about

New Direction

In 2023 Amelia Rudolph is launching a fresh platform for her work after giving the leadership of BANDALOOP to a new generation. Harnessing her artistry and nonprofit leadership experience, she will contribute to a broad community within the performing arts field and develop cross-sector collaborations. She is especially interested in the activation of natural and built spaces, climate resiliency, and international collaborations that support cultural understanding and social justice. Her artistic aperture is wide open to new influences, unlikely pairings, and novel ways that vertical dance and the performing arts as well as cross-sector collaborations can positively impact our understanding of the world and what we imagine is possible.

Headshot of Amelia Rudolph, shading her eyes against the sun

Amelia focuses on art’s transformational and restorative nature to initiate a shift of perspective and ignite a sense of possibility. A dancer-athlete, choreographer, filmmaker, and public speaker, Amelia is best known as the founder of the dance company BANDALOOP. Since 1991 her award-winning work has been on the vanguard of innovation in dance, fusing post-modern movement, rock climbing technology, and a spirit of adventure. It has been seen by thousands in live performances and by millions through various media formats.

Particular to her career are the dances she has directed in technical mountain environments, from an 18-day traverse of the Sierra mountains to a six-day climb of the 3,000’ cliff El Capitan in Yosemite, CA. Her collaborative process involves site-responsive practices, experiential learning, and community engagement, often focusing on social justice and environmental stewardship. Amelia holds bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Comparative Religion from Swarthmore College and the Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, and in 2021 was awarded an honorary doctorate from 17, Instituto de Estudios Críticos, Mexico City. She has received dozens of grants, fellowships, and commissions, is a recent CORO fellow, and serves on several boards in the field of the performing arts.

“Amelia is a national treasure, and BANDALOOP is one of the most exciting performing groups in the world today.”

Michael Macy, Former Senior Foreign Service, U.S. Department State

Selected Sites

Click below to view a selection of sites where I have worked.
NATURE

El Capitan, Yosemite, CA
Buttermilks, Bishop, CA
Medlicott Dome, Yosemite, CA
Wild Cat Point, Yosemite, CA
Lembert Dome, Yosemite, CA
Mountain location near Trento, Italian Dolomites
Nanda Devi Sanctuary, India
Santa Monica Mountains, CA
Mountain location near Jackson, WY
Mountain location near Denver, CO
Yosemite Falls and Lost Arrow Spire, Yosemite, CA
Rostrum, Yosemite, CA
Muir Beach, CA
Point Doom, CA

URBAN

Seattle Space Needle in Seattle, WA
The IFC Tower, Seoul, South Korea
The LIC Tower, Connaught Place, New Delhi, India
The New York Stock Exchange, New York, NY
San Francisco International Airport, CA
The Barents Crane, Kirkenes, Norway
Kennedy Center, Washington, DC
Wang Center, Boston, MA
Water Tower, Soweto, South Africa
Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Rovereto, Italy
One Financial Center, Providence, RI
The Salt Lake City Public Library, Utah (x4)
City Hall, Houston, Texas
City Hall, Los Angeles, CA (x2)
City Hall, Oakland, CA (x5)
City Hall, San Francisco, CA
The Old Post Office, Washington, DC
Torre Administrativa de Gobierno, Monterrey, Mexico
Bank of Montreal, Calgary, Canada
20 Martin Place, Sydney Australia
Louis Vuitton, New York, NY
The Fallon Tower on Fan Pier, Boston, MA
Hall Arts Tower, Dallas, TX
The Art Institute, Chicago, IL
Le stade de l’amitié Arena, Libreville, Gabon, Africa
The Jin’Ang Tower, Shanghai, China
The Ed Sullivan Theater, New York, NY
Torre Lamberti,Verona,Italy
Meany Hall, UW, Seattle, WA
The National Pavilion of Portugal, Lisbon, Portugal
Segerstrom Hall, Costa Mesa, CA
The Vasco da Gama Tower, Lisbon, Portugal
Fondation Cartier, Paris, France
The Calatrava Sundial Bridge, Redding, CA
The Senado Square post Office, Macao, China
The “Eiffel Tower” of Paris, Las Vegas, NV
Golconda Fort, Hyderabad, India
The Venetian, Las Vegas, NV
St. Giorgio Castle, Mantova, Italy
The Venetian, Macao, China
Cathedral Principal in Campeche and Puebla, Mexico
The Four Seasons, Mumbai, India
The National Museum, Singapore
The JW Marriott at LA LIVE, Los Angeles, CA
The Maui Performing Arts Center, Maui, HI
Hilton Towers, Portland, OR
UC Berkeley, Sather Tower, Campanile, Berkeley, CA
EDGE at Hudson Yards, New York, NY

