Today we’d like to introduce you to Rachel Redding.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Hi! I’m Rachel Redding. I’m a choreographer, performer, and photographer from Houston. Growing up in the city I was very fortunate to have a lot of opportunities to engage with the arts. I started dancing from a young age and as I got to high school and college my passion for dance and photography were steadily growing in parallel lines. In 2017 I realized I could offer my photography services to other dancers and performing artists. Since then I’ve received my BFA in Dance from Sam Houston State University and grown my photography business capturing live moments for some of Houston’s best dance artists and emerging dance companies and schools. I’m currently pursuing my MFA in dance at Sam Houston, choreographing, performing, and teaching dance around Houston and photographing some of the city’s best dancers.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Not always. I have gone through periods of doubt. There have been times when I have wanted to quit dance, but at the end of the day it is a huge part of my life and I always keep coming back to it. I learned a few years ago that even though a performance career in dance isn’t necessarily the path I want to go down, I can still be around dance and use my dance education to my benefit as a performing arts photographer. I understand movement and timing really well from many years as a dancer and choreographer. With photography, I’m largely self taught and spent hours on YouTube looking up tutorials when I was first starting out. Thankfully my dad is also a professional photographer, so if I can’t find something on YouTube I can ask him for advice.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I’m a choreographer and performing arts/dance photographer.
As a choreographer, I specialize in contemporary, modern, and jazz choreography with a theatrical flare. I am a storyteller at heart and I often pull from my own lived experiences to inspire my work. I’m really interested in exploring using dance and live performance with technology and projection design to create unique visual experiences.
As a photographer, I specialize in dance portraiture and live dance and theatrical performance. Because of my background as a dancer and choreographer I can help direct a dancer’s movement on set and give them real time examples and ideas for effective movement that will read well on camera. When I am capturing a live performance, I rely on my keen sense of timing and dance aesthetics to get the winning shot that showcases a dancers technique and artistry.
Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
I strongly believe that Houston is a great city to be an artist. I have met so many incredibly talented and kind artists of all backgrounds living here. The arts community in Houston is tight-knit and genuinely worth celebrating. When I think of Houston, I think of warmth. Not only outside, but in the way that our artists show up for each other.
What do I like least about our city? We need better public transportation and more pedestrian friendly spaces. I lived in NYC from 2022-2023 and I miss how easy it was to get around on the East Coast. I’d love to see our metro rail lines be expanded and developed in a way that makes it easy and safe to get around Houston. Gas is expensive!
Contact Info:
- Website: i have two websites – rachelreddingdance.com and rachelreddingphotography.com
- Instagram: @rachelredding and @rachelreddingphotography
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachel-redding/
