Rachel Thorne Germond
Artistic Director

“She is a stern, unfancy, intellectually enticing artist, tough in her aesthetic.”
- Sid Smith, The Chicago Tribune

Rachel Thorne Germond is a performer, dancer, teacher, choreographer, and visual artist and has been creating dance/performance work since the late 1980’s. Arriving in New York City after graduating from Cornell University in 1986, she studied dance on scholarship with Mary Anthony and Anna Sokolow, at The Merce Cunningham Studio, jazz dance at Broadway Dance Center, ballet with Finis Jhung and Liane Plane, and danced with Pedro Alejendro, Andrew Marcus, Dana Salisbury, amongst other choreographers. She presented her early works at notable venues such as St. Mark’s Church Danspace, Dixon Place, and The Joyce Soho, amongst others. Much of this early work was in duet form in collaboration with her longtime dancing partner, Tasha Taylor. In 2000 she achieved an M.F.A. in Choreography from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana and afterwards was based in Chicago, IL where she founded her critically acclaimed Chicago-based  company, RTG Dance in 2007. From 2010-2014 she taught ballet, modern, jazz, and dance appreciation at Old Dominion University and Christopher Newport University in the Tidewater region of Virginia. Since returning to New York full time in 2014, she continues to create and present work via Rachel Thorne Germond Performance Collage. Her multidisciplinary performances incorporate dance, video, and photography. 

Visual Art
Originally from Rhode Island, and the daughter of two painters, Rachel Thorne Germond is a performer, dancer, teacher, choreographer, and visual artist. Her early training in art was at RISD summer school where her father was a professor. In 1986 she achieved a BFA in photography and printmaking at Cornell University's College of Architecture, Art and Planning. Based in New York City from 1986-1998, she presented her choreography at notable venues such as Danspace Project at St. Mark’s Church, Dixon Place, and Joyce Soho, among others. In 2000 she received an MFA in choreography from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana and soon after founded her Chicago-based company, RTG Dance. Since returning to New York in 2014, she has continued to perform and present multidisciplinary performances that incorporate visual art, dance, video, and photography. Germond currently lives and works between Brooklyn, NY and the Monadnock region of New Hampshire.

THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE
“She is a stern, unfancy, intellectually enticing artist, tough in her aesthetic.”
”Germond works in a purely abstract realm and yet mines subtle conflicts and animosities inherent in movement and ensemble configuration. She doesn’t tell stories, but she explores battles, alliances, break-ups and betrayals, rarely relying on the traditional beauties of flowing contemporary dance. Who her dancers are touching at any given moment and why are questions that keep recurring, just as the ever-changing patterns concern human will, control, isolation and even doom much more than aesthetic confection."
— Sid Smith, Dance Critic for The Chicago Tribune

“She evaluates her own choreographic voice in terms of an ‘element of tension and release’ that animates her performances. The goal is not just ‘beautiful movement’, but the tangible and powerful presentation of a message.”
— Jenaeth Higgins, Citylink

Rachel Thorne Germond Artistic Statement
In its commitment to bringing an original and contemporary vision to the public and to building appreciation for live performance, Rachel Thorne Germond: Performance Collage is dedicated to high standards of aesthetic innovation. It is our goal to convey through movement, text, and multi-media elements, a world-on-stage that is not dissimilar to everyday life, but which addresses aspects of fantasy, imagination, and memory within the context of the contemporary culture.

Rachel Thorne Germond Performance Collage (RTGDANCE NFP) values freedom of expression and creativity. Our Brooklyn-based company has a diverse audience that encompasses the greater New York City area and boroughs. The interdisciplinary and collaborative aspect of the work is appropriate for all ages. Ageism is addressed within the work itself, presenting work that includes dancers in their mid-20's to performers age 50+. We celebrate and strive to create work that attracts people from all backgrounds including race, citizen status, ancestry, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation, immigration status and gender identity.