COMPANY
Shades Dance Theater is in a project-based phase of growth, a model most dance companies begin with. Dancers join for defined seasons or works, perform with the company for a year, and may return for future projects. The cast is composed of freelance dance artists from a range of artistic and cultural backgrounds. Together, the cast carries each production and season of repertory, pushing the company and its work forward through new creations and innovation.
2026 company
THIS IS NOT A REVIVAL. THIS IS THE RETURN.
“THE RETURN” - The Return marks a clear shift for Shades Dance Theater as the company claims its place as the next generation of American dance theater. After five years of creating, touring, and refining its artistic voice, the company returns with greater clarity, confidence, and intention.
This season reflects a moment of alignment—where the work, the company, and its public presence come into focus. The Return is the company’s first full mainstage production since 2024, following a year of smaller engagements and community-centered appearances in Atlanta in 2025.
In 2026, the company returns home with a new cast and an evening of world premieres. New works span a wide stylistic range—from jazz swing in HARLAN to rhythm-driven choreography set to the music of Jay-Z—continuing the company’s tradition of blending musical lineage, technical rigor, and contemporary storytelling.
2024 COMPANY
“MIXTAPES” - Mixtapes marked the company’s second annual tour to Atlanta and a period of increased choreographic and technical demand, led by the company’s move into the Kennesaw State University Dance Theater. This season reflected a maturing production scale and greater theatrical precision.
The cast premiered new works alongside expanded audience favorites, including The Elements, Angels Dancing at the Gates of Heaven, and Mount Ephraim. Works introduced in earlier seasons returned here with heightened technical clarity and structural depth, demonstrating how the repertory continues to evolve through revisitation and expansion.
2023 company
The cast premiered now-signature works including Mr. & Mr. Poppy, Naughty Naughty, and Cameron Terry’s emotional neoclassical pas de deux, Kissing You. Pointe work and movement ideas first explored in earlier seasons came into fuller focus here, marking a visible evolution in the company’s style.
This production represented Shades Dance Theater’s first major touring milestone and established a lasting relationship with Atlanta audiences.
“LOVE, FANTASY & EUPHORIA” - This marked a turning point for Shades Dance Theater, signaling a shift in the company’s energy, musicality, and cultural presence. The world premiere coincided with the company’s first-ever tour to Atlanta, Cameron Terry’s hometown, and introduced a bolder, more confident artistic voice.
Set to music by artists including Donna Summer, Marvin Gaye, and Beyoncé, the repertory reflected greater musical richness and emotional clarity. Works such as Midnight Love, set to music by Marvin Gaye, signaled a deeper engagement with groove and musical interpretation—reshaping how the company moved and was received onstage.
2022 COMPANY
“THE ELEMENTS OF SHADE” - This marked an experimental and transitional period for Shades Dance Theater as the company established its footing in New York City. This was the first full cast and program presented by Shades in 2022.
The company premiered early repertory works including The Lost Boyz and The Shades Prayer. Movement approaches, musical influences, and thematic ideas introduced during this period would later resurface and mature in subsequent seasons, serving as a bridge between the company’s founding work and its expanding repertory.
2021 company (FOUNDERS)
THE BLUEPRINT
This was Cameron Terry’s founding group of dancers and the original cast of his senior capstone at the University of Oklahoma. This company marked the formal beginning of Shades Dance Theater and the earliest articulation of its artistic language.
Presented in March 2021, the program introduced foundational works including Cinderella, Mount Ephraim, and Angels Dancing at the Gates of Heaven. Pointe work, jazz-driven choreography, and movement rooted in African drumming and Black gospel traditions appeared here in their earliest forms.
This period marked the first time Terry explicitly drew from personal history to shape the work—reflecting on being from Atlanta, experiencing loss, and responding to a world altered by the COVID-19 pandemic. These ideas became core threads within the repertory.
Many elements audiences encounter in later productions can be traced directly back to The Blueprint. Early versions of Mount Ephraim and Angels Dancing at the Gates of Heaven first appeared here before being expanded in later seasons, and pointe work that would later fully emerge in works such as Kissing You began in this founding period.
The company performed in person during the spring of 2021, one year into the pandemic, with safety protocols in place, including masked performances. The Blueprint was also adapted into a filmed work.