Growing up over the mountain in Temecula, Chad Allen Ortiz was lucky to have a much older brother who paved the way for him, both as a dancer and member of the LGBTQ community. George Ortiz— nearly 20 years Chad’s senior— was a working jazz and hip hop dancer touring with Michael Jackson and Ricky Martin when Chad was discovering his own talents. Chad says as a child he was “always dancing in the kitchen and lusting after dance.” He knew early this path was for him, and luckily, he had complete acceptance from his family because his brother had already led the way. Introduced to ballet in Long Beach, it was through meeting Michael Nickerson-Rossi and joining his dance apprentice program at age 19, that Chad further charted his path in the dance world. Hired in 2014 as a dancer in the Nickerson Rossi (NRD) company, today he is a Principal Dancer and the Executive Director of Nickerson Rossi Dance, and responsible for a variety of high profile programs. 

Still in his prime as a performer, Chad is passionate about his art, and the power dance has to impact and facilitate educational and therapeutic work. Youth have lost two years of learning during Covid, and in order to re-engage students— and as part of a state grant using art as a magnet— Nickerson Rossi Dance has partnered with the Palm Springs and Desert Sands School Districts to offer a dance program for local children. "Boys Dance!" is a district-funded program made possible by the California Education Budget increase approved by Governor Gavin Newsom. Every school district has a different ‘program title’ that expresses how they are using these funds to promote education, arts, and sports.”Boys Dance!”’ helps break the stigma of young dudes in tights and promotes a welcoming and powerful alternative to sports. The gift of dance to young kids can be transformational, both in terms of physical health, well being and expression. NRD’s "Boys Dance!" program will open its doors at their Palm Springs Dance Academy, for students of PSUSD in the grades TK - 8th. This particular program also includes transportation for those in Desert Hot Springs and potentially Cathedral City (which borders the city of Palm Springs). 

NRD’s district-wide programming, titled "School Alliances," is an extension of the "Nickerson-Rossi Dance Education" programs that serves both public and private schools with comprehensive dance education and performance opportunities throughout the valley, including their newest Art Partners at Sunnylands who have opened their doors (and gardens) as a performance venue for these young dancers. Chad says: “Our organization would like to inform the public that we are creating this "Dance Culture" in the Coachella Valley. Nickerson-Rossi Dance has worked diligently in providing such a robust dance existence and experience since 2012.”

PSUSD and Boys Dance! is set to launch in mid-October 2022. DSUSD is set to potentially launch in January 2023

These programs will run October-May and enrolled dancers will get classes up to three times a week. Ortiz says, “ballet is like vitamins” and he is ardent about how dance can inspire social and emotional learning. 

Chad and Michael —partners in dance and life— are committed to developing an entire ecosystem for dance, youth and education, and look forward to Palm Springs Pride, where NRD dancers will be performing in the Pride Parade on November 5th. Adult and same-sex classes at the studio include ballet, hip hop, salsa, swing, and ballroom.

The tremendous studio and performance space also support’s the company's outreach work with the Barbara Sinatra Children's Center at Eisenhower Health in Rancho Mirage, offering dance therapy classes for abused children and working with cancer patients at Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs. Finally, the Palm Springs International Dance Festival presented by Nickerson-Rossi Dance, takes place this October 27-November 26 and includes a November 5th performance, “Male Aesthetic” celebrating male choreographers and dancers from around the world with matinee and evening performances.

With so much on his dance card, I asked Ortiz what his and Michael’s vision was for the future. He says “we hope to have our own building, a kind of seasonal dance complex, creating a pipeline— kind of like Jacob’s Pillow— with outdoor stages, and really make Palm Springs known for Dance.” Jacob’s Pillow —in the Massachusetts Berkshire mountains— was  founded in 1931 by the groundbreaking choreographer and dancer Ted Shawn.  He was Intent on legitimizing dance in America as an honorable career for men. Carrying on this tradition, Chad Ortiz and Nickerson Rossi Dance are well on their way to fulfilling that goal, and the Coachella Valley— a sophisticated community for dance— is supportive of their ambitious mission.