After layoff, Portland dancer turns website into popular collaboration space - OregonLive

One of the most popular pandemic websites for dancers — from appreciative amateurs to laid-off Broadway stars — isn’t an advice page from the CDC or a source for DIY mask patterns, but an online repository of classes and streaming performances created by a Portland dancer.

Katherine Disenhof launched dancingalonetogether.org three days after being furloughed by Portland’s top modern dance company, NW Dance Project. Almost immediately after leaving the studio with a stash of toilet paper, she noticed that friends and friends of friends were promoting dance-from-home classes on social media, as well as posting links to archived performances available online.

In just over three weeks, Disenhof’s project has netted 26,500 Instagram followers at @dancing.alone.together and more than 215,000 unique visitors at dancingalonetogether.org.

“That is a lot for a Squarespace site launched in a bedroom,” Disenhof said, laughing and sounding a bit shocked after she looked up the analytics.

“I was just trying to figure out ways to keep myself in shape, keep myself connected to people and keep up with my own social media networks,” Disenhof recalled.

“I figured, if I'm going to spend all this time trying to figure out what's out there, maybe I should just put it all in one place for people? That’s how this whole thing came about. … It’s been two-and-a-half weeks of crazy growth.”

Disenhof now receives more than 50 submissions via a Google form each day. Posts are filed under three categories: “Move,” classes ranging from Bollywood to ballet; “Create,” opportunities to share choreography; and “Watch,” streamable performances. Disenhof sorts through options and adds some herself, like the wildly popular daily Instagram Live classes with New York City Ballet principal dancer Tiler Peck.

“It’s not a perfect system,” Disenhof said. “There’s a lot of labor on my end. So many people are being affected by these closures, and there are so many dance professionals out there trying to either keep themselves motivated or actually trying to bring in some income to help themselves.”

Some teachers ask for donations or some receive in-kind compensation from dancewear companies like Aurora Skirts. Disenhof takes no commissions. Under the “About This Project” tab, Disenhof shares that she is a member of NW Dance Project “experiencing a temporary lay-off” and a freelance graphic designer. She also provides links so that those inclined can donate to her via Venmo or Paypal.

Scott Lewis, executive director of NW Dance Project, had the unfortunate task of laying off dancers and studio staff last month, 13 people in all.

“She is smart as a whip, and she’s very tech savvy,” Lewis said of the company’s online star. “I’m not surprised at all that this came from Katherine.”

Disenhof, 30, grew up dancing in the San Francisco Bay Area and trained at prestigious programs offered by Pacific Northwest Ballet, Boston Ballet and other companies. As she approached college, however, Disenhof shied away from ballet and entered Stanford University as a pre-med major, thinking of following her mother into medical school. Instead, Disenhof discovered modern dance. She earned an impressive double degree in dance and human biology. After five years as a graphic designer and freelance dancer in San Francisco, Disenhof auditioned for NW Dance Project and moved to Portland, where she says the small band of 10 dancers is like “a really great family.”

“We spend 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. in the studio together,” Disenhof said of the time before the coronavirus pandemic changed everything. “Not having the ability to experiment and play with each other in the studio and be creative together has really been hard. … We were launching into a pretty busy time and everything came to a screeching halt.”

The list of cancellations for NW Dance Project includes all spring studio classes, a March gala, the company’s “Rite of Spring” show scheduled for April 23-25 at the Newmark Theater and the June “Summer Splendors” performance at Lincoln Performance Hall.

The company is now facing around $400,000 in lost revenue, Lewis estimates. He and artist director Sarah Slipper expect to take salary cuts, but remain busy with rescheduling efforts and applying for grants. Lewis encouraged all dancers to file for unemployment, but they will continue to receive health insurance for the duration of their furloughs. “That will be my last penny,” Lewis said.

He’s optimistic, however, that NW Dance Project will not get that desperate. Oregon seems to be “managing the curve,” in terms of COVID-19 numbers and earlier this week, the company began offering a series of dance classes on Zoom for $5 a piece.

Registration links for the daily classes can be found—where else?— at dancingalonetogether.org. And while anyone in the world can sign up for “Rock Your Body” with company member Franco Nieto, Disenhof’s hope is that when congregating in studios is once again safe, she can pull the plug on her revolutionary website, and that new students who danced in their living rooms during the pandemic will be inspired to dance in public.

“I do you hope that when all is over, Dancing Alone Together will be completely irrelevant,” she said. “We can return to the studios feeling more connected, with a greater appreciation for dance.”

— Rebecca J. Ritzel, special to The Oregonian/OregonLive

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