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Associate Professor of Dance Renay Aumiller is one of five featured choreographers in the N.C. Dance Festival’s Mainstage concert, Oct. 19, in downtown Greensboro.

The Mainstage concert — “Love. Loss. Trust. Connection.” —  kicks off the annual festival’s 34th year centered on communicating the human experiences that bind people together through contemporary dance. Aumiller will present “Kairos,” which features three members of Rise, a pre-professional dance company for high school students.

The Mainstage concert is Saturday, Oct. 19, at 7:30 p.m. in the Van Dyke Performance Space at 200 N. Davie St., Greensboro. Tickets range from $12 to $30 and are available along with the full festival at the.

Aumiller developed “Kairos” in collaboration with Rise dancers, focused on themes of new beginnings, transitions and the need for community. This year is Aumiller’s fourth presentation at the festival and is the first time high school dancers have been featured there, she said. In 2023, she performed a solo work called “Holding Space” at the festival.

“This piece explores the concept of time, specifically as a ‘tipping point’ for change,” Aumiller said. “We began the creative process by reflecting on pivotal moments in our lives — times when we felt we were at a turning point. These personal experiences became the foundation for our movements, allowing us to collectively create and embody the dance.”

Featured alongside Aumiller’s work will be performances choreographed by Ashley Tate and Sarah Council of Charlotte; Kristin Taylor Duncan of Durham and Michelle Pearson of Raleigh. The festival is produced by the Dance Project, a Greensboro-based non-profit focused on making dance accessible. It tours statewide shows featuring modern and contemporary choreography by North Carolinian artists, as well as workshops and discussions.

“These choreographers from across North Carolina are creating work that’s not only engaging but deeply thought-provoking. It’s an opportunity for our community to experience some of the best contemporary dance the state has to offer,” said Anne Morris, the festival’s director. “Each piece offers something unique, from moments of joy to deep reflection, and invites audiences to think about the big questions in life. It’s the kind of experience that sticks with you long after the performance is over.”

Aumiller first attended the N.C. Dance Festival as an undergraduate and it opened her eyes to the variety of dance that exists in the state. Now, it’s an opportunity to connect with the state’s dance community and raise the visibility of the art form.

“The festival is always an opportunity to be inspired, reflect on my own practice, and find new connections with the broader dance community,” she said.

At ���ϲ�����, Aumiller specializes in contemporary dance technique pedagogy and the creative process of choreography. Her research explores the intersection of technical vocabularies, performance and movement invention with the Franklin Method of somatic education. She crafts her choreography to research imagery reflecting the human experience, specifically relating to the feminine identity.

Among many others, her past works include national and international performances at the Northeast Normal Dance Education Intensive in Changchung, China; the American Dance Festival; Austin Dance Festival; Boston Contemporary Dance Festival; and the National College Dance Association Conference at the Kennedy Center.

The N.C. Dance Festival season also includes a performance for school groups on Nov. 1 in Greensboro and a year-round Artist in Residence Program with showings slated for January and June 2025. The festival’s sponsors include the N.C. Arts Council, Atrium Wake Forest Baptist Health’s Performing Arts Medicine Clinic, Lincoln Financial Foundation, Stearns Financial Group, Ecolab Foundation, Downtown Greensboro Inc., as well as individual donors.