Events & Outreach

Workshops & Events

Community Workshops

White Bird is proud to have offered community workshops and professional masterclasses with nearly every company we have brought to Portland.

Workshop schedule for our 2023/24 Season

To be the first to hear about upcoming workshops and community engagement events, follow White Bird on Instagram and Facebook, or sign up for our Newsletter

This workshop has passed


We are thrilled to partner with BoxyVox to invite you to our first workshop of the 2023/24 Season.

Hosted by two incredibly talented dancers from the renowned Pilobolus Company, Connecting With Balance promises to be an unforgettable workshop that will leave you feeling more centered, confident, and in tune with your body.

About the Workshop:

Cost: FREE

Class Time: 1 PM - 2 PM

Class Location: BodyVox, 1201 NW 17th Ave, Portland, OR 97209

Connecting With Balance is a program specifically tailored for individuals who are affected with a chronic injury or physical limitation. Its primary objective is to facilitate the restoration of their balance, hence mitigating the risk of falls and preventing any exacerbation of gait-related complications.

What to Wear:

Participants should wear clothes they feel comfortable moving in and sneakers - most students wear their everyday clothes.

These workshops are now over


Embrace the infectious energy of Afro-Caribbean dance styles in a workshop taught by Ethel Calhoun from the renowned Camille A. Brown & Dancers.

Meet fellow dance enthusiasts and make lasting memories while you experience the rich cultural tapestry of Afro-Caribbean dance, all while having a fantastic time! Reserve your spot today and get ready to dance, connect, and celebrate the Afro-Caribbean spirit with White Bird and Camille A. Brown & Dancers.

Let's dance, Portland! We can't wait to see you there.

Thanks to our generous hosts at Steps PDX and Portland State University, College of the Arts, these classes are completely FREE!

About the Workshop: 

🆓 Admission is FREE with reservation 🆓- 25 Slots for each class

COMMUNITY CLASSES - All skill levels are welcome; sign up with friends and family!

Saturday, October 7th | 12:30pm - 1:30pm | Steps PDX - Full Closed

Sunday, October 8th | 12:00pm - 1:00pm | Portland State University  - Full Closed

Monday, October 9th | 4:30pm - 5:45pm | Portland State University

PROFESSIONAL CLASSES - Prior dance experience recommended

Saturday, October 7th | 2:00 PM - 3:30 | Steps PDX  - FULL Closed

Sunday, October 8th | 2:00pm - 3:30pm | Portland State University

What to Wear:

Participants should wear loose-fitting clothing that you can move in easily - Skirts or Lapis may be worn.

Street shoes may be worn in the studios as long they are clean.

Class Description:

In this workshop participants will experiment with pushing their bodies past perceived limits of speed, range of motion, strength, coordination, and endurance, as well as challenge their own held views on conventions of established forms. In her classes, Abby Zbikowski utilizes an intercultural approach to the practice of contemporary dance, placing her methods in direct dialogue with the African Diasporic and African forms that have shaped her perspective as a dance-maker and educator, as a means to identify the confluence of aesthetic worlds and cultural information embedded in the practice of contemporary dance. Dancers should expect a full-bodied rhythmically driven class.

Dance Ability Level:

Please note that this workshop is exclusively tailored for professional and advanced level dancers, considering the intensive physical demands involved.

What To Wear:

This class requires pants, knee pads, and bare feet.

Address:

NW Dance Project, 211 NE 10th Ave, Portland, OR 97232

Class Cost:

Thanks to White bird’s generous workshop host, NW Dance Project, this workshop is completely FREE with reservation.

SIGN UP HERE

Class Description:

Learn movement from LED's creation Kid LIghtning and delve into the world of improvisation techniques that shaped this theatrical work, being performed January 25-27 at Lincoln Performance Hall, PSU.

Dance Ability Level:

This workshop is best suited for intermediate to advanced students. Ages 14+.

What To Wear:

Comfortable & flexible clothing. Bare feet, socks, or soft dancing shoes.

Address:

Open Space. Oregon Contemporary, 8371 N Interstate Ave, Portland, OR 97217. Entrance to the Open Space studio is on N. McClellan Street

Class Cost:

Thanks to White Bird’s generous workshop host, Open Space, this workshop is completely FREE with reservation. Class is limited to 30 students.

SIGN UP HERE

Non-Dancers' Workshop | 1 PM - 2 PM

Class Description: Black Grace Dancer Fuaao Tutulu Faith Schuster (Faith), will lead a workshop based on the basic fundamentals behind the unique Black Grace technique, including movement aesthetics and rhythmic dynamics specific to the Black Grace style.

Skill Level: No dance experience needed.

Ages: 13 and up.

What to Wear: Comfortable and flexible clothing. Bare feet, socks, or soft dancing shoes.

Trained Dancers' Workshop | 2:30 PM - 4 PM

Class Description: Senior Black Grace Dancer, Demi-Jo Manalo, will lead a workshop based on the fundamentals behind the unique Black Grace technique. Founding Artistic Director, Neil leremia (ONZM) has developed his own specific movement language and technique which fuses aspects of his Pacific cultural heritage and western dance.

