Whim W'Him Seattle Contemporary Dance

What Whim W'Him Seattle Contemporary Dance does

Whim W'Him Seattle Contemporary Dance is a Seattle-based non-profit contemporary dance company founded in 2009 by Olivier Wevers, a former principal dancer with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet and Pacific Northwest Ballet. The organization operates with a team of approximately 14 employees and presents three seasonal performance programs per year (Fall, Winter, Spring) at Cornish Playhouse and Vashon Center for the Arts, featuring new creations by rotating guest and resident choreographers. Its mission is to nurture community with contemporary dance by cultivating space for artists to imagine and explore the human condition.

The company generates revenue through five streams: performance ticket sales (general admission $15-$50, premium $90), dance classes and tuition at the Contemporary Dance Center, season memberships starting at $100, charitable donations, and facility space rentals. It also operates a Summer Intensive program for intermediate-to-advanced dancers and a digital platform called WHIM-IN for distributing dance films. The company reaches audiences through its website, email newsletter, social media, press coverage, and cross-promotion with venue and arts-funder partners.

Whim W'Him is funded in part by institutional arts funders including ArtsFund, the National Endowment for the Arts, ArtsWA, 4Culture, and Seattle Arts, and maintains artistic exchange partnerships with organizations such as Hubbard Street Dance Chicago. The company participates in the Real Rent movement in solidarity with the Duwamish Tribe. There is no parent company, no disclosed funding rounds, and no equity ownership structure, consistent with its private non-profit status.

Name

Whim W'Him Seattle Contemporary Dance

Legal name

Whim W'Him

Website

https://whimwhim.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Whim W'Him Seattle Contemporary Dance is a Seattle-based non-profit dance company founded in 2009 that presents seasonal contemporary dance performances, offers dance education through its Contemporary Dance Center, and serves audiences, students, and donors in the Pacific Northwest region.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Performing Arts / Contemporary Dance

NAICS

Dance Companies (711120), Dance Companies (71112), Independent Artists, Writers, and Performers (71151)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Contemporary & Modern Dance (MPAGADAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Dance Education (Ballet, Contemporary, Hip-Hop, Cultural Dance) (EDAMAAAH), Dance Performances (THAJAFAD)

Keywords

• Contemporary dance performance
• Dance education
• Live performing arts
• Dance classes
• Choreographic programming

Headquarters

HQ city

Seattle

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Performance Ticket Sales: Revenue generated from selling tickets to live dance performances at Cornish Playhouse and Vashon Center for the Arts. Tickets range from $15-$50 for general admission and $90 for premium seating.
2. Dance Classes and Tuition: The Contemporary Dance Center offers dance classes with tuition pricing, financial aid options, and various class levels for community members.
3. Season Memberships: Season memberships starting at $100 provide access to all three programs per season, offering recurring revenue from dedicated supporters.
4. Donations and Fundraising: Charitable contributions from individuals supporting new dance creations and artists. The organization participates in Real Rent movement for Duwamish Tribal Services.
5. Space Rentals: The dance facility is available for rentals to other organizations and individuals.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Whim W'Him is a Seattle-based contemporary dance company that produces and presents live contemporary dance performances organized into seasonal programming (Fall '25, Winter '26, Spring '26) at Cornish Playhouse and Vashon Center for the Arts. It also operates a Contemporary Dance Center offering multi-level dance classes and a Summer Intensive for intermediate-to-advanced dancers, and runs the WHIM-IN digital platform for filmed dance content.

Product overview

Whim W'Him is a Seattle-based contemporary dance company that nurtures community through dance by cultivating space for artists to imagine and explore the human condition. The organization operates as a single unified offering centered on contemporary dance performances featuring rotating guest choreographers, complemented by a dance education center (Contemporary Dance Center) offering classes, a summer intensive program, and a digital platform (WHIM-IN) for virtual content. The company presents multiple performance seasons annually at Seattle-area venues.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Contemporary Dance Performances Live contemporary dance performances featuring works by resident and guest choreographers, presented seasonally at Seattle-area venues including Cornish Playhouse and Vashon Center for the Arts.
• Contemporary Dance Center Dance education program offering classes in various contemporary dance styles, with faculty instruction, multiple class levels, and financial aid options.
• Whim W'Him Summer Intensive Annual intensive dance training program for intermediate-to-advanced dancers, featuring instruction from company members and guest artists.
• WHIM-IN Digital Platform Digital platform hosting filmed dance content and virtual creations, including works by guest choreographers, originated during the pandemic era.
• Space Rentals Rental of the company's Seattle dance facility to other organizations and individuals for rehearsals, events, and performances.
• Season Memberships Annual memberships starting at $100 that provide access to all three performance programs in a season (Fall, Winter, Spring).

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core, notable and supporting.

• Cornish College of the Arts / Cornish PlayhousecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrimary performance venue partner. Cornish Playhouse hosts Whim W'Him's mainstage productions including Winter '26 (Jan 16-24) and Spring '26 (May 8-16) performances.
• Vashon Center for the ArtscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSecondary performance venue on Vashon Island hosting select Whim W'Him productions on Jan 22 and May 14, 2026.
• Hubbard Street Dance ChicagonotableStrategic or Co-development PartnerMultiple connections: FLOCK duo (Alice Klock and Florian Lochner) were Choreographic Fellows there; Emilie Leriche danced there for four seasons; James Gregg has created works for the company. A talent pipeline and artistic exchange relationship.
• Duwamish TribesupportingOthersWhim W'Him participates in the Real Rent movement, directing supporters to pay rent to the Duwamish Tribe for land acknowledgment and solidarity.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Pilobolus: Connecticut-based contemporary dance company with a comparable touring and educational programming model and a similar commitment to cultivating new choreographic voices.
• Spectrum Dance Theater: Seattle-based contemporary dance company producing original works and educational programming, the closest direct comparable in the same geography with a similar non-profit, performance-plus-education model.
• Hubbard Street Dance Chicago: Mid-size contemporary dance company explicitly cited as a Whim W'Him artistic partner and choreographer pipeline, with similar touring, residency, and season programming models.
• Alonzo King LINES Ballet: San Francisco contemporary ballet company with a comparable mission-driven, choreographer-led artistic identity, multi-program season structure, and strong education/outreach component.
• BODYTRAFFIC: Los Angeles-based contemporary dance company of similar scale, presenting commissioned works by established and emerging choreographers in a comparable multi-program season format.
• Gibney Company: New York-based contemporary dance company combining a performing company with a robust community, education, and rental space program—a closely analogous multi-vertical operating model.

Broad incumbents

• Mark Morris Dance Group: Established New York-based contemporary/modern dance company offering a useful comparable on full-season programming, school, and community engagement, though at significantly greater scale.
• Pacific Northwest Ballet: Seattle's flagship ballet company (where Whim W'Him founder Olivier Wevers was a principal dancer), operating on a much larger scale but sharing the same regional dance ecosystem and audience pool.
• Martha Graham Dance Company: Iconic modern/contemporary dance institution operating at much greater scale, useful as a reference point for institutional funding, education, and licensing structures in the modern dance sector.

Emerging players

• Camille A. Brown & Dancers: New York contemporary dance company recognized with major choreography awards (including Bessie and Princess Grace), representative of the next-tier peer companies Whim W'Him collaborates with artistically.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/whim-w'him

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Whim W'Him Seattle Contemporary Dance