Spark Artist

Rachel Slater is an interdisciplinary artist working across dance, film, and storytelling. Based in Portland, Oregon, she maintains a strong connection to New Orleans, where she serves as Director of Dance Film at BODYART’s International Dance Festival NOLA. She is also the co-Artistic Director of Muddy Feet Contemporary Dance, alongside Suzanne Chi.

A graduate of the former University of the Arts, Rachel has performed for Minh Tran & Company, Franco Nieto, Tracey Durbin, Carla Mann, and BODYART, among many others. She is an alumna and former faculty member of the Jefferson Dancers, and continues to be a dedicated mentor to young artists.

Her choreographic work has been presented across the Pacific Northwest and nationally, in cities such as Detroit, San Francisco, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, as well as internationally in Amsterdam and Melbourne. Dance films created with Muddy Feet Contemporary Dance have screened in 25 countries and at over 45 festivals worldwide, earning multiple awards.

Rachel’s creative work orients around visceral, textural movement and the excavation of memory and emotion. A Resident Artist at FLOCK Dance Center and 2024 Miller Foundation Spark Awardee, she is currently developing her first evening-length solo, Daughter Debris. She offers workshops at the Portland Grief House, and will be a2026 Resident with From the Ground Up. Rachel believes that artmaking can be a radical, humanist act—one that supports and amplifies stories, deepens empathy, and builds community.