CV

Click below to view content.
Selected Awards
  • MAP Fund, 2023
  • Honorary Doctorate from 17, Institute for Critical Studies, Mexico City, Mexico
  • National Endowment for the Arts, Annual support 1995–2021
  • William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, ongoing support, 2014-2019
  • Gerbode Foundation, Choreographer Commissioning Award, 2014
  • Rainin Foundation, 2010, 2015
  • Wattis Foundation, 2011
  • Mellon Foundation, through University of Washington, 2017
  • Creative Work Fund, 2000
  • National Dance Project, 2002
  • Creative Capital, 2000
  • Doris Duke Charitable Trust, James Irvine Foundation, Engaging Dance Audiences Grant
  • James Irvine Foundation, Fellow, 1999/2000
  • Lewis and Clark Bicentennial Commission, 2002, with the Myrna Loy Center – Helena, Montana
  • Face of America Commission, Wolftrap National Park for the Performing Arts, 2000
  • Apollo Theater commissioned new work 2023 in collaboration with Daniel Bernard Roumain (aka DBR) and Melecio Estrella
Professional

Movement Artist: 2023–present

Founder, BANDALOOP:

  • 1991- 2011, Executive Director
  • 1991-2020, Artistic Director
  • 1991-present, Board member
  • 2020-present Director of Special Projects

Professional Development Team, Creative Capital, 2006-2010
Board member, Dance USA, 2014–16
Award Jury, San Francisco Dance Film Festival, 2019
Board member, Robert Moses Kin, 2023 to present

Selected Speaker Engagements
  • SXSW, 2019
  • New York Health and Hospitals, 2019
  • TEDxYosemite, 2015
  • TEDxSonoma, 2014
  • Applied Brilliance, 2001
  • Innovative Thinking Conference
Selected Works

Created over 20 major works and 100 dances, including site-responsive work in nature and urban spaces, as well as theater work over thirty years.

SELECTED WORK WITH BANDALOOP

  • Strings, 2018: Theatrical work in collaboration with Gabriel Prokofiev, an award-winning UK based composer. Toured internationally.
  • Shift, 2018: Award-winning dance film made in Yosemite, Music by Mark Orton, co-directed with Rachael Lincoln
  • PublicCanvas, 2016: vertical dance work that merges site-responsive community stories, music, imagery and movement into a large-scale free public performance on a building. Toured nationally.
  • Harboring, 2013: A moving site-specific piece made at Fort Mason, SF, music by Mark Orton, Ben Juoldvalkis and set by Todd Laby. Toured nationally.
  • Bound(less), 2011, Large scale vertical evening-length work with music by Dana Leon and set by Todd Laby. Toured internationally.
  • Crossing, 2001,2015, Traveling dance piece over the Sierra Nevada, Music by Zachary Carrettin and Raymond Granlund in 2001 West to East over 17 days, and by Mark Orton for the resulting film Shift, 2015, East to West over 8 days.
  • Interiors, 2007, Theater work. Set, Todd Laby
  • LOFT!, 2008, Theater work
  • Indecent Exposure, 1993, Site-responsive piece 400 feet up on El Capitan, Yosemite, CA
  • Peregrine Dreams, 1997, a SIX DAY, FIVE NIGHT ASCENT and dance of El Capitan, Yosemite, CA
Selected Corporate Clients
  • Disney
  • IBM
  • Toyota
  • CISCO
  • Westfield
  • Hermes
  • Armani
  • Hilton
  • Venetian Hotels
  • LaFuma Sumco
Education

University of Chicago High School, Hyde Park Chicago
Woodstock School, Mussoorie, UP, India (two years)
BA with Honors, Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, PA
Independent study, Swarthmore College, New Delhi, India, under Joan Erdman
MA with distinction, Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, CA

Dance Training

Ruth Page School of Ballet 1975-78
School of the Hubbard Street Dance Co. 1979-1984
Swarthmore Dance Department 1982-1986
Independent Study
UCLA, Brad Stohler, Naropa Institute, Nancy Stark Smith
Technical training: Lou Conte, Clay Taliaferro, Claire Bataille, Kathleen Hermesdorf, Hama, Krissy Keefer, Joan Lazarus, Randee Paufve, Melecio Estrella, Mo Minor, Sally Streets

Collaborators

Rachael Lincoln

Juan Leiba

Chantal McCormick

Daniel Bernard Roumain

Roel Seeber

Collaborators Biographies
Rachael Lincoln

Rachael Lincoln is a director, dancer, and dance filmmaker with a strong affinity for collaboration. Her duet work with Leslie Seiters has spanned two decades and she is in her 8th year practicing and performing with the Seattle-based improvisation collective, AVID. Lincoln has been a performer and an associate director with BANDALOOP since 1998, dancing site-specifically on vertical surfaces and in traditional theaters around the world. She has also had the pleasure of working with other celebrated dance-makers including Joe Goode, Jo Kreiter, Bebe Miller, Sara Shelton Mann, and Nancy Stark Smith.

