Take Root | Artistic Direction

Directors

Ali Woerner

Artistic Director of Take Root

Ali Woerner , Director and Founder of Take Root, is also Associate Professor of Dance at Oakland University (teaching modern technique and choreography). Take Root is one of Oakland University’s two professional "Company -in- Residence” Dance Companies.

Ali received her MFA from the University of Michigan and her BPA from Oklahoma City University. Throughout her diverse career within both commercial (performing as a Radio City Rockette) and contemporary mediums, Ali has performed and taught all over the world; including Colombia, Costa Rica, Japan, Berlin and Korea. Ali was awarded the prestigious Oakland County Executive’s 2016 Elite 40 Under 40 top honor for her creation and direction of the Dance for Parkinson’s Disease program and she is a guest lecturer for Oakland University's Health Sciences Physical Therapy Program's Neuroscience studies.

Take Root has been commissioned to perform their original work at the New Dance for Asia International Festival/Seoul, South Korea, Incheon Yeonsu International Dance Festival/Incheon, Korea, Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival, Arts X/ Detroit Institute of Arts, performed at the National Theater of Costa Rica, Uferstudios/Berlin, Germany, DSO/The Cube, The Red Bull House of Art Detroit, TEDx, The Detroit Dance City Festival, RADFest, Harvest Chicago Contemporary Dance Festival, The Music Hall Center for Performing Arts Detroit, Hamlin Field House Theater/Chicago, invited to perform a full length concert as part of opening day of “Dance: American Art 1830-1960” at the Detroit Institute of Arts, invited to present for the National Dance Education Organization (Miami, Chicago and San Diego), Ohio Dance Festival, The University of Costa Rica, the American College Dance Festival, the 21st Century Arts and Arts Education Conference. Take Root has received funding from Oakland University’s University Research College, Brooksie Way Mini Grant, the Community Engagement Grant from Oakland University’s College of Arts and Sciences, the Education Research Grant from the Senate for Teaching and Learning and an “Anonymous Grant.” The company’s mission is Impacting Lives Through Dance. Take Root teaches master classes nationally and internationally to all ages promoting the need for connection to the arts and arts education and is deeply involved in their outreach work of Arts Education and Dance for Parkinson’s Disease.

Jon Anderson

Musical Director/ Composer

Jon Anderson’s music has been described as “haunting,” mixing “electronic beats” with a “cocky mélange of aggression and tongue-in-cheek humor.” He writes a variety of music for traditional acoustic ensembles such as orchestra, band, and chamber groups, as well as less traditional ensembles involving interactive computer music, which frequently incorporates physical movement and dance as structural elements. Having won awards from institutions such as the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, the Society of Composers Inc. & ASCAP, and the Pierre Schaefer International Competition of Computer Music, his works have been commissioned and performed by orchestras, ensembles, and soloists throughout the world. In addition to being Take Root's Musical Director and Composer, Anderson, Associate Professor of Music, teaches music theory and composition at Wayne State University in Detroit.