Founded in 2003
Orange County, California

MISSION

Backhausdance’s mission is to engage and educate diverse audiences about the relevance and vitality of contemporary concert dance, both as a multi-sensory art form and as an essential connection to learning, creative expression and overall well-being.

ABOUT

Backhausdance, formed in 2003 as a non-profit organization by Jennifer Backhaus, award-winning choreographer and Chapman University dance faculty member, is Orange County's premier, professional, contemporary dance company. Annually, Backhausdance presents professional performances with original choreography and the work of guest choreographers at theatres and various venues throughout Southern California and beyond. 

The company’s repertory offers a body of original and innovative work appealing to all ages and backgrounds, performing and teaching an eclectic and dynamic dance vocabulary with a wonderful sense of fluidity and strength. Audiences experience the joy and artistry of Backhausdance’s powerful, athletic dances, featuring deeply human and emotional creations that are infused with a sense of humor and theatricality, reflecting on aspects of our common humanity and our place in the world. Woven into the fabric of Backhausdance is advocacy for inclusivity, equity, and celebration of all perspectives, identities and ideas.

HISTORY AND PARTNERSHIPS

Backhausdance is the recipient of 10 Lester Horton Awards from Dance Resource Center of Los Angeles for achievements in choreography, design and performance, quickly establishing the company to the forefront of Southern California contemporary dance. Backhausdance also offers concert pieces with a focus on younger audiences that includes a master class workshop. In 2012, Backhausdance was honored with the Outstanding Arts Organization award from Arts Orange County. 

Backhausdance has performed extensively nationwide as well as internationally on its first European tour in 2017 in venues such as Teatro Verdi in Pisa, Italy; Teatr Collegium Nobilium in Warsaw, Poland;  Schimmel Center at Pace University, New York; Vernon & District Performing Arts Centre, British Columbia; Pinedale Performing Arts Center, Wyoming; and Joyce SoHo, New York.

In Orange County, and throughout Southern California, the company has been part of the Irvine Barclay Theatre's dance@theBarclay series; performed at Musco Center for the Arts at Chapman University, been presented by Old Town Temecula Community Theater, the Carpenter Performing Arts Center, and appeared on the Studio Series at South Coast Repertory, Fall for Dance at Segerstrom Center for the Arts,Laguna Dance Festival, Celebrate Dance at the Alex Theatre, and the Los Angeles Arts Holiday Celebration at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. As artist-in-residence, Backhausdance has worked with Brigham Young University, Chapman University, Moorpark College, and Santa Ana College, and as guest artist for the California Dance Educators Association.

CULTIVATING THE NEXT GENERATION

Integral to the company’s mission is its commitment to providing extensive education and community programs, providing a variety of education programs for K-12 schools, higher education and community organizations, reaching thousands of students, teachers, emerging, advanced and professional dancers, families, and adults and seniors each year. Program formats include assemblies, workshops, residencies, master classes, the annual summer intensive dance program for teens, pre-professional and advanced dancers, lecture-demonstrations, and site-specific work in the community. The company is committed to advancing career pathways through its apprenticeship and ambassador program and providing scholarships to over half of the students in the annual summer dance program, reaching over 150 students each year.

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2020