Roderick George was born and raised in Houston, Texas, where he began his dance studies and classical training at Ben Stevenson's Houston Ballet Academy. He continued to hone his skills by exploring modern dance at The Alvin Ailey School, Miami City Ballet, and The LINES Ballet Professional Program, all the while coalescing a breadth of movement techniques as a student at the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts (HSPVA) in Houston, TX.
George was a bronze winner of the Youth American Grand Prix in 2005 and a YoungArts Winner and Presidential Scholar of the Arts in 2003. He has danced professionally for Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet, Basel Ballet/Theater Basel, Göteborgs Operans Danskompani, and The Forsythe Company under the direction of William Forsythe. George's career has embraced the collaborations of choreographers such as Marie Chouinard, Peeping Tom, Jorma Elo, Jacopo Godani, William Forsythe, Johan Inger, Jiří Kylian, Sharon Eyal, Ohan Naharin, Benoit Swan-Pouffer, and Richard Wherlock, among many others.
George has had the opportunity to showcase his choreographic work at Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet, in the Dance Lab at Ballett Basel, and as one of the prominent choreographers with the Ballett Basel School and The Suburbia project with the Göteborgs Operans Danskompani. He was nominated as a choreographer and performer at the Emerging Choreographer Series for the Youth American Grand Prix of 2012. Shortly thereafter, he was selected to be an emerging choreographer for Springboard Danse Montréal in the summer of 2013. George has been commissioned by dance companies, institutions, and festivals, including Bodytraffic, Los Angeles Contemporary Dance Company, Ballett Basel, Boston Conservatory at Berklee, SUNY Purchase, University of Utah, and Canadian Contemporary Dance Theatre.
Eager to delve into deeper creative explorations with a growing group of close artistic collaborators, George founded kNoname Artist in 2015. Now based in New York City, George drives his company through a balancing experiment of soft and aggressive elements :stillness and virtuosity. Its unique movement style is cultivated by layering and blending a multitude of dance forms ranging from classical ballet to break dance to acrobatics. Social commentary, diverse histories, traditions, and cultures intersect to create a singular movement expression that is physically virtuosic and emotionally evocative, seeking to provoke thought and challenge the viewer's senses. kNoname Artist has performed at festivals such as Festival Quartiers Danses, Suzanne Dellal, Zurich Tanzhaus, Hollins University, New York Live Arts, Pavilion Noir | Ballet du Prejlocaj, Sophiensæle Festspiele, Fall for Dance North/ NIGHTSHIFT, Jacob's Pillow, The Pocantico Art Center, Kaatsbaan Cultural Park, and Fall for Dance in New York September 2024. Most recently, George was a YoungArts Fellow Winner for the 2021-2022 season, Mertz Gilmore Dancer Award2023-2026, the2024 NPC Creation& Development Fund Awardee, and the 2024 inaugural Fitzpatrick Award from Jacob's Pillow
