Episode 27: AXIS Dance Company

Other Episodes: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 41 | 42 | 43 | 44 | 45 | 46 | 47 | 48 | 49 | 50 | 51 | 52 | 53 | 54 | 55 | 56 | 57 | 58 | 59 | 60 | 61 | 62 | 63 | 64 | 65 | 66 | 67 | 68 | 69 | 70 | 71 | 72 | 73 | 74 | 75 | 76 | 77 | 78 | 79 | 80 | 81 | 82 | 83 | 84 | 85 | 86 | 88 | 89 | 90 | 91 | 92 | 93 | 94 | 95 | 96 | 97 | 98 | 99 | 100 | 101 | 102 | 103 | 104 | 105

AXIS Dance Company Alice in Californiland, company dancers in AXIS Dance Company productions

Photo Credit: David DeSilva

Stay updated on future episodes by subscribing to Voices of the Community on Apple Podcast, Spotify, and Google Podcasts, or where ever you listen to your podcasts

“Through difference, there is beauty””

In this episode, our featured voices are Marc Brew the Artistic Director and Choreographer along with Danae Rees the Managing Director of AXIS Dance Company. AXIS Dance Company’s mission is to bring together both disable and non-disabled artists to create a radically inclusive dance sector and world by removing barriers and showcasing the beauty of difference.

Marc Brew

Acclaimed International choreographer and AXIS Dance Company Artistic Director Marc Brew trained as a professional dancer at the Victorian College of the Arts Secondary School and The Australian Ballet School. He has been working in the UK and Internationally for over 20 years as a director, choreographer, dancer, teacher and speaker; with the Australian Ballet Company, State Theatre Ballet Company of South Africa, Infinity Dance Theatre, CandoCo Dance Company and AXIS Dance Company. Marc was Associate Director with Scottish Dance Theatre, Associate Artistic Director with Ballet Cymru in Wales and was Associate Artist in 2015 at Tramway Theatre in Glasgow. Since 2008 Marc has been dedicating time to his own choreography with Marc Brew Company and his recent choreographic commissions include San Francisco Ballet School, Dancing Wheels, Scottish Ballet, Ballet Cymru (Wales), YDance (Scotland), AXIS Dance Company (USA), Candoco Dance Company (UK), Touch Compass (NZ), Amy Seiwert’s Imagery (USA) and Scottish Dance Theatre (Scotland). Marc was presented with a Centenary Medal for Outstanding Contribution as a dancer and choreographer. His work Remember When was nominated for an Isadora Duncan Dance Award for Best Performance (individual) and his recent solo work For Now, I am… was listed in the Guardians Top 10 Dance Shows for 2016. For more information visit: www.marcbrew.com

Danae Rees

Danae Rees brings many years of experience across a variety of dance sectors. Born and raised in Brisbane, Australia, she holds a double Bachelor’s Degree in Performing Arts (Dance) & Education (Secondary) from the Queensland University of Technology. She has provided dance instruction, training and program management to public schools, studios, universities, and dance organizations in Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. While working in the United Kingdom as Head of Dance at Jo Richardson Community School in London, Danae developed an inclusive standards-based dance curriculum across grade levels K-12, working closely with the feeder elementary schools, higher education institutions, dance companies, and community dance organizations to provide sequential experiences in dance. Danae fused dance programs and special youth initiatives to extended creative and performing experiences for students, working on projects with Wayne McGregor (Ballroom Scene for Harry Potter & The Goblet of Fire), Specialist Arts Trust, Youth Dance England, The Royal Ballet School Project, The Royal Academy of Dance (school-based teacher mentor), the Center for Advance Training Program (C.A.T) in Dance at Laban and The Place, C-12 Dance Theatre and others – helping to guide future careers in dance.

She has served as schools and community program manager for Luna Dance Institute and the San Francisco Ballet’s Center for Dance Education. Most recently, as Executive Director for The Dizzy Feet Foundation (now American Dance Movement), Danae oversaw the foundation’s grants which provide greater access to dance for young people in underserved communities nationwide. Overseeing Dizzy Feet’s annual National Dance Day celebration, a day dedicated to celebrating dance and it’s many benefits, she produced national events to include both live (The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, The Music Center, Segerstrom Center for the Performing Arts & Others) and online participation, reaching millions of dance enthusiasts across the US.

Danae is dedicated to maintaining high standards for dance, broadening the dance audience base, and moving the dance profession forward.

AXIS Dance Company

Founded in 1987, AXIS is the nation’s most acclaimed ensembles of disabled and non-disabled performers based in Oakland, CA. In 1998, Judith Smith took over Artistic Direction, and visioning a repertory company quickly trajected AXIS into the dance world with a commission by Bill T. Jones. Under her direction until 2017, AXIS toured to over 100 cities in the USA, Israel, UK, Europe and Russia. The Company has received seven Isadora Duncan Dance Awards and has appeared twice on FOX TV’s So You Think You Can Dance, exposing integrated dance to millions.

In 2017, AXIS appointed acclaimed international choreographer and dancer Marc Brew to the position of Artistic Director. Marc Brew comes to AXIS with over 20 years of performance and Artistic Direction experience.

Alongside our artistic performance program the Company provides unparalleled integrated dance education and outreach programs. From recreational to professional training, AXIS builds access to dance education for people of all ages with and without disabilities.

AXIS Collaborates with Disable and Non-Disabled Artists to create Virtuosic productions that challenge perceptions of Dance and Disability

Donation / Volunteer

Donate to our 2020 End-of-Year Campaign: axisdance.org/donatenow or text AXIS2020 to 44-321 (US only)

To find out more about AXIS Dance Company and their fundraising event on December 5th with the special screening of Alice in Californiland at 5pm pacific time please purchase tickets to our Alice in Californiland fundraiser: bit.ly/live-in-californiland

Videos

To find out more about AXIS Dance Company check out their videos:

Subscribe to our newsletter to stay updated on future episodes and issues that matter

“Our vision at AXIS is to strive to create a radically inclusive dance sector and world by removing barriers and showcasing the beauty of difference.”

— Marc Brew, Artistic Director & Choreographer, AXIS Dance Company

Our Sponsorship

We are fiscally sponsored by Intersection for the Arts, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, which allows us to offer you tax deductions for your contributions. Please consider making a donation to help us provide future shows just like this one. If you want to send us a check, please make checks payable to Intersection for the Arts and write [Voices of the Community] in the memo line of your check. This ensures that you’ll receive an acknowledgement letter for tax purposes, and your donation will be available for our project.