ArcTangent
D A N C E
About Us
Our Mission
ArcTangent Dance is a professional dance company based in San Jose, CA. We strive to challenge the conventional wisdom of our beloved medium, dance.
Our work facilitates empathy between humans through unique audience experiences, as well as providing exhilarating modes of expression for our movement artists through performances, community outreach, and online platforms.
Our Story
ArcTangent Dance is the brainchild of Arielle Cole. In 2018, Arielle set out to create a dance company that uplifted dancers of all body types, as well as enriching her hometown of San Jose, CA with more dance. Through identifying emotions and experiences in her own life and those around her, Arielle’s artistic projects are specific to her own experience, yet abstract enough for the viewer to project their own story and idea. She gathered dancers who also share a dream of creating a more vibrant dance community in San Jose and surrounding communities.
In October of 2018, the company had its first performance at Dance Mission Theatre in San Francisco, CA in PERSpectives Dance Company’s annual concert. From there, ArcTangent Dance was invited to perform at various performances and festivals throughout the Bay Area. In September 2019, ArcTangent became a part of the RAW program at SAFEhouse in San Francisco and held its first evening-length performance alongside spoken word artist, SevanKelee Boult.
In 2020, ArcTangent Dance had plans to deepen its presence in the South Bay Area through local shows. However, in light of stay-at-home measures from Covid-19, work shifted to screendance work. With a grant from Li Chiao-Ping Dance Company, ArcTangent Dance created "We Have Arrived Nowhere (Chromatic Sonata)" which was also featured in the Nahn-Ho Project's 2021 online showcase.
ArcTangent returned to live performance with "Ode to Hetch Hetchy." An excerpt was premiered at Mills College in November 2021, and again as an evening-length piece in February 2022 to a sold-out audience at SAFEhouse in San Francisco. Most recently, ArcTangent embarked on a collaboration with filmmaker Kimber Neely to create an immersive, VR work exploring the emotions and history of colors called “Symphony Chromatica,” to be premiered soon!
In 2022, ArcTangent Dance partnered with the nonprofit, Local Color SJ, as a Local Commons member to further its mission of creating dance that further connects people to themselves and humanity.
