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About Rai
Rai Barnard (they/them) is a non-binary, queer dance and theatre artist. Their dance-theatre and performance art pieces explore questions about identity, connection, and social and cultural phenomena. After 15 years of training, Rai graduated from UT Dallas with a Bachelor of Arts in Visual and Performing Arts and a Bachelor of Science in Biology.
In 2021 they produced and choreographed their first evening-length show, The Cost of Visibility through UT Dallas. More recently, they presented another full-length dance theatre show- First MI Last – for the Arts Mission Oak Cliff Artist-in-Residence program (2022). Rai performs, choreographs, and teaches in DFW with a focus on building community and empowering others to use movement as a means for personal and collective growth.
Performance Credits
2023
Bridges: Roll for Initiative | Flexible Grey Theatre
Bare Feet and Burning Bushes | Jennifer Mabus
The Guinea Pig | Flexible Grey Theatre
Tarzan | Lyric Stage
Woven Out of Place | Katie Milligan for Agora Artists SEEDS
2022
Cabaret | Arts Mission Oak Cliff & The Lost Boy Presents
Putting It On | Agora Artists SEEDS
Who What Wore When I Wasn't What They Wanted | Very Good Dance Theatre
2021
Helium Queens: A Space Opera | Danielle Georgiou Dance Group & Helium Queens
Stronger Than Arms | Undermain Theatre
2020
The Naughty List | Stage West Theatre
Everything Will Be Fine | Prism Movement Theater
Dansmonster | Vena Cava Productions
Choreography Credits
2023
Worth the Effort, a Translation | Arts Mission Oak Cliff
2022
First M.I. Last | Arts Mission Oak Cliff Artist-in-Residence Program
Putting It On | Agora Artists SEEDS
Who What Wore When I Wasn't What They Wanted | Very Good Dance Theatre
2021
MATTIE @ Oak Cliff Film Festival
The Cost of Visibility | University of Texas at Dallas
2020
Spaced Out | UT Dallas Dance Ensemble
2019
MATTIE @ Dallas Observer Music Awards
2018
Small Leaf | Fusion Dance Company