Mission & Values

Our Mission

White Bird is dedicated to serving as an ambassador for the art of live dance, which brings people together and enriches their lives. By presenting a broad range of exceptional dance companies from around the world, paired with the opportunity to learn from visiting artists, White Bird makes live dance exciting, educational, and affordable for all people throughout the Portland metro area.

Our Values in Action

Excellence

Each year, White Bird curates, organizes, and promotes a season of dance companies, each selected for their remarkable technical skill, cultural relevance, and artistic vision. We have a demonstrated history of traveling the world to seek out talented artists, and have made Portland recognized in the dance world with our programming.

Altruism

Channeling the generosity of our supporters, White Bird makes affordable live performance a reality for all, whatever their budget. This includes targeted discounts as well as our NEST Program. We go beyond expectations to ensure a great experience for both audiences and visiting artists.

Exploration

Between our Uncaged Series and Signature Series, each White Bird season features a wide range of dance artistry. We organize artist talks and compile information on each company so that our audience walks away from each performance with a thorough understanding of what they saw.

Collaboration

White Bird works with local dance companies and other cultural partners to organize events and activities that promote the vitality of the broader dance community. This includes our School Outreach programs and Community events and workshops.

Sustainability

White Bird continuously builds new audiences for dance through targeted discounts and awareness campaigns, maintaining a bright future for live dance in our community. With good governance and careful management of our financial health, we look forward to many more years of presenting dance.

White Bird is located in Portland, Oregon. We respect the Indigenous people whose homelands include the place now known as Portland. Their ancestors belong to many tribes, including the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, the Cowlitz, the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians, the Clackamas, and the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde.*

White Bird is in the process of moving beyond simply acknowledging this land's Native people and the mass atrocities done to them through centuries of colonization across America. We are committed to moving toward reciprocal relationships with our Native neighbors.

Our current and planned actions include:

• Organizing annual visits to a local powwow, with guidance on proper etiquette and financial support for the hosting tribe(s).

• Creating opportunities for our staff and board to learn about Oregon’s Native tribes, including annual virtual lessons and visits to Native cultural centers.

• Supporting Native artists through membership in the Native Arts & Cultures Foundation and continued attendance at NACF events.

• Presenting at least one dance company every three seasons (or 4% of our total presenting) that highlights Indigenous dances, songs, or storytelling as a primary element. This may include artists native to any region in the world, who honor global traditions in ways that are authentic, creative, and engaging.

These actions will evolve as we grow. We encourage you to provide feedback on our language and actions. All comments can be directed to Executive Director Graham Cole at graham@whitebird.org or 503-245-1600 x200.

*Our source for the traditional and ancestral homelands of these tribes is www.native-land.ca, a database of North and South American native territories, maintained by the nonprofit organization Native Land Digital.