Stewart/Owen Dance

 

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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S/O Dance is the resident dance company of Asheville's beloved Wortham Center for the Performing Arts and is the first company commissioned by Wortham to create a new work. The company leads ongoing community classes for adults and provides educational programming for university programs, public schools, YMCAs, and community organizations in Western North Carolina and beyond. They believe dance has a distinct ability to inspire, heal, and connect individuals from all backgrounds and experiences.

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Gavin Stewart and Vanessa Owen, a husband and wife duo, co-founded Stewart/Owen Dance in 2015. 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).

 

Stewart and 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 with Washington D.C.-based Company E. 

In 2017 they made North Carolina their home where they work with dance artists, writers, and musicians to cultivate the craft of storytelling through movement. These cross-genre collaborators have even choreographed music videos for Moses Sumney and Sylvan Esso. 

 

S/O Dance has received many awards, grants, and commissions since 2017 including the Audience Choice Award (Dance Gallery Festival), Dance Gallery Level UP commission, ArtsAVL Grassroots Arts Program Grant, McDowell Regional Artist Project Grant, a North Carolina Artist Support Grant, and was voted the "Artists Who Most Pushed the Boundaries with the Human Body" (Asheville Fringe). 

Throughout the pandemic, they focused on producing COVID-conscious dance experiences for live audiences, including sold-out drive-up performances at the Asheville Outlet Mall, and guided walk-along dance exhibits presented by the Wortham Center for the Performing Arts.