Todd Rhoades
Biography
I received my BFA in Dance from Point Park University and my MFA in Dance from the University of Iowa. Throughout my career, I have danced professionally across the United States with various dance, theater, and opera companies. I began as a guest artist with Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre and went on to perform soloist roles with Ballet Austin, working under choreographers such as George Balanchine, Stephen Mills, David Nixon, David Parsons, and Septime Webre. I also performed with Luna Negra Dance Theater, Danzloop Chicago, The Seldoms, and Ron de Jesus Dance Theater. As a Principal Dancer with the Lyric Opera of Chicago for over twelve years, I collaborated with international choreographers and directors, including Lucinda Childs, Tim Clayton, Phillipe Girardeau, Wayne McGregor, Lynn Page, and Daniel Pelzig. My theater credits include performances at the Paramount Theatre (Aurora, IL), the Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire, Drury Lane Oakbrook, the Tennessee Williams Festival in Provincetown, MA, the MUNY in St. Louis, and The Goodman Theatre in Chicago.
In addition to performing, I have choreographed for numerous professional dance companies and institutions, including Trifecta Dance Collective, Nomi Dance Theatre, Inaside Chicago Dance, Project Bound Dance, Chicago Dance in the Parks, Finger Lakes Opera/New York State Ballet, New Orleans Opera/New Orleans Ballet, Des Moines Metro Opera, Paramount Theatre (Aurora, IL), Music Theater Works (Wilmette, IL), Lifeline Theatre (Chicago, IL), The Theatre School at DePaul University, University of Michigan (Opera, Theater, Dance Departments), and the University of Iowa (Department of Dance). My choreographic works have been showcased at the Trifecta Dance Festival (Chicago, IL, in 2020) and the Iowa Dance Festival (The James Theater - Iowa City, IA, in 2022; Grinnell College - Grinnell, IA, in 2024).
As an instructor, I have taught movement in various forms for over twenty years, including dance (ballet, jazz, modern, contemporary), Pilates, yoga, and functional exercise/injury prevention. I have been on faculty at The Theatre School at DePaul University, Hollins University, the University of Iowa - Department of Dance, Ballet Austin Academy, The Youth Ballet at the University of Iowa, and has been a guest instructor for Inaside Chicago Dance, Thodos Dance Chicago, Chicago School of the Arts. I also served as the private yoga and Pilates instructor for the touring cast of Cirque du Soleil’s *Luzia*.
In my administrative roles, I served as the Development Director of Chicago-based contemporary company Para.Mar Dance Theater and as the Assistant Director of the University of Iowa Dance Company. I am a recipient of the Iowa Arts Fellowship, the University of Iowa Arts Research Grant, and the City of Chicago’s Year in Theater Scriptwriting Grant.
I am committed to sharing my knowledge and experience with others and am a proud member of several unions, including the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society (SDC), Actors’ Equity Association (AEA), American Guild of Musical Artists (AGMA), and Campaign to Organize Graduate Students (COGS). I am also a member of Director’s Lab Chicago and the National Dance Education Organization (NDEO).
Artistic Statement
I am a hybrid artist, blending the disciplines of dance, choreography, and theater. My artistic practice is grounded in bravery, integrity, and curiosity. My mission is to connect individuals by sharing honest stories, exploring original and experimental forms of self-expression, and creating spaces of acceptance and trust for all. My work is deeply inspired by queer performance artists, LGBTQ advocates of the 1980s, and all those who refuse to be diminished and silenced.
My current work engages in a dialogue with the outcast LGBTQ Christian community, drawing from my own experiences as a queer gay man growing up in the 80s and 90s. Through this project, I explore the intersection of gay identity within Christianity, seeking to release and uncover the emotions and experiences stored in the physical body. Living as a "closeted" gay man often involves hiding and stifling natural responses. I focus on the embedded emotions of gay men within the Christian community, recognizing that the ongoing buildup of these emotions is never eased, only awaiting release.
I pose several critical questions: When this physical release of emotions occurs, how does it manifest and show itself to others? How is it transformed and perceived? What happens when we are told to be quiet, adhere to gender norms, "suck it up," and "stay in the closet"? These suppressed thoughts, feelings, and energies eventually seek expression. As gay men, when we allow old memories and emotions to be released, what is the physical embodiment? How is it shown through movement?
My approach to this research involves excavating the physical epistemology of my own body. Through this process, I examine the hegemony of the conservative Christian value system, finding parallels between the orthodoxy of dance and religion. Just as there is a codified technique in dance—from classical ballet to modern styles like Graham, Dunham, Horton, and Laban—there is a structured doctrine in conservative Christianity. Drawing from my extensive training and performance experience, I break away from these conformities to create a new movement vocabulary for my choreography. This juxtaposition of angles, spirals, twisting, and oppositional stretching reflects the disruption and disintegration of conservative Christian ideology and learned behaviors. My movement vocabulary is informed not only by modern dance and ballet but also by somatic practices such as yoga and Pilates, and theater. I translate my visceral responses into movement inspired by these practices.
To stimulate content, I use childhood and adolescent tokens, scriptures, personal journals, and photos to revisit and re-remember these memories. By delving deeper into the emotions deposited in my body, I aim to heal parts of my heart and gain an enhanced understanding of myself and my relationships with God, the Christian community, and my family. Through sharing this research, I hope other gay men can fully embrace themselves—mind, body, and spirit—and that the Christian community can become more accepting and open.
My embodied storytelling allows me to connect with a broad audience, beyond the LGBTQ community. A mentor once told me, “by being more specific in your storytelling, you can connect to a greater audience.” Through choreography, performance art, and theatricality, I create a vulnerable space that moves the audience through a cathartic experience. I aim to convey that no one is alone and that, indeed, “it does get better.” There is a universality in the human experience of needing to feel connected and accepted.
