21ten's Summer Residency Program

Writer and Performer: Andrea Parson (she/her) Born and raised in Hillsboro, Oregon, Andrea Parson began dancing in the late 1980’s to the country records played in her family living room and in her mother’s aerobics classes. She began choreographing at a young age, making dances for friends and family, and often improvised down grocery store aisles. With dreams of becoming a professional dancer she furthered her studies at the Joffrey Ballet, San Francisco Conservatory of Dance, and Loyola Marymount University, where she received a BA in dance in 2009. After graduating she joined Northwest Dance Project in Portland, Oregon, where she received a Princess Grace Dance Fellowship award in 2010. For 11 years she performed nationally and internationally, finding much delight in dancing dramatic character roles such as Hedda Gabler and Carmen. 

Andrea currently resides in Portland, Oregon where she creates solo shows, and devised ensemble dance theater productions. Her performance work blends contemporary dance, physical theater, storytelling and often comedy. Her latest award winning solo show, You Can’t Be Serious was presented at BodyVox Dance Center in 2023, as well as the Oregon Fringe Festival (2024), Hollywood Fringe Festival (2024), and United Solo Festival in NYC. As a choreographer Andrea has collaborated and created original dance works for both dance and theater organizations around the Pacific Northwest. 

She is passionate about the intersection between narrative, movement, and voice. Interwoven with her artistic practice is her work as dance and movement educator. For over 15 years Andrea has taught contemporary dance technique, ballet, dance fitness, and creative movement to humans of all ages and levels. She recently received a Functional Movement Awareness Educator certification and is on faculty at Pacific University. andreaparson.com