Before fully transitioning into choreographing and directing, Dekkers danced with Ballet Arizona, ODC/Dance, Company C Contemporary Ballet, and Diablo Ballet. While he was with Diablo Ballet, he was nominated for an Isadora Duncan award for “Outstanding Performance- Individual” in 2013. ODC/Dance (formerly Oberlin Dance Collective) is what led him to jump on a bus and go to San Francisco. The dance company was about to turn 60 years old—and opened his eyes to a whole new way of approaching choreography.
He has also danced leading roles in works by George Balanchine, Twyla Tharp, José Límon, KT Nelson, Val Caniparoli, Lar Lubovitch, Jodie Gates, Trey McIntyre, Dominic Walsh, Septime Webre, and Paul Taylor. As a dancer one of his favorite roles was playing the surfer in Twyla Tharp’s Surfer at the River Styx. The forty-five minute work, is amazing and complex as much as it is a test in dance stamina. Dekkers describes his experience in this demanding performance as “Really exhilarating!” For a complete list of works, see his bio.
There is no part of Robert Dekkers life that has not been affected by his work. Through dance, he met his husband Christian Squires. They’ve been together for ten years. This summer marks the five-year wedding anniversary of when they were married at Burning Man. Initially Christian Squires danced at the Oregon Ballet Theater where he met Dekkers. Then they dated long distance. Since 2012, Squires has been designing and creating costumes for Post:Ballet, and many other companies including sjDANCEco, Grand Rapids Ballet, Kansas City Dance Festival, and Diablo Ballet. Even their wedding was a creative collaboration. Squires designed the wardrobe and Dekkers choreographed the ceremony. “Our wedding was a performance,” Dekkers says.
Wedding of Robert and Christian 2015