DANCE IS THE MEDIUM, SHARING STORIES IS THE ART.

Gavin Stewart and Vanessa Owen, a husband and wife duo, are the co-founders of Western North Carolina based Stewart/Owen Dance, where they are dedicated to building a sustainable community for professional dance artists to set roots and share stories.

Stewart and Owen's choreography has been presented by festivals and companies across the U.S., and their careers have most notably taken them across the globe on fifteen U.S. State Department tours to teach, perform and choreograph contemporary dance with Washington D.C. based Company E. In 2017 they made North Carolina their home base where they work to cultivate the craft of storytelling through movement. They are passionate cross-genre collaborators, incorporating work from local writers, musicians and filmmakers. They have choreographed music videos for artists such as Moses Sumney, Sylvan Esso and Ben Phantom.

ST/OW won the Audience Choice Award at the NYC Dance Gallery Festival 2018, were commissioned as Dance Gallery 2019 Level UP Artists, are recipients of a McDowell Regional Artist Project Grant, a North Carolina Artist Support Grant and were voted "Artists Who Most Pushed the Boundaries with the Human Body" by 2020 Asheville Fringe Arts Festival. Since the pandemic, they have focused on producing COVID-conscious dance experiences for live audiences, including drive-up performances and guided walk-along dance exhibits presented by Asheville’s beloved Wortham Center for the Performing Arts.

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ST/OW works in partnership with Wortham Center for the Performing Arts, local school districts and regional YMCA programs to provide access to community dance classes within Western North Carolina. They believe dance has a distinct ability to heal, inspire and connect individuals from all backgrounds and experiences.

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