Skill Level: Intermediate to advanced dancers.

Ages: 13 and up.

What to Wear: Comfortable and flexible clothing. Bare feet, socks, or soft dancing shoes.


Address: Polaris Dance Theatre, 1820 NW Ave Portland, Oregon 97209.

Class Cost: Thanks to White Bird’s generous workshop host, Polaris Dance Theatre, this workshop is completely FREE with reservation. Class is limited to 30 students.

SIGN UP HERE

"...Not only did they see this incredible company (Dallas Black Dance Theatre) perform, but they got to meet them, ask them questions and engage in a way that I know they will keep in their memories for the rest of their lives."
Monica Parra , Director of Education and Community Engagement, Steps for Youth, StepsPDX

Friday Night Post-Show Talkbacks

White Bird facilitates audience talkbacks after all Friday night performances.

Talkbacks allow our patrons to further engage with artistic directors, choreographers, and dancers from visiting companies by asking questions directly.

2023/24 Season Talk Backs:
  • Camille A. Brown & Dancers - Friday, October 13

  • Ephrat Asherie Dance - Friday, November 3

  • Abby Z and the New Utility - Friday, November 17

  • LED - Friday, January 26

  • Music From The Sole - Friday, March 1

School Outreach

Since 2001, White Bird and Portland Public Schools have successfully partnered in developing a month-long multi-disciplinary curriculum on an artist or theme inspired by a dance company that White Bird is presenting.

Taught through the lenses of history, anthropology, literature, art, music and dance, the curriculum sparks a passion in students who otherwise might not be exposed to contemporary culture. Each project culminates in a free student performance for 2,700 students and teachers by the dance company at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall.

The project has blossomed, incorporating the talents of 67 teachers in an interdisciplinary juggernaut that includes courses outside the proscribed ‘cultural’ scope of social studies and history
Willamette Week
2023

The World of "Alice in Wonderland" with a free student performance by MOMIX on May 3, 2023 at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall.

2020

"The Cultural History of Harlem," with a free student performance planned by Dance Theatre of Harlem on May 13, 2020 at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall (cancelled due to COVID-19).

2019

"The Arts, Culture and History of the Great City of Philadelphia," with a free student performance by PHILADANCO on April 24, 2019 at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall.

2018

“Alvin Ailey’s Legacy: African American Culture and History,” with a free student performance by Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater on April 25, 2018 at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall.

​2017

“The Arts and Culture of Argentina,” with a free student performance by Che Malambo on April 26, 2017 at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall.

2016

“The Arts and Culture of Cuba,” with a free student performance by Malpaso Dance Company of Cuba on May 4,   at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall.

2015

“The Blues In Tap and Music,” with a free student performance by New York City’s Dorrance Dance in a new work called “The Blues Project,” with a live blues band.

2014

“Hispanic Arts & Culture,” with a free student performance by New York City’s Ballet Hispanico.

2013

“Indigenous Cultures in New Zealand and Australia,” with a free student performance by New Zealand’s Black Grace.

2012

“Hip Hop in Different Cultures,” with a free student performance by Compagnie Käfig, based in France, involving 11 young men from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

2011

Exploration of Alvin Ailey’s Revelations, focused on the history of the African American fight for freedom with a free student performance by Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.

2010

Ethnic diversity with a free student performance by Complexions Contemporary Ballet.

2009

The Celebrations and Cultural Diversity of Brazil with a free student performance by Dance Brazil.

2008

Theme of Cultural Exchange with a free student performance by Urban Bush Women (Brooklyn, NY) and Compagnie Jant-Bi (Senegal, West Africa).

2007

The great African-American artist Jacob Lawrence, culminating in a student performance by Dayton Contemporary Dance Company of dance works inspired by Lawrence’s artwork.

2006

Alvin Ailey with a performance by Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.

2005

Chinese Arts and Culture with a performance by Beijing Modern Dance.

2004

Children of Uganda—AIDS in Africa and the healing and nurturing power of the arts.

2003

Hispanic arts and culture, with a student performance by Ballet Hispanico, America’s leading Hispanic dance company.

2002

“Cultural Collaboration,” with a performance of The People of the Forest by Alonzo King’s LINES Ballet and the BaAka Musicians of the Central African Rain Forest.

2001

Inaugurated first outreach project with Portland Public Schools in February 2001, Black History Month, on Alvin Ailey and African American culture– introduced to 4000 elementary, middle and high school students, culminating in a free student performance by the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.

Land Acknowledgement

White Bird is located in Portland, Oregon in Multnomah County.

We honor the Indigenous people whose traditional and ancestral homelands we stand on, the Multnomah, Kathlamet, Clackamas, Tumwater, Watlala bands of the Chinook, the Tualatin Kalapuya and many other Indigenous nations of the Columbia River.

It is important to acknowledge the ancestors of this place and to recognize that we are here because of the sacrifices forced upon them.

In remembering these communities, we honor their legacy, their lives, and their descendants.

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