Meet Michelle Grady of Rogue Dance Theater in Gilbert/Mesa

Today we’d like to introduce you to Michelle Grady.

Michelle, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
What began as a Kickstarter campaign to create one full length show, Rogue Dance Theater, Inc. has since launched a non-profit, contemporary dance company now in its third season. After successfully creating The Salem Witch Trials and Cleopatra, Rogue Dance has begun new work on the famous Agatha Christie novel And Then There Were None, the inspiration for the board game Clue. Our show will take the stage at the Mesa Arts Center August 9th – 12th. We are so pleased to say we will definitely be continuing to create more productions in the future!

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
This journey has been anything but smooth haha! We nearly didn’t have a show our first season because of an insurance issue. Before the second season our bank account was a victim of check fraud and they took everything. We had to start a GoFundMe just to get the season going. Then, we lost our costume designer and I had to stay up day and night trying to finish the costumes in time for the show. Thankfully, my grandmother still knew her way around a sewing machine, so it was good bonding time for us.

That being said, it has still somehow all been worth it.

Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Rogue Dance Theater, Inc. – what should we know?
Rogue specializes in turning classic written work and historical figures into full-length dance productions. I create the shows and my partner Jacody Bullard choreographs them. I am most proud of how well my dancers tell stories. Not all dancers can act, but here it’s a requirement. The story is more important than how high your leg can go, although I love a nice line.

We are only in our third season and I’ve been told our audience looks forward to our large group scenes where everyone is dancing in unison. They are well rehearsed and professional and it shows when they dance together as one.

Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
There are waaaaaay too many people that deserve credit for how far we’ve come! Everyone who has supported our Kickstarter, anyone who donated and came to our fundraiser performance last season. The first person I called when I decided I wanted to create a show was Frances Cohen, the director of Center Dance Ensemble. She had so much helpful advice from the get go. I owe her a lot for that phone call. Melissa Cesarano, the former director of Gravity Jazz Dance Theatre has been there from the beginning. Every show she and Danny Trujillo come to our preview and give us feedback from beginning to end; character development, storyline inconsistencies, song choices, prop choices, etc. They are so knowledgeable when it comes to theater that their feedback has been essential to our success. This season Melissa is also our costume designer.

All of the dancers in the company who have stuck with us since the beginning are dreams come true. The first show Jacody and I really didn’t know how to organize a rehearsal schedule. We really just winged everything and the dancers were so incredibly patient! I still thank them for that.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.roguedancetheater.org
• Email: www.roguedancetheaterinc@gmail.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/roguedancetheater/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RogueDanceTheater/

Image Credit:
Michael Simon Photography

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