By Steve Sucato
First season company dancer Teagan Reed (they/them) is a St. Petersburg, Florida native and started training and competing in Scottish Highland dance at age 12. Tea then trained in ballet at the Patricia Ann Dance Studio, attended the Boston Conservatory at Berklee and The Hubbard Street Professional Program in Chicago. Tea has been a freelance dance artist with Fukudance, Adam Weinert & Company, the A.R.T. at Harvard University, Dance in the Parks Chicago, and Aerial Dance Chicago. In 2021, Tea founded the inaugural pro.noun dance festival to help queer dance artists gather and create. Tea has also been a guest artist at Ballet22 and Walnut Hill School for the Arts, and a guest teacher at Mass Motion Dance, New England Youth Dance Exchange, HAVEN Sanctuary for Dance, and Chicago Movement Collective.
What are you most excited for during your GroundWorks debut season?
During my first season, I am most excited to learn about Cleveland and to engage with the arts community here. Ideally I would love to make friends with others passionate about arts education and therapy.
What makes you unique as an artist?
My artistry is unique because of my approach to dance as a holistic practice and my commitment to my values inside of the studio.
What do you want to contribute to GroundWorks?
My contribution to Groundworks will be through the exchange of ideals and histories that we both bring to each other in the spirit of collaboration.
When and why did you get into dance?
I first got into dance because I wanted to get out of my house, and the studio became a safe haven for me to feel comfortable and escape my day-to-day. I like to say dance actually saved my life. I feel like without this art form I would be a victim of my circumstances. Because of what my dance teachers (namely Patricia McNally and Doricha Sales) were able to do for me, I became empowered.
What are some of your initial impressions of Cleveland?
Shout out to Asia Town Center, Rising Star Coffee, and Cleveland Bagel because they have allowed me to feel comfortable and more at home since I moved here. Cleveland seems like a city I can see myself living in for quite awhile!
Throughout your time as a dancer, who has been the most influential choreographer you have worked with and why?
The most influential choreography I’ve been able to learn or perform are the pieces that I considered classics, and felt like my participation therein was part of a greater lineage. I greatly enjoyed performing in works like “How to Kick, Pass, Fall, & Run” by Merce Cunningham restaged by Andrea Weber, Jose Limón’s “A Choreographic Offering” restaged by Kurt Douglas, and Ted Shawn’s “Dance of the Ages” restaged by Adam Weinert at Jacob’s Pillow.
You founded the pro.noun dance festival in 2021, what is it and what is its mission?
The pro.noun dance festival is a yearly gathering of LGBTQIAP+ identifying dancers and dancemakers who are able to engage with each other via movement practices, intersectional and affirmative pedagogy, and many more topics that affect contemporary dance artists. This year the pro.noun dance festival will be held here in Cleveland with more details to come, please follow @pro.noundancefestival on Instagram to stay up to date!
You are GroundWorks Social Media Assistant, what do you feel makes engaging social media content?
I feel that engaging content comes from when a genuine moment is captured that people can relate too. I aim to use my position to authentically bring people into the studio and on stage with the company.
For more about Tea, visit teaganreed.com.