Beth Whelan
I am a movement artist based in Portland, Oregon. Born and raised in the Philly burbs, I moved on to get my degree at George Mason in VA before heading out west to explore a new part of the country and Be An Artist post-grad. Turns out, Being An Artist is much more learning to be an adult and making art on the side and questioning everything than I expected, but none the less, movement is still a medicine to me and it keeps me connected to what I guess I’d call some sort of spirituality. Outside of all that, I love to spend time nature, camping and laying in hammocks. I love music with lyrics that make me want to read more poetry, and poetry by Ada Limón. I love my cat and my community and I guess that’s pretty much it. Oh, and I’ve got a 9-5 job that I stare at a computer for and no, I don’t think that makes me less of an artist. This is my first bio I’ve written since Coronavirus and to be honest it’s way better than any other bullshit one where I’ve cited the name of every choreographer I ever worked with and every piece I ever made at every location you never heard of. Cheers!
If you are curious about what kind of projects I've done and who I've worked with, keep reading. If not, check out some of my work here.
As a freelance dancer and choreographer, I have presented work through the Regional Arts and Culture Council's Night Lights, Downright Productions' Amorphous, Polaris Dance Theater's Galaxy Festival, and performed in various works of local choreographers. In February of 2019, myself and Trevor Wilde co-presented a shared evening of dance at Performance Works Northwest called Two of a Kind. I was awarded the White Bird Barney Commissioning Prize alongside Trevor Wilde and Shaun Keylock. I currently dance with Tongue Dance Project, a bad-ass group of women pushing boundaries of athleticism and modern dance in Portland.
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I currently teach an Int/Adv Contemporary class at SKC Studio in North Portland that's open to the community on a drop in basis. I also teach youth at Columbia Dance as their Modern instructor, which is a wonderfully fulfilling experience!
Prior to Portland, I completed my Bachelor of Fine Arts in dance at George Mason University and graduated magna cum laude. I freelanced in Washington DC and Philadelphia. My writing on dance is published in Philadelphia's The Dance Journal and Oregon Arts Watch.
Photography by Andrew Seistrup, Rook & Castle, @rook.castle