She is currently working on a new evening-length work with Seiters and a trilogy funded by a Mellon Faculty Fellowship with actor/director Jeffrey Fracé. Her work has been presented in Germany, Poland, Portugal, Cyprus, Indonesia, and Ireland, and throughout the US. Rachael holds an MFA from UCLA’s department of World Arts and Cultures and is an Associate Professor in the Department of Dance at the University of Washington.

Juan Leiba

Juan Leiba currently carries out his role as Artistic Director and founder of Nueveochenta
Aerial Dance Company and the Vuela Danza Aérea School, an aerial dance company in which
he is a choreographer and performer. As an artist, he has gained extensive experience
working in dance companies that gave his the opportunity to create and co-choreograph, as
was the case with IJAD Dance Company (London), Orphaned Limbs Collective (Wales),
Brenda Angiel Aerial Dance Company (Argentina), among others.

Juan Leiba lleva a cabo su rol actualmente como Director artístico de la escuela Vuela
Danza Aérea y fundador de Nueveochenta Aerial Dance Company, en la cual es coreógrafoe intérprete. Como artista ha obtenido una amplia experiencia trabajando en compañías de
danza que le dieron la oportunidad de crear y co-coreografiar como fue el caso de IJAD Dance
Company (Londres), Orphaned Limbs Collective (Gales), Brenda Angiel Aerial Dance Company
(Argentina), entre otros.

Chantal McCormick

Chantal trained at the London School of Contemporary Dance and became interested in aerial circus after graduating. She toured with established dance and circus companies in the UK touring to Trinidad, Europe and Australia from 1999-2008 including Scarabeus Theatre with whom she started her circus career. Chantal loves creating using her contemporary dance, contact dance and theatre skills and enjoys finding ways to bring them into the air, using anything to climb or fly on.

In 1998 Chantal co-founded FIDGET FEET Aerial Dance Theatre, Ireland’s leading aerial dance company with whom she directs, choreographs, and performs. Since 1998 she has directed many shows including, ‘I Cant Handle me’, ‘Remember Her’, ‘ Wired and Free’,‘ Fairies Tale’, ‘Raw’, ‘ Hang on’, ‘Catch me’, ‘Fire Birds’, ‘The Elves and the Shoemaker’ ‘Cinder & the Ellas’, ‘Dreams under my Feet’, ‘Sky Dance’, ‘Hatch’ and Co- choreographed FF ‘s first early years show ‘Strange feathers’ with Icelandic partner Bird & Bat while also choreographing ‘The Second Coming’, with Mikel Murfi as director mixing Irish dancing with aerial. She choreographed and performed in ‘Bingo Wings’ Directed by Jo Mangan, an award-winning Circus Theatre production. In 2021 she directed ‘A Handful of Dreams’ a new outdoor aerial dance show with traditional Irish music and dance.

Since then she has created and directed ‘House!’ now touring in its third year, and ‘When the Moon Spun Round’ currently finishing its first tour in 2023.

Daniel Bernard Roumain

Daniel Bernard Roumain (DBR) is a Black, Haitian-American composer who sees composing as collaboration with artists, organizations, and communities within the farming and framing of ideas. He is a prolific and endlessly collaborative composer, performer, educator, and social entrepreneur. “About as omnivorous as a contemporary artist gets” (New York Times), Roumain has worked with artists from J’Nai Bridges, Lady Gaga and Philip Glass to Bill T. Jones, Marin Alsop and Anna Deavere Smith.

Roel Seeber

Roel Seeber is an Oakland-based dancer and artist. For the past thirteen year he has dedicated himself to Vertical Dance or rope and harness-based dancing primarily with Bay Area vertical dance pioneer BANDALOOP. With BANDALOOP he has toured and performed in North America, Europe, Asia, Australia and Africa in the role of dancer, soloist, staging director, and master teacher. Memorable performances include the opening of the Africa’s cup in Gabon, the 2016 American Music Awards with P!NK, and for the opening of The Edge in his home town of New York City right before the world shut down due to Covid 19.

Before BANDALOOP, Roel danced with The Límon dance company for seven years under the direction of Carla Maxwell, performing master works by José Límon including the Moor’s Pavane as well as works by choreographers including Doris Humphrey Lar Lubovitch, Jiří Kylián, Donald McKayle, Neta Pulvermacher and others.

Roel graduated cum laude with a BFA from Purchase College, State University of New York, and a masters of fine arts from the University of Washington. He first fell in love with dancing through contact improvisation and studied from amazing teachers, including Julie Kane, K.J. Holmes, Martin Keogh and others. 

Banner photo – Derrick Lindsay