Stimulate Dance is founded on two principles: The first is Accessible Art - we make contemporary performances part of people's everyday lives, both with content and context. We make dances that people can relate to, and we bring art into personal spaces. The second principle is Sustainable Art - we believe that by building broader applications of this art form outside of just the theater and by developing personal relationships with the audience, we might just create more of a market for dance. We play with you instead of performing at you.
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Alissa Mortenson
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Alissa, actor, dancer, playwright, and producer feels deeply committed to collaborative process and finding unspeakable truth in movement. She brings a strong theaterical quality to the stage and is working to skript Stimulate works! Alissa is founder/artistic director of Nebunele Theatre. Her plays have been awarded “Best New Play” in the San Francisco fringe festival and “Pick of the Fringe: Gold” award in Boulder, CO. She has performed with Annex Theatre, Theater Schmeater, Ear to the Ground Theatre, Double Edge Theatre, Traveling Lantern, and many more companies. |
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Bridget Gunning
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Bridget, founding member of Stimulate is a dancer, aerialist, yogini and teacher with a lifetime of movement experience. Bridget’s electric energy and love for risk-taking has brought her on stage with Stimulate, creating interactive improvisations and theatrical works. Coming from a diverse technical background, Bridget draws upon Skinner Releasing, Laban and Bartinieff Fundamentals, ballet, contemporary modern dance, hip-hop and acrobatics. She is a registered yoga teacher and performs in Seattle with Manifold Motion and TickTock Dance. |
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Emma Klein
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Emma, founding member of Stimulate finds each performing venue an opportunity for creative inspiration. She is excited and empowered by the beauty and strength of art making and is energized by the ability of Stimulate to reach a diverse audience, like one she has never engaged. Off stage, Emma enjoys tackling the business side of dance with her trusty director Allegra, exploring creative ways to survive and thrive as artists. Emma has worked for companies including tin|dance, Asterisk Project, and Pat Graney’s Keeping the Faith Project, working with incarcerated women at Mission Creek Correctional Center. |
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Morgan Nutt
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Morgan, founding member of Stimulate Dance is deeply engaged in the process of creating and performing works with the aim to develop deep connections between movement and characters. She is inspired by creating safe environments for audiences to pose questions, articulate ideas, and enjoy dance without the abstract quality that can be alienating and confusing. Morgan received her BA from Ohio State University. Since moving to Seattle, Morgan has worked with companies including Khambatta Dance Theater, Lingo Dance, and Mark Haim. Her choreography has been featured in venues throughout the city. |
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Allegra Searle-LeBel
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Allegra, founder of Stimulate was immediately moved by the level of audience reflections and interactions inspired by Stimulate’s debut. She has since reveled the opportunity to revise and revisit pieces, playing with humor, improvisational decisions, and quality of story-telling. She is thrilled to bring live art into people’s own spaces, reaching out to touch them, redefining their perception of dance. Allegra received a BA from UC Berkeley in Peace & Conflict and in Dance, Theatre, & Performance, and continued studying dance and choreography at Tisch School of the Arts. Her awards include Arts Bridge Scholar 2002 and 2003, ODC Pilot Program 2005, Flight Deck Creative Residency 2008. |
Stimulate has been an Associated Program of Shunpike since 2008.
Shunpike’s mission is to strengthen the Seattle arts community by partnering with small and mid-sized arts groups to develop the business tools they need to succeed. Working in close partnership with these groups, Shunpike helps solve problems quickly and imparts vital skills in finance, organizational management, and arts administration. Efficient use of resources and smart management can help arts groups do what they do best – now and in the long-term. Stimulate Dance is an Associated Program of Shunpike - a 501(c)3 non-profit arts organization. Our performances are made possible through donations, commissions, grants, and ticket sales.
