Keith A. Thompson

Studio / workshop process (photo credit TK forthcoming). Photo credit: Phil Dera

Choreographer • Performer • Educator

Keith A. Thompson is an internationally respected choreographer, performer, and educator whose work has shaped contemporary dance practice for more than three decades. His choreography is widely recognized for its intellectual rigor, emotional clarity, and understated theatrical power offering audiences experiences that are precise, humane, and deeply resonant.

We are pleased to make select works and commissions by Keith A. Thompson available for presentation. His body of work reflects a sustained commitment to research-driven,  interdisciplinary dance-making that treats movement as a form of inquiry, memory, and authorship rather than display.

Artist Inquiry

danceTactics performance group

danceTactics performance group Founded and directed by Keith A. Thompson, danceTactics is a contemporary dance performance group dedicated to research-driven choreography, interdisciplinary collaboration, and works that center care, authorship, and cultural memory. danceTactics performance group range from *intimate ensemble works to modular repertory programs adaptable for theaters, festivals, conferences, and university residencies.*

Presenter Notes

Keith A. Thompson’s work is designed for maximum flexibility across presenting contexts, including theaters, universities, festivals, museums, and interdisciplinary conferences.

  • Repertory performances
  • Commissioned works
  • Multi-day residencies
  • Animated demonstrations
  • Community engagement activities
  • Master classes and workshops

Each engagement can be *tailored to support audience dialogue, educational programming, and cross-disciplinary exchange.* Available for repertory presentations, festivals, and multi-day residencies.

danceTactics performance group Directed by Keith A. Thompson. Photo credit: Phil Dera

Keith A. Thompson: Choreographic Statement

My choreographic practice is rooted in research-driven, interdisciplinary dance-making that approaches movement as a site of inquiry, memory, and responsibility. I create works that invite audiences into intimate, carefully structured environments where meaning unfolds through presence, accumulation, and sustained attention rather than spectacle. 

My choreography frequently draws from archival materialsletters, text, oral histories, and cultural recordswhich I translate into embodied scores. These scores foreground relationship, lineage, and lived experience, allowing history to be felt rather than illustrated. Performers are active collaborators whose physical intelligence and interpretive agency shape each work, resulting in performances that are precise yet alive, rigorous yet porous.

My process emphasizes clarity and restraint. Through task-based explorations, improvisational structures, and refined compositional frameworks, I craft works that are emotionally resonant and formally coherent. Close attention is paid to rhythm, breath, spatial design, and silence. Minimal scenographic elements allow the body itself to carry narrative and affect, creating works that are adaptable across venues and responsive to diverse audiences.

Conceptually, my work centers care, authorship, and the often-unseen labor behind cultural production particularly within Black histories and intergenerational relationships. For presenters, these projects offer audiences a reflective, embodied experience that fosters deep listening and connection, while remaining technically flexible and well-suited for dialogue, post-show engagement, and
educational framing.

Artistic Focus: Queer Lineage, Care, & Cultural Labor

In 2026, Keith A. Thompsons work continues a deeply grounded and life-affirming exploration of LGBT realities within creative and academic communities. His choreography approaches queer experience not as spectacle or abstraction, but as lived practice foregrounding* care, mentorship, intergenerational exchange, and the ethical responsibilities of visibility.

Through movement, text, and collaborative process, his work reflects the ways LGBT artists and thinkers build knowledge, sustain cultural labor, and create kinship across institutional and informal spaces. This exploration is marked by generosity, clarity, and rigor, offering audiences work that is both politically resonant and emotionally sustaining.

Repertoire Available (Selected)

Axioms Between Frames in Time

Ensemble work (4 performers | 25 min)
Explores perception, relational timing, and spatial tension through interlocking movement structures.

Transient Relations Adj Fleeting

Ensemble work (7–9 performers | 16 min)
An ensemble work examining impermanence and connection through shifting proximities, brief encounters, and dissolving movement patterns.

Undeniable Traits

Ensemble work (3 performers | 15 min)
A research-driven work drawing on embodied memory and
shared histories to examine lineage, identity, and presence.

danceTactics Repertory Selections

Curated excerpts and full-length works adaptable for festivals, universities, and conference settings.

New Commissions

Available for original creation, residencies, and collaborative commissions with dance companies, universities, and interdisciplinary presenters.

Biography

Keith A. Thompson is a multifaceted contemporary dance artist currently serving as Assistant Director of Dance and Professor in the School of Music, Dance and Theatre at Arizona State University, as well as the inaugural Faculty Fellow of ASU’s Center for the Study of Race and Democracy.

He danced internationally with the Trisha Brown Dance Company from 1992–2001, including serving as Rehearsal Assistant to Trisha Brown from 1998–2001. He has also performed with Bebe Miller Company and is a frequent performer, co-choreographer, and rehearsal director with Liz Lerman.

As an educator, Thompson has taught master classes and workshops throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia, and has served on faculty at the American Dance Festival and the Florida Dance Festival. Since 2006, he has been the Artistic Director of danceTactics performance group, where his choreography has been presented at La MaMa Experimental Theater Club, Dance New Amsterdam, Dixon Place, the Dance Now Festival, Harvard University, University of Maryland College Park, the Montpelier International Dance Festival (France), the Edinburgh Festival (UK), Theater X (Japan), and numerous national and international conferences and festivals. danceTactics performance group is also featured on the cover of Performing Arts Yearbook for 2026.

Keith A. Thompson received his MFA Research Fellowship in Dance from Bennington College in 2003.

Residencies, Education & Community Engagement

  • danceTactics repertory performances
  • Creation of new commissioned works
  • Repertory transmission for student or professional companies
  • Master classes in research-driven movement practice
  • Animated demonstrations on choreography and interdisciplinary research
  • Public dialogues on race, authorship, and embodied knowledge

Photo credit: Phil Dera

Technical & Touring Notes

Keith A. Thompson travels with one or two assistants, depending on the length of the work, the size of the company, and the scope of rehearsal or residency activities. Works are designed with technical flexibility in mind and can be adapted to a range of venues.

Accommodation: 2–3 rooms for accommodation (2–3 persons) for Choreographic Residency engagements to include breakfast; King rooms with WiFi and 24-hour gym access.

Why Presenters Book Keith A. Thompson

  • Internationally respected choreographer with 30+ years of practice
  • Flexible touring works adaptable to multiple venue sizes
  • Strong integration of performance, education, and dialogue
  • Proven success in universities, festivals, and interdisciplinary conferences
  • Engages audiences through research, history, and embodied storytelling
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