RACHEL REDDING DANCE

dancer | choreographer | teaching artist

ABOUT


Rachel Redding is a dance artist based in Houston, Texas. Rachel graduated with a BFA in Dance from Sam Houston State University in 2021.With roots in ballet, jazz, modern, and commercial dance styles, Rachel has been choreographing, teaching, and performing locally in Houston for over 10 years. She has had the pleasure of training with a variety of choreographers in and around Houston along with performing with many local dance organizations over the years such as Dance Houston, MetDance, Houston City Dance, SoReal, WyldStyl Dance Crew, Dance Source Houston and more.

As a choreographer, Rachel blends her experiences in the commercial, theatrical, and contemporary dance worlds to create work that is thoughtful and engaging. She has presented original works at Dance Source Houston’s “Mind the Gap” series and in student choreography concerts at the University of Houston and Sam Houston State University. Rachel continues to explore new and innovative ways to blend her favorite styles of dance for stage and screen projects.Currently, Rachel resides in Houston with her husband, Alex, and pet bunny, Pretzel. Rachel is a part of the Ensemble at Frame Dance Productions and teaches children's ballet and modern on Wednesday evenings.


WORK



TEACHING PHILOSOPHY


As a teaching artist, my goal is to create spaces for students to feel free to be exactly who they are. I encourage and value experimentation, exploration, and thoughtful discussion. My approach to teaching dance is informed by my experiences in my university level dance training and my commercial and community hip hop training outside of academia.As an educator my goal is to give students the tools to explore their artistry and encourage a sense of community and support within the classroom. A major proponent of my pedagogical approach is keeping the energy light and using my words intentionally to uplift and inspire my students. I value individuality and try to view the act of dance from a holistic lens. I want my students to be able to take the ideas we explore inside the studio into the outside world. I encourage and emphasize decision making through guided improvisation and open ended artistic prompts within choreography given.Personally, I often question the practices in place within the dance industry and implore my classes to try new things and look at dance through different lenses. I am passionate about creating student-centered spaces where we throw the idea of perfection out of the window. I celebrate mistakes and emphasize the importance of somatic safety over aesthetic demands. I start my classes with an opening circle to get to know the students’ names and check in with their minds and bodies before moving into warm up exercises, technique, and choreography. I often ask my students questions about what they think about a certain technique or concept within the exercises or choreography, giving them a chance to synthesize the movement compared to their experience in class.My movement practice is inspired by improvisation scores, ballet, various modern dance techniques, hip hop, jazz, and commercial dance styles. I love taking different genres of dance and marrying them together to explore a movement style that is unique to the dancer.My classes are a judgment free zone where dancers are encouraged to be their complete selves without fear of intimidation. I want to allow dance to be an investigative practice for my students and equip them with the self assurance to leave my doors feeling good about themselves and ready to take risks. I want to nurture my students to become their best selves, it's not about being the best dancer. We are people first, dancers second.


WORK WITH ME


Contact me for pricing for the following services:

  • Private Lessons

  • Group Classes

  • Master Classes

  • Recital Choreography

  • Competition Solos

  • Competition Group Routines

  • Improvisation Workshops

  • Dance for Camera Workshops


CONTACT


blog coming soon!