Background

 GroundWorks Dancetheater is a professional organization, founded in 1998, dedicated to the development and presentation of new choreography that encourages collaboration with other art disciplines.  The work will embrace economy and flexibility in all areas as catalysts for stretching the parameters of how and where dance is shown.  GroundWorks will develop programs that encourage understanding of dance and how it is created.  It will work to build new audiences for dance, seek opportunities to cost-effectively share resources and create with other artistic organizations. 

Through the realization of its goals, GroundWorks Dancetheater will advance the vision of its artistic director and founder David Shimotakahara.  The organization will also continue to advance the work begun by New Steps.  Mr. Shimotakahara co-founded this independent project in 1989 to find ways to help professional dancers who had made a serious commitment to the process of choreography.  Under his direction, from 1989 to 1997, New Steps spurred the creative development of dozens of emerging choreographers and promoted the importance of a supportive and diverse dance community in Northeast Ohio. 

As Artistic Director, Mr. Shimotakahara brings to GroundWorks Dancetheater experience as Director, Producer and contributing Choreographer with the New Steps project.  He is also known to the regional and national dance community as an acclaimed performing member of Heinz Poll’s Ohio Ballet for the past fifteen years.  In his capacity as Ohio Ballet Rehearsal Assistant from 1990 to 1999 he helped maintain a repertory of over thirty ballets.  As a choreographer, Mr. Shimotakahara has contributed three works to Ohio Ballet’ s repertory.  He has been awarded Ohio Arts Council Individual Fellowships for both 1996 and 1998.  In 1998, he is also the recipient of a McKnight Fellowship from the Minnesota Dance Alliance to create new work in the Minneapolis, St. Paul communities.  Mr. Shimotakahara won the 2000 Cleveland Arts Prize for Dance.