AscenDance

Climbers/Dancers

Berkeley, California

BIO

While living in her van in Berkeley, California, climber and dancer Isabel Von Rittberg made her dream become reality as she built her first climbing wall designed for dancing. Passionately dedicated to integrating the precision and strength of climbing with expressive movement and music, she founded AscenDance Project. In 2005, Ryan Gaunt met Von Rittberg for the first time, climbing on the eastern side of the Sierras. Inspired by her vision, he joined AscenDance in 2006 after working for Yosemite National Park Search and Rescue. Two years later, he proposed to Isabel during a performance at Union Square, in San Francisco, California. Together and with their company of dancers, they have created an entirely new dance vocabulary for the vertical floor. Their dream is to bring rock climbing to the stage, conveying its magnificence, strength and grace to audiences across the world.