Daily Inspiration: Meet Bill Wade

Today we’d like to introduce you to Bill Wade.

Hi Bill, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I am the founder and executive artistic director of Inlet Dance Theatre, an internationally recognized professional contemporary dance company with roots in American Modern Dance. I’m a choreographer. I grew up moving all over the continental US, from Lancaster, PA, to Mission Viejo, CA. I attended UW-Milwaukee for 2 years, then jumped into professional training for a year as a Trainee at the Milwaukee Ballet. I moved to Cleveland (OH) at 21 to dance professionally with Alice Rubinstein’s Footpath Dance Company, then OH’s leading professional modern dance company. Years later, I was an Artist in Residence (AiR) at the Cleveland School of the Arts (CSA), where I founded and directed an all-male after-school dance program called the YARD (Youth At Risk Dancing), which garnered a trip to the White House to receive the Coming Up Taller Award and a mentoring relationship with then Pilobolus co-artistic director Alison Chase for seven years. What started as a two-week teaching engagement at CSA morphed into an 11-year AiR position that transformed the dance department and began sending students to the Juilliard School and other universities and conservatories. In 2001, I founded Inlet Dance Theatre, and we are currently celebrating our 25th Anniversary season. During the pandemic, I led the creation of Inlet’s home base and studios, the Estuary, in the Pivot Center for Art, Dance, and Expression, located in the underserved Clark-Fulton/Tremont West neighborhood on CLE’s near west side; we are in an 80,000 sq ft 100+ year old renovated factory along with numerous other arts & culture and health service organizations and the Estuary has become a hub of the diverse dance community in Cleveland with the space being utilized seven days a week. In addition to performing, Inlet conducts numerous education and community engagement programs throughout the Greater Cleveland area. The company also tours nationally, engages in international work and residencies, and is the contracted American talent performing Australia’s Polyglot Theatre’s interactive children’s shows, “Bees” and “Ants,” in the North American market. We’ve toured a dance-theatre adaptation of the NY Times bestseller “What Do You Do With An Idea?” nationally for eight years and we’re currently creating the second book in the Kobi Yamada’s series, “What Do You Do With A Problem?”, thanks to a commission from seven performing arts centers around the country (the TYA Tour Development Collective), funding from the Ohio Arts Council’s ArtsNEXT Program, and co-producing funding from individual donors. This new production will begin a national tour in fall 2026 and is currently booked to perform in 19 performing arts centers for 75,000 audience members by spring 2027. This new show, which includes study guides for educators and families, is represented by Holden & Arts Associates and will also continue to tour nationally in the 2027-28 season.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Following a calling is never a smooth road. I was joking with my Assistant Artistic Director yesterday that I’ve been scrapping for over 4o years. The path is full of struggle. The work it takes to become a professional dancer in a touring company, to becoming a sought-after trainer for pre-professional dancers and a choreographer who receives commissions to create, to founding a company that performs, educates, and also serves corporate and other clients via special events, while slowly growing the company to international recognition with strong local programming and serving throughout the North American market (and elsewhere), and then intentionally establishing a home in an undeserved neighborhood that becomes a hub for our diverse dance ecosystem, and learning the business aspects of it all, is a lot. Viewing this ongoing trajectory from the vantage point of an entrepreneur with a heart to serve requires that we live listening. This helps cultivate relationships, build community, and foster collaboration. Securing financial and other resources is perhaps the greatest challenge, and it is becoming more difficult amid current world affairs, while the need for this type of programming is more important than ever.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Inlet Dance Theatre’s mission is to create and perform innovative dance theatre at a high level of artistry, speak creatively about human life issues, and bring about personal development in the lives of individuals through training and mentoring. Our motto is, “using dance to further people.”

Inlet’s ensemble-based culture intentionally focuses on craftsmanship and mastery while employing a collaborative creative process to develop new work. Inlet’s collaborative creative process is more inclusive than the traditional autocratic leadership hierarchy, resulting in work that is surprisingly diverse. Each piece in Inlet’s repertory is the direct result of the artists in the studio at the time the work was created, often including artists of other media.

All of my choreography speaks creatively about human life issues and does so in a life-giving manner. The company presents a wide aesthetic range of works that speak to what could be, rather than only what is. It is possible to create high-level work while maintaining an open, kind, and honest environment, with a focus on serving others.

The company’s aesthetic is rare and unique in the Midwest. The dancers are an ensemble of collaborative aesthetic athletes who perform a wide range of accessible, physically challenging choreography, from dancerly to sculptural and theatrical works. We often engage and collaborate with artists from other media to create unique, inspiring works that truly connect with audiences, bringing them to their feet.

How do you think about luck?
I will be honest: I do not believe in luck. I do believe in stewarding natural gifts and developing them into skills so you can serve others with them. Being kind is key. Every human being is a high point in creation, regardless of perceived differences, deserving respect. Honoring people and their lived experiences with respect is key in life, art making, and business. The scale of opportunities is dependent on serving well without despising small beginnings. Respect is earned.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.inletdance.org
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/inletdance/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/inletdance
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/4026891/admin/dashboard/
• Twitter: https://x.com/InletDance
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@InletDanceTheatre