Studio Stories: Reminiscing on Twin Cities Dance with Raymond Terrill - Season 14, Episode 155

Ray Terrill | Dance Group has been performing in and around the Twin Cities since Ray relocated in 1994.
Originally from the Pacific Northwest, he has extensive experience as performer, choreographer, teacher, presenter and arts program administrator.

He started his professional modern dance career as a member of Martha Graham-based Repertory Dancers Northwest in Seattle Washington until relocating to Portland Oregon to work with the Mary Wigman-based modern dance company Oregon Dance Consort. In Portland, he eventually became co-artistic director of the company where he choreographed numerous original works, taught extensively and produced the contemporary dance season Pulse/
Impulse for five consecutive years. He also served as guest artist with many well known regional dance companies and choreographed original dances for regional producing organizations.

While in Portland, Ray collaborated with other dance professionals to found the statewide Dance Coalition of Oregon, a dance service organization, for which he served as Executive Director from 1991-1994.

After relocating to the Twin Cities, Ray spent five seasons as a member of the Christopher Watson Dance Company while establishing the Ray Terrill Dance Group.

Proficient in classical modern dance technique he has evolved a choreographic aesthetic described by critics as uniquely spiritual and lyrical on one hand while irreverent and quirky on the other. Aesthetically, Ray is inspired by wide-ranging music styles and is attracted to exploring provocative subject matter and complex emotion. He works hard to mine his material to expose the universal human experience. His more recent work has incorporated video, animation, and text as a backdrop to extend his choreographic ideas.

In the Twin Cities, Ray has served as Board President for the Christopher Watson Dance Company, board member for Off-Leash Area, and advisor to the Walker Art Center’s Tour Guide Council. Ray is also the sole producer of the annual Dances at the Lake Festival, a free open to the public performance, presented at the Lake Harriet Rose Garden in Minneapolis.

Recently retired from his day job, Ray enjoyed a parallel career in the role of executive producer/management consultant to develop media-rich interactive communications and distance learning solutions for top 100 global
corporations.

Numerous government, foundation and corporate arts funding agencies have generously supported his choreography over the years and his dances have been presented in many venues including Seattle's On the Boards, Portland Center for the Performing Arts, Portland Art Museum, International Firehouse Cultural Center,
Artquake, Festival of Physical Comedy, Walker Art Center, Weisman Art Museum, Lakeville Performing Arts, Art on the Edge, and Dances at the Lake Festivals. Over the years, Ray has taken advantage of the Fringe Festival performing circuit and has presented his dances at many including Minnesota, Chicago, Providence, Tucson, Salt Lake City and Denver.