Matthew Cumbie Projects

Matthew Cumbie Projects is the centralizing body for the creative works of collaborative dancemaker and artist educator Matthew Cumbie. Seeking the transformative, and guided by a queer sensibility, his artistic work and research is situated between dancemaking and engagement, process and product(s), known and unknown. At its core is the belief that dancemaking is a powerful and necessary form of inquiry and exploration, that the body is a catalyst for creative action, and that every body can and should dance. His work is highly collaborative and multidisciplinary, bringing together diverse people of all ages and abilities to ask questions, share stories, and create dances.
 
 Matthew Cumbie is a dancemaker, improviser, and educator living in Washington, DC. His choreography and dancemaking- considered “a blend of risk-taking with reliability, [and] a combination of uncertainty and wisdom,” by Kate Mattingly- weaves together a physical vocabulary of momentum and clarity, revelatory moments, and a belief in a body’s capacity to document and reflect back our lived experiences. He has danced in the companies of Christian von Howard, Keith Thompson|danceTactics Performance Group, jill sigman|thinkdance, and Dance Exchange- an intergenerational dance organization founded by Liz Lerman- where he joined as the first full-time artistic appointment in a post-founder transition and eventually became an Associate Artistic Director and the Director of Programs and Communications. Currently, Matthew creates work with Annie Kloppenberg, Betsy Miller, and Tom Truss, and collaborates with a host of multidisciplinary artists through Matthew Cumbie Projects; Matthew is also dancing with Christopher K. Morgan & Artists this season in their newest project. His work has been commissioned and supported by places like Dance Place, the Kennedy Center, and Harvard University, and by the National Endowment for the Arts, the DC Commission for the Arts and Humanities, the Arcus Foundation, and the Somerville Arts Council. Originally from Houston, Texas, Matthew holds undergraduate degrees from Texas Lutheran University and Texas State University and an MFA in dance from Texas Woman’s University.