Oro Dance Company is an Afro-Latin fusion dance company based in Austin, TX. It was officially launched in 2022, and I had the honor of dancing on their teams for six seasons before joining the company as admin staff and on the Semi-Pro team. The directors, Angie Egea and Audrey Guerrera, are a married couple and both lead and follow, which is less typical in the dance world. Because so much of the Latin dance world still operates in the gender binary, with men typically leading and women following, Oro in particular provides a space to learn both roles and create switch dancers. Oro dancers break many gender barriers. Dance is important. It connects us with history, stories of our ancestors and each other. As a creative outlet, dance closely mirrors the creative process. In both practices, growth happens through learning without ego and being comfortable with failure and trying again. Teamwork, lifting others up, and the process of mastery have all been transferrable lessons from dance. Oro needed a website and branding that embodied these characteristics and communicated this from the brand perspective.

In Afro dance, movements to embody Orishas (gods) each come with rich symbolism and history. One god may represent the ocean, femininity, and healing. Another, thunder, trickiness and wit. I knew the visual direction of this team had to portray the history of movement along with the truly modern approach Angie and Audrey bring to dance. I was inspired by elements of Afro-futurism and beautiful composite imagery, which was perfect since most of the existing photography came from multiple photoshoots.

Oro Dance Company is a fusion company. It’s forward thinking. It’s empowering. It’s ever-changing. It represents strength and legacy while honoring the knowledge that came before. Oro is seeking to define its belonging in the dance world. Oro is ever moving. It is creating the future we want. It is welcoming. It moves like the rivers and embody the elements. We are Oro.