The Portland Dance Archives features oral histories and interviews with dancers, choreographers, designers, and critics active in Portland’s dance community.
The current entries focus on the Portland area contemporary dance community. Conducted by local dancer, filmmaker, and educator Eric Nordstrom, these interviews were gathered as part of his research for creating the documentary film Moving History: Portland Contemporary Dance Past and Present.
While only short segments of these interviews and clips could be included in the film itself, many of them appear in full here, ensuring that the voices and stories of these artists and observers will be preserved for future generations alongside their work.
The Portland Dance Archives also include streaming video of local dance performances. We invite members of the Portland dance community to contribute to the video collection and we welcome all dance forms, genres, and styles. If you would like to share a performance online in this collection, please contact us at specialcollections@pdx.edu or use our online submission form.
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Interview with Linda Austin (2015)
Linda Austin and Eric Nordstrom
Linda Austin, co-founder and director of Performance Works NorthWest in Portland, Oregon, has been making dance and performance since 1983. She was active in the dance and performance community in New York City during the 1980s, lived and worked in Mexico during the mid-1990s, and relocated to Portland, Oregon, in 1998, where she established PWNW and Linda Austin Dance.
Recorded for the documentary Moving History: Portland Contemporary Dance Past and Present
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Interview with Vaunda Carter (2016)
Vaunda Carter and Eric Nordstrom
Vaunda Carter developed the curriculum for modern dance instruction at Portland State College in the early 1960s. She was the first director of the Portland Dance Company, which incorporated in 1963. Many of Portland’s later dance companies were formed by dancers who studied with Carter at Portland State.
Recorded for the documentary Moving History: Portland Contemporary Dance Past and Present
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Interview with Catherine Evleshin (2015)
Catherine Evleshin and Eric Nordstrom
Dancer, choreographer, writer, folklorist, ethnographer, and performer Catherine Evleshin taught at Portland State University and established its Dance Department. She participated in the founding of the Portland Dance Theater and has worked internationally in a range of dance styles and forms.
Recorded for the documentary Moving History: Portland Contemporary Dance Past and Present
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Interview with Keith V. Goodman (2009)
Keith V. Goodman
Keith V. Goodman was a dancer, instructor, and prolific choreographer whose modern choreography was rooted in the folkloric dance traditions of the African diaspora. He taught young dancers in Portland public schools and served as artistic director for the contemporary dance company Dance Gatherer.
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Interview with Linda K. Johnson (2015)
Linda K. Johnson and Eric Nordstrom
Linda K. Johnson is a professional, dance-based multidisciplinary artist in Portland. Her career in dance includes performance, choreography, and instruction with numerous collaborators, studios, and programs including Portland State University, Reed College, the Oregon Ballet Theater, Jefferson High School, and Conduit.
Recorded for the documentary Moving History: Portland Contemporary Dance Past and Present.
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Interview with Carla Mann (2015)
Carla Mann and Eric Nordstrom
Carla Mann creates choreography for the stage, alternative sites, installations, and video. She has been a Professor of Dance at Reed College since 1995 and performs with Minh Tran & Company.
Recorded for the documentary Moving History: Portland Contemporary Dance Past and Present.
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Interview with Nancy Matschek Martino (2015)
Nancy Matschek Martino and Eric Nordstrom
Nancy Matschek Martino led the Dance Department at Portland State University from 1973 until 1992 and served as the administrative director of the Portland Ballet Company. Her work as a performer, choreographer, and educator is recognized for bringing national attention to Portland dance.
Recorded for the documentary Moving History: Portland Contemporary Dance Past and Present
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Interview with Tere Mathern (2015)
Tere Mathern and Eric Nordstrom
Tere Mathern is a native Oregonian who has been a teacher, choreographer, and performer for over 20 years. She founded an independent project-based company, Tere Mathern Dance, in 2002, and currently serves as an adjunct faculty member in Dance at Portland State University.
Recorded for the documentary Moving History: Portland Contemporary Dance Past and Present.
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Interview with Bonnie Merrill (2015)
Bonnie Merrill and Eric Nordstrom
Bonnie Merrill co-founded the Portland Dance Theater and has taught dance at Portland State University and Reed College. In 1994, she was the first individual dance artist to receive the Oregon’s Governor’s Award for the Arts.
Recorded for the documentary Moving History: Portland Contemporary Dance Past and Present.
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Interview with Josie Moseley (2015)
Josie Moseley and Eric Nordstrom
Josie Moseley is a dancer, choreographer, and educator who has created solo and group pieces for international audiences for over 25 years. She has been on the faculty of the Portland Ballet since 2012.
Recorded for the documentary Moving History: Portland Contemporary Dance Past and Present.
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Interview with Mary Oslund (2016)
Mary Oslund and Eric Nordstrom
Mary Oslund bases her performance and teaching work in Portland, Oregon, where she has served on the faculties of Reed College, Lewis & Clark College, and Portland State University. She founded and directed Dance Works Studio in Eugene, Oregon and now co-directs the Conduit studio in Portland.
Recorded for the documentary Moving History: Portland Contemporary Dance Past and Present.
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Interview with Judy Patton (2018)
Judy Patton and Eric Nordstrom
Judy Patton is Professor Emerita of Dance, Department of Theater and Film, Portland State University.
She was interviewed by Eric Nordstrom for his documentary Moving History: Portland Contemporary Dance Past and Present.
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Interview with Carolyn Stuart & Patrick Gracewood (2015)
Carolyn Stuart, Patrick Gracewood, and Eric Nordstrom
Carolyn Stuart has been inspired by and dedicated to contact improvisation since 1984. Her research and creativity in the art of improvising in contact has spanned seventeen countries, hundreds of projects, and diverse populations.
Recorded for the documentary Moving History: Portland Contemporary Dance Past and Present.
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Interview with Minh Tran (2015)
Minh Tran and Eric Nordstrom
A dancer, choreographer, and teacher, Minh Tran immigrated to the United States in 1980 as a political refugee. His work has been performed throughout the western United States, at Dance Theatre Workshop in New York, and in Thailand, Indonesia, and Vietnam. Tran is currently a Visiting Associate Professor in Dance at Reed College and a board member for White Bird, a contemporary dance presenting organization in Portland.
Recorded for the documentary Moving History: Portland Contemporary Dance Past and Present.
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Interview with Pat Wong (2016)
Pat Wong and Eric Nordstrom
Pat Wong is a dancer and educator. She was a founding member of the Portland Dance Theater and a faculty member in the Dance department at Reed College.
Recorded for the documentary Moving History: Portland Contemporary Dance Past and Present.