westFEST Intensive & New Works Festival
PERFORMANCE Cohorts
August 9-15 | 2026
LOCATION: WESTSIDE THEATER
MISSOULA, MT
Train in the AM.
Rehearse in the PM.
Perform on the weekend.
It’s a week of inspiring training, collaborating and performing!
Performance Cohort Information
Calling all dancers!
Train, collaborate, rehearse, and perform at this year’s westFEST!
Train in the morning with Missoula artists, followed by a Contemporary Floorwork class from Hilary Grumman and Alethea Alexander of Undercurrent (Seattle, WA).
Collaborate with professional dancers and choreographers in the afternoon and evening to create a piece to be performed in the westFEST New Works Performance Festival on August 14 and 15.
Early Bird Registration Until May 15: $200
Regular Registration After May 15: $275
Not interested in performing?
Check our westFEST Intensive Training Track
to learn more about how to join us for Intensive Classes.
WHO IS THE PERFORMANCE COHORT FOR:
The Performance Cohort is designed for dancers who are either currently working in the field or actively seeking professional opportunities and who are looking to further their artistic and creative development. Participants will work in collaboration with fellow professionals, including company members from Bare Bait Dance. Together, they will create a new piece under the direction of Undercurrent’s Hilary Grumman and Alethea Alexander, which will premiere at the festival.
This intensive track is ideal for those pursuing a professional dance career or already engaged in professional work.
About the guest company: UNDErcurrent
Undercurrent (Seattle, WA)
UNDERCURRENT is invested in researching the relevance and potential of rigorous and specific dance technique within the performance setting. Our work emerges from deep investigations into the joyride of floorwork–practiced with a seamless, fluid, and muscular continuity, and an eye for the thrill of kinesthesia. At our core, we hold the belief that communal care precedes the possibility of risk, and that attunement to collectivism is a vital and precious practice.
As a creative partnership within Undercurrent, Alethea Alexander and Hilary Grumman have been making work together since 2023. Their collaborative performance projects have been presented at Actualize (2025), Pike Street Plaza (2025), UW Meany Studios (2025), Cornish Playhouse (2024), Mutuus Studio (2023), 12th Ave Arts (2026), and On the Boards (2026). Their partnership has been supported by 4Culture, Abbey Arts, Walk Don’t Run, Cornish College of the Arts, Mosswood Hollow Retreat Center, University of Washington, Velocity Dance Center, Glenn Kawasaki, and CO-.
Building on her sustained floorwork research since 2011, Hilary co-founded Undercurrent in Seattle in 2017 and has since cultivated the company’s technique and choreographic direction. Alethea has been contributing to Undercurrent’s evolving pedagogical and choreographic scope since 2023. Together, they have been presented at workshops including the Festival International de Danza Contemporánea de la Ciudad de México (Mexico City, 2024), Seattle Festival of Dance + Improvisation (2025, 2026), NVA & Guests (New York City, 2026), Ground Grooves (Seattle, 2024), and Undercurrent × Rituals (Duvall, 2024). Hilary has led additional Undercurrent intensives and performances at New York City Center, Mark Morris Dance Center, Peridance, Dance Complex Boston, Bodies of Empowerment San Francisco, EDGE CDMX, AWID International Forum Brazil, Western Washington University, Mini Mart City Park, Spectrum, The Round, Mad Art, Studio Current, et al.
Did you know….?!
You can perform with the westFEST Performance Cohort AND also submit your own creative work?
Click Here to learn more about submitting your choreography for Okay…GO!
Questions? First, check our FAQ page. If you need further clarification or help, feel free to reach out to Rachel at rachel@thewestsidetheater.com with questions.