Information and resources for the San Francisco Bay Area dance community http://www.dancersgroup.org kegan@dancersgroup.org (Kegan Marling) kegan@dancersgroup.org (Kegan Marling) Tue, 22 Nov 2011 17:00:00 GMT en-us http://www.dancersgroup.org/download/DG_logo_color.jpg http://www.dancersgroup.org http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2011/2011October_417.html http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2011/2011October_417.html Tue, 22 Nov 2011 17:00:00 GMT By Jose Garthwaite Few dance events integrate more closely with the city's pulsing arteries of public transit than San Francisco Trolley Dances. Now in its eighth year, the annual event presents dance and physical theater at sites linked by light rail. All it takes to hop aboard is payment of the Muni fare and an appetite for movement in the wilds of San Francisco. entertainment http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2011/2011October_416.html http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2011/2011October_416.html Tue, 22 Nov 2011 17:00:00 GMT By Heather Desaulniers The San Francisco Bay Area is home to a vibrant and diverse professional ballet scene: inventive choreography, groundbreaking collaborations, committed artistic staff and highly-skilled dancers. Companies here are able to appeal to a wide audience by marrying ballet's historic lineage with twenty-first century innovation. entertainment http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2011/2011October_415.html http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2011/2011October_415.html Tue, 22 Nov 2011 17:00:00 GMT By Maureen Walsh As I sat in the back of an almost full, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Novellus Theater, for the SF Mayoral Arts Forum this past August, I felt a palpable energy and camaraderie. It felt good to be among many artists and art enthusiasts, all of us coming together to be part of the larger conversation. entertainment http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2011/2011October_414.html http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2011/2011October_414.html Tue, 22 Nov 2011 17:00:00 GMT By Emmaly Wiederholt We are lucky to have a dance company like AXIS in our midst: extensive community outreach programs, a group of strong, eclectic dancers, high-caliber repertoire and commissioned work from gifted choreographers, a July feature on So You Think You Can Dance, and this fall AXIS delivers yet another gift to Bay Area dance audiences by commissioning choreographer Marc Brew to create a new work. entertainment http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2011/2011October_413.html http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2011/2011October_413.html Tue, 22 Nov 2011 17:00:00 GMT By Katie Gaydos Even with the impressive and growing number of hula schools in the Bay Area, a majority of people still associate hula dance with a false stereotype. entertainment http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2011/2011October_412.html http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2011/2011October_412.html Tue, 22 Nov 2011 17:00:00 GMT By Julie Potter When Theatre Flamenco, Hawaiian dance company Na Lei Hulu I Ka Wekiu, and Beach Blanket Babylon descend on City Hall October 7 for a festive installment of the Rotunda Dance Series, they'll be celebrating the 50th anniversary of the City's Grants for the Arts (GFTA) entertainment http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2011/2011October_411.html http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2011/2011October_411.html Tue, 22 Nov 2011 17:00:00 GMT By Jim French With fresh young faces popping up constantly, the local Bay Area dance community is a unique blend of seasoned and new perspectives. In Dance caught the new view from New York transplant, Jim French. entertainment http://dancefeast.com/author/juliecpotter/ http://dancefeast.com/author/juliecpotter/ Thu, 15 Sep 2011 17:00:00 GMT By Julie Potter See dance. Do dance. Digest dance. It's like a big potluck. There's lots to try. Bring people to the feast. entertainment http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2011/2011July_391.html http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2011/2011July_391.html Thu, 15 Sep 2011 17:00:00 GMT By David Martinez With Fresh young faces popping up constantly, the local Bay Area dance community is unique blend of seasoned artists and newbie dancers. In Dance caught up with new-to-town David Martinez to get to know him a little better. entertainment http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2011/2011July_392.html http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2011/2011July_392.html Thu, 15 Sep 2011 17:00:00 GMT By Julie Potter Liz Lerman sure asks a lot of questions, in fact, dozens and dozens of question marks are printed on the pages of her book, Hiking the Horizontal, punctuating the curiosities that keep her driving forward with gusto. Rooted in Lerman's illuminating approach to thinking and placing experiences along a horizontal continuum, her book helps to navigate a world that tends toward hierarchical stacking. Lerman's accounts reveal sensitive insights and conclusions gleaned from a long career braiding art, community, and research, and the resulting read holds relevance for those both inside and beyond the art world. entertainment http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2011/2011July_389.html http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2011/2011July_389.html Thu, 15 Sep 2011 17:00:00 GMT By James Graham Back in college, while in one of my countless rehearsals I remember thinking, "I wonder what areas of the stage we use the most?" Little did I know that this kernel would materialize in a variety of permutations through a project known today as Synchronous Objects (synchronousobjects.osu.edu). entertainment http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2011/2011July_390.html http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2011/2011July_390.html Thu, 15 Sep 2011 17:00:00 GMT By Rob Taylor Back A loved and integral member of the Bay Area's African dance community, Nimely Napla was born in Liberia in 1961 and began dancing for the Liberian National Dance Company in 1974. He became director of the company in 1980, and brought the company to the United States in 1984 to perform at the Louisiana World Exposition in New Orleans. He stayed in the United States to escape the political turmoil that enveloped Liberia during the 1980s and came to the Bay Area in 1995. entertainment http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2011/2011July_385.html http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2011/2011July_385.html Mon, 22 Aug 2011 17:00:00 GMT By Wayne Hazzard Asking for what we need can be an intriguing exercise. Depending on your upbringing, requesting something from someone can be easy, or not. For me, it's much easier to offer support--advice, a donation, a compliment, or a hug--than to ask for help. entertainment http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2011/2011July_386.html http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2011/2011July_386.html Mon, 22 Aug 2011 17:00:00 GMT By Julie Phelps There is work bursting from the seams of the Bay Area right now--it is impossible to ignore. CounterPULSE presents a small cross section of this work as part of our new Summer Special season. As Program Manager and designer/curator of this program I was eager to find a way to support the current generative energy while instigating its scrappy spirit. entertainment http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2011/2011July_387.html http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2011/2011July_387.html Mon, 22 Aug 2011 17:00:00 GMT By Vivian T. Chu "We want to learn and grow artistically with a group of people who are passionate about Philippine dance. We dance for one another and the community, while giving tribute to our heritage. That's why we named our group Parangal--[it] means 'tribute'," says Eric Espartinez Solano, the artistic director of the San Francisco-based Parangal Dance Company. entertainment http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2011/2011July_388.html http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2011/2011July_388.html Mon, 22 Aug 2011 17:00:00 GMT By Jennifer Edwards Reluctance to embrace innovation holds the field of dance in stasis. This reluctance (or hesitation) limits outreach, spreading and feeding what many call "fear of change." entertainment http://bayareadancewatch.blogspot.com/ http://bayareadancewatch.blogspot.com/ Thu, 14 Jun 2011 17:00:00 GMT By Jim Tobin Mills Dancer attacks Pornography? A shocking and intriguing parallel drawn between David Lynch's movie "Blue Velvet" and Mill's Dancer Ashley Trottier's newest piece. "And in a strange way, on my recent visit to that gorgeous campus of Mills College in Oakland, I relived that Lynch scene. The grass and Victorian buildings were there - the surface beauty - but horror resided underneath in a package of dance/theater delivered by MFA student Ashley Trottier and her dancers of dismay." entertainment http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2011/2011June_380.html http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2011/2011June_380.html Thu, 14 Jun 2011 17:00:00 GMT By Wayne Hazzard We're at the half-point in the year and it's time to remind ourselves of the good job we do and then find time to indulge in a little extra special comfort. For me, that could mean a long walk, the beach, a favorite tune, a nap, window-shopping, holding hands with my husband, a movie, or calling my sister to chat and laugh. entertainment http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2011/2011June_381.html http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2011/2011June_381.html Thu, 14 Jun 2011 17:00:00 GMT By Julie Potter Recently returned from Mexicali, Mexico and currently preparing for her Home Season at the ODC Theater in June, Kim Epifano relishes traveling with the task of making art in another culture. entertainment http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2011/2011June_382.html http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2011/2011June_382.html Thu, 14 Jun 2011 17:00:00 GMT By Mary Ellen Hunt If you walk into the cool quiet of Mission San Francisco de Asis, better known these days as Mission Dolores, there's a curious, multi-tiered hut constructed out of reeds in the cemetery. That, along with a small columnar monument, are among the few hints that you can find in San Francisco of the Ohlone people who populated the Bay Area long before the Spanish settled here. entertainment http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2011/2011June_383.html http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2011/2011June_383.html Thu, 14 Jun 2011 17:00:00 GMT By Mary Carbonara What can dance do? I've always thought it can do everything and anything. As I've embarked on making a new work, What Does It Feel Like to Kill Someone? I've questioned that assumption a few times, wondering if I've chosen a subject that is too big, perhaps, or too elusive to be rendered solely by movement. entertainment http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2011/2011June_384.html http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2011/2011June_384.html Thu, 14 Jun 2011 17:00:00 GMT By Jesse Hewit Arriving on the West Coast in June, as part of a teaching/performing tour, Miguel Gutierrez will present his newest work, HEAVENS WHAT HAVE I DONE; the piece has been performed in many contexts and will present it's newest permutation at the Garage (SF) in June. Gutierrez will also be participating in VERGE, a festival at the Garage in San Francisco, for international and national artists. Interested in enduring philosophical questions about desire, longing, and the search for meaning, Gutierrez's work sits inside a legacy of process-focused experimental dance while drawing on far-reaching influences such as endurance based performance art work, noise music, ecstatic experience in social and religious rituals, the study of mind/body modalities like Body-Mind Centering, Alexander Technique and the Feldenkrais Method, and various histories of spectacle including Broadway, Vegas, and queer performance in alternative clubs from the 80's until now. His pieces are notable for the interplay of movement, text, sound and light, which creates, for the performers and the audience, an immersive state of immediacy and attention. entertainment http://dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2011/2011May_372.html http://dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2011/2011May_372.html Wed, 04 May 2011 17:00:00 GMT By Patricia Reedy Summertime--and the living is not always easy for dance teaching artists and educators. While their school teaching partners can anticipate some downtime from their full-time jobs, dance teaching artists often work as contractors or per-class employees without vacation pay. As the end of school term looms, the hunt is on for meaningful employment--some will teach in camps, some work on cruise ships, still others work in areas outside of their chosen field. Many take advantage of the lull to engage in professional development. I continue to be humbled, inspired, and awestruck by how many dance teaching artists will pay out of pocket to continue their own professional education with no promise of financial or career reward. entertainment http://dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2011/2011May_373.html http://dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2011/2011May_373.html Wed, 04 May 2011 17:00:00 GMT ByJulie Potter Summer offerings for dance professionals don't end with training intensives and seasonal performances. From the rigorous and scholarly to the imaginative and whimsical, conferences, symposiums and festivals serve as exciting springboards for continuing education. Here's a peek at some of the upcoming gatherings for sharing hot topics, best practices, creative visions and national perspectives related to the performing arts. entertainment http://dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2011/2011May_374.html http://dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2011/2011May_374.html Wed, 04 May 2011 17:00:00 GMT By Wayne Hazzard It's not always easy to make time to escape into dedicated space that supports our art making, and it's essential to find that dedicated breathing space from our everyday chit- chat--electronic and human--so that we can fully commit to new ways of thinking and being in our bodies. Concentrated forums of study, like workshops--whether they are several hours, a full day, a week, or longer--are the perfect opportunity to re-inspire our desires in dance. entertainment http://dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2011/2011May_375.html http://dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2011/2011May_375.html Mon, 04 May 2011 17:00:00 GMT By Vivian T. Chu Tell Aaron Sencil, the artistic director of Tahitian dance company, Hui Tama Nui, that his group is going to be profiled in a dance publication and his response is, "Cool!" He's enthusiastic and to the point. At 28 years old, Sencil is one of the youngest ra'atira--teacher of Tahitian culture and dance--in the United States and director of a 100+ member company based in Vallejo. His energy and creative drive can be seen partly in the numerous roles he takes on in Hui Tama Nui's latest production, Rumia, premiering at the 2011 San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival in June. entertainment http://dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2011/2011May_376.html http://dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2011/2011May_376.html Mon, 04 May 2011 17:00:00 GMT By Amy Fitterer During my first few months as the executive director of Dance/USA, I engaged dance leaders from around the country in conversations about the state of the field. What are they experiencing as dance artists and managers? What issues are on the forefront of their daily work? How could Dance/USA help? From dance presenters in Minnesota, ballet managers in Washington, tap dancers in Illinois, contemporary dance artists in California and culturally-specific dancers in New York, it is clear that the dance world is very alive in the United States and, like everything else, it is facing tremendous change. entertainment http://dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2011/2011May_377.html http://dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2011/2011May_377.html Mon, 04 May 2011 17:00:00 GMT By Mary Ellen Hunt This year, 50 companies will appear during the five weekends of the festival--more than have ever participated in the San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival before. It's a boon for the world of dance in the Bay Area, but wasn't entirely planned that way, Executive Director Julie Mushet admits ruefully. entertainment http://dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2011/2011May_378.html http://dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2011/2011May_378.html Mon, 04 May 2011 17:00:00 GMT By Kathryn Roszak With my company, Danse Lumiere (formerly Anima Mundi), a small-scale dance-theater group, I delve into large themed projects that lead me into deeper engagement with the subjects: I create unique repertory pieces, which are performed extensively in multiple venues, over a period of many years, for an audience different than usual. entertainment http://dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2011/2011May_379.html http://dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2011/2011May_379.html Mon, 04 May 2011 17:00:00 GMT By Claudia Bauer For many creative people, artistic expression offers respite from the troubled world. But for others, art raises more questions than it answers. Big questions, unsettling and often unyielding ones, questions of right and wrong and life and death. Useless as a means of escape or understanding, for those restless souls art is a way of responding to the unanswerable. Being a wholly low-key, warm and unassuming person, Oakland choreographer Leyya Tawil (her last name is pronounced tah-WHEEL), the artistic director of Dance Elixir, doesn't describe herself in such dramatic terms. But in talking about her new piece, Thieves, scheduled for two work-in-progress showings during the San Francisco International Arts Festival, Tawil reveals the keen sensitivity and willing compassion that are at its heart. Rather than evading life's hard questions through art, Tawil uses it as leverage to push deeper into them. In the case of Thieves, she delves into being an outsider. entertainment http://dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2011/2011April_367.html http://dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2011/2011April_367.html Mon, 04 Apr 2011 17:00:00 GMT By Selby Schwartz Joe Goode's 29 Effeminate Gestures was first performed in 1987, by Joe Goode himself; it was literally a self-proclamation. It began with a muttered statement, repeated more and more emphatically, mounting to a ringing, stamping, shouted-out rhythm: "Heee's a-good-guy! Heeeee's a-good-guy! He's a good good GOOD GOOD GOOD GOOD GUY!" He looked like a good guy: he was Joe Goode, he was tall and good-looking, he was wearing clean mechanic's coveralls, he had sincere brown eyes, you would trust him to fix your car. entertainment http://dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2011/2011April_366.html http://dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2011/2011April_366.html Mon, 04 Apr 2011 17:00:00 GMT By Kegan Marling Conversation comes easy to Monique Jenkinson. We sat down together for dinner at her home in the Mission--to talk about her work--and nearly four laughter-filled hours later I found myself having only just scratched the surface. Of course, it's exactly this ease with conversation that translates to her ease on stage; I believe it's what makes Jenkinson's work resonate with so many. entertainment http://dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2011/2011April_365.html http://dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2011/2011April_365.html Mon, 04 Apr 2011 17:00:00 GMT By Katie Gaydos Sins Invalid--a multi-media performance project that explores sexuality, embodiment and the disabled body--is dedicated to telling the kind of stories that empower, liberate and transform both our individual bodies and larger body politic. entertainment http://dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2011/2011April_364.html http://dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2011/2011April_364.html Mon, 04 Apr 2011 17:00:00 GMT By Wayne Hazzard With the blossoming buds of Spring, I am eager to feel the sun on my face and the flower of ideas that motivate. Yet my thoughts fill with more questions than answers. Big questions. Like: What is the perfect body? What does age have to do with dancing? Are