Orlando Hernández is an interdisciplinary performer working primarily in tap dance. He incorporates elements of theater, percussion, research, and improvisation to create unique experiences of collective rhythm and reflection. His work has been described as "cathartic, hypnotic, and of its place and time."*

Orlando has presented his dance work in Solo: A Festival of Dance at On the Boards (Seattle), Movement Research at the Judson Church (NYC), the SPACE Gallery (Portland, ME), The Activist Body at Brown University (RI), the DanceNow Festival at Joe's Pub (NYC), and La Casa de Cultura Ruth Hernández Torres (Río Piedras, Puerto Rico). He has received residencies from Yaddo and La Espectacular and funding from the New England Dance Fund at NEFA. He is the 2019 recipient of the Fellowship in Choreography from the RI State Council on the Arts, and a 2019 recipient of NEFA's Rebecca Blunk Fund Award.

As an actor, he has performed in productions by Trinity Repertory Company, the Brown/Trinity MFA Program, Spectrum Theater Ensemble, and Arte Latino of New England. Since its inaugural year in 2016, he has been involved in Trinity Rep & Rhode Island Latino Arts' bilingual collaboration, Teatro en el Verano, as an actor, translator, assistant director, and choreographer.

He collaborated with dancer and choreographer Danielle Davidson and cellist Adrienne Taylor on the piece Arch, which they shared at the Providence Movement Festival (AS220), DanceNow Boston (The Dance Complex), and the Provincetown Dance Festival. As a member of the Boston-based tap dance company Subject:Matter, directed by Ian Berg, he has performed at the Montreal Fringe Festival, the Inside/Out Stage at Jacob's Pillow, the Beantown Tap Festival, and The Yard.

In addition to his collaborative work, Orlando has been developing a series of performances exploring histories of colonialism and diaspora in the Americas & the Caribbean. These include Instructions for the Safe Delivery of the Royal Knee (https://vimeo.com/214923625); The Difference Between a Bell-Tower and a Cow, with saxophonist Danny Fisher-Lochhead (https://youtu.be/aumtSPohChY); and The Interesting Narrative of Juan G. Knee-Heart, or An Island Minstrel (https://youtu.be/c0A-RyS-0xs). These pieces thrive in unconventional performance spaces and are designed to be re-set in new sites and contexts.

He has taught tap dance at schools, studios, and non-profits including the Manton Avenue Project, Providence ¡CityArts! for Youth, Gordon School, Moses Brown, Trinity Reps' Young Actors Summer Institute, Roger Williams Middle School, Modern Jazz Dance Company, AS220, Brown University, and Steps on Broadway. He works as a teaching artist for Trinity Rep and Rhode Island Latino Arts.

Orlando is available as a touring artist, as well as for workshops in tap dance, improvisation, and interdisciplinary performance practice. You can find him at www.orlyhernandez.com.

*Panel comments for the 2019 Fellowship in Choreography awarded by the RI State Council on the Arts.