Exhale Dance Tribe

Exhale Dance Tribe is a contemporary jazz troupe comprised of Cincinnati-based performing artists and dance educators. Founded in 2000 by Andrew Hubbard and Missy Lay Zimmer, Exhale celebrates the full range of modern and rhythm-based dance and features diverse and versatile performers. Their programs, performances, and original choreographies speak to the region’s need for expressionistic and multi-lingual dance rooted in rhythmic language and storytelling.

Based in Cincinnati's vibrant arts community, Exhale has made numerous regional appearances in the Tri-State area as well as in New York City. Exhale most recently appeared as part of the 2007 Cincinnati Fringe Festival, Choreographers Without Companies, and Dance Cincinnati 2006, as well as performing their annual show at the Aronoff Center’s Jarson Kaplan Theater. They were also featured in Know Theatre of Cincinnati’s Christmas Yet To Come which garnered Missy Lay Zimmer a 2007 CEA Critical Achievement Award for Outstanding Choreography in a theater production. This past June, Exhale once again traveled to New York City to perform at the celebrated Merce Cunningham Theater in collaboration with Collex Arts. Most recently, Exhale Dance Tribe was named one of the "25 to Watch in 2008" by Dance Magazine.

Exhale founders Missy Lay Zimmer and Andrew Hubbard are both Broadway veterans, having met while appearing in featured roles in Cats. While teaching at the acclaimed Broadway Dance Center in New York City, the partners noticed a dire need for dancers to reconnect with what dance was originally intended for: self expression and storytelling. As choreographers, performers, and educators, Hubbard and Zimmer are committed to drawing out the artistic souls of performers and audiences alike, daring to explore and expand notions of individuality and nonconformity.