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biographies RAINBOW DANCE THEATRE
Valerie Bergman was principal dancer, ballet mistress and rehearsal assistant for the Nina Wiener Dance Company of
New York
, starring in several world premieres at the Brooklyn Academy of Music's Next Wave Dance Festival, touring internationally, and appearing on PBS and Dutch National Television. She has also danced with the companies of Merce Cunningham, Mel Wong, Douglas Neilson, The Netherlands Ballet and the Hawaii Opera Theatre Ballet. She has taught as artist-in-residence at the
University
of
Iowa
,
University
of
Hawaii
at Manoa, State University of New York at Purchase, and Western Oregon University (WOU). As WOU Artist-in-Residence, her choreography for The Lisa Variations won the National Award for Excellence at the American College Dance Festival, and was presented in May 2006 at the
John
F.
Kennedy
Center
for the Performing Arts in Washington, D. C. In September 2007, Bergman opened the Rainbow Dance Center (RDC) in
Corvallis
,
Oregon
. Housed at the Timberhill Athletic Club, RDC brings classes in Hip Hop, West African Dance and Modern Dance to children and adults in the
Corvallis
area.
Darryl Thomas toured as dancer and artistic collaborator in the world-renowned Pilobolus Dance Theatre, receiving an Emmy for his 1996 Kennedy Center performance of the Pilobolus work Untitled, starring annually in the Company’s sold-out New York performances, performing in the opening ceremonies of the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia, and in 2006 collaborating on and performing in the Company’s award-winning commercial for Hyundai featuring dancers in silhouette creating an extraordinary range of images from life, including a full-size Hyundai Santa Fe. Subsequently, the ad was featured on the nationally televised Academy Awards. In 2001, he represented Rainbow Dance Theatre at the National Ballet of Senegal in
Dakar
where he researched indigenous dances and collaborated with National Ballet Costume Designer Djibril Sane on costumes for RDT’s The Sorcerer’s Crossing. His work has been featured in the repertory of companies spanning the globe including those in
South Korea
,
Singapore
,
Taiwan
,
Mexico City
, and
Hawaii
.
Tad Shannon (Lighting and Technical Director) has worked with Rainbow Dance Theatre since 2002. He has been the resident designer with Do Jump Movement Theatre since 1992. He designed and directed the lighting and rigging for Do Jump’s 2000 and 2001 national tours, including runs on Broadway, at the
Kennedy
Center
in
Washington
DC
, and in
Los Angeles
. He received an Ovation award for the lighting design of the
Los Angeles
production of Do Jump’s Openings and Doors at the Geffen Playhouse. He has designed lights for many regional dance and theatre companies including many productions as the resident designer for
Portland
’s
New
Rose
Theatre
and three seasons as the designer with the Jefferson Dancer’s touring company. He has also lit a wide variety of corporate events, trade shows, and televised events throughout the Northwest.
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