Meet AXIS Dance Company's New Executive Director
May 1, 2018

Robin Anderson has been named executive director of AXIS Dance Company. She and AXIS artistic director Marc Brew (hired last year) replace founder and longtime executive/artistic director Judith Smith, who is stepping down due to health issues. Anderson has been with AXIS—an integrated-ability dance company in Oakland, California, that incorporates dancers with and without physical disabilities—as engagement director for the past three years.



Robin AndersonPhoto by David DeSilva (courtesy of AXIS)

Prior to her time with AXIS, she spent seven years as director at Alonzo King LINES Dance Center. Anderson says she plans to expand AXIS’ identity in Oakland by building and expanding corporate and nonprofit partnerships. “We want the city to acknowledge AXIS as a cultural jewel and entity of the city,” she says. “Corporations have so much to gain by associating themselves with the visual brand of this company, which is inclusion. We would love to see our images on billboards and public transportation. They are so powerful, and they show that movement can break down the barrier of difference.”

Anderson and Brew are also hoping to produce seasons globally, from New York City to the UK and more. “It’s important that the world sees our work. We are helping people accept dancers on their artistry rather than their disabilities,” she says.

AXIS wraps up its 30th-anniversary season with performances in San Francisco at the Z Space, May 4–6.

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