Transforming Lives through Dance
Our Purpose
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Stewart/Owen Dance seeks to enrich the community of Western North Carolina with the education, promotion, and creation of contemporary dance by building a sustainable ecosystem where professional dance artists can thrive. We work toward this purpose by providing high-quality educational programming for newcomers and professionals alike; hosting a nurturing, inclusive work culture; and reflecting the area’s vibrant culture through inventive, elegant, and rigorous performances. ​
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In the Community
Stewart/Owen Dance is the resident dance company of Asheville's beloved Wortham Center for the Performing Arts and is the first company commissioned by the Wortham to create a new work. The company leads ongoing community dance classes for adults and provides educational outreach programming and performances for public schools, YMCAs, and community organizations in Western North Carolina. They believe dance has a distinct ability to inspire, connect, and heal individuals from all backgrounds and experiences.​​
​About the Directors
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Gavin Stewart and Vanessa Owen, a husband and wife duo, are the co-founders of Western North Carolina-based Stewart/Owen Dance. Their bespoke repertoire includes an exciting collection of contemporary choreography that’s as “sensual” (Washington Post) as it is “humorous, elegant, and wild” (Seattle Dances). Their work often inhabits non-traditional spaces, including sold-out "drive-up" performances the Asheville Outlet Mall, guided walk-along dance exhibits, and site-specific works performed in businesses and public spaces across the region .
Stewart/Owen's award-winning choreography has been presented by festivals and companies across the U.S., and their careers have taken them across the globe on fifteen U.S. State Department tours to teach, perform and choreograph contemporary dance with Washington D.C.-based Company E.
In 2017, Gavin and Vanessa made North Carolina their home base, where they co-create and perform contemporary dance works presented by venues and companies across the United States. Choreographic highlights include projects with music artists Moses Sumney and Sylvan Esso, a 2024 commission from the American Dance Festival, a 2023 commission from Wortham Center for the Performing Arts, and an Audience Choice Award at the NYC Dance Gallery Festival. Gavin and Vanessa are recipients of the North Carolina Choreographer's Fellowship, McDowell Regional Artist Project Grant, a North Carolina Artist Support Grant, and an Arts AVL Grassroots Arts Program Grant.
They are passionate educators, leading ongoing community classes for adults at Wortham Center; hosting the annual summer intensive, DELVE, for emerging dance professionals from around the country; directing S/OURCE, a winter dance intensive at University North Carolina School for the Art (UNCSA); and serving as faculty for UNCSA's summer dance intensive.
The Dancers
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S/O Dance hires professional dance artists on a project basis, and is committed to paying artists equittably for their time and expertise. With our local dance ecosystem always in mind, we cast projects by first engaging local artists, followed by reaching out to our network of artists based throughout NC, the South East, and beyond.
