even do the unexpected – bringing performances to the streets, coffee shops, hospitals and the occasional escalator in shopping malls! We also love offering the experience of dance and ongoing, interactive dance education programs for young, challenged members of our community through our cost-free Dance Moves program and holding free public performances as often as possible. “an essential part of the city’s arts scene” — The Oregonian “some of the best dancers you will ever see.” – Calgary Herald the ‘it’ company….one of the most dynamic dance troupes in the country.” — Oregon Public Broadcasting “…a company of slick, skilled dancers” — The New Yorker “Portland’s Best Dance Company” + “Portland’s Best Dance Studio” — Willamette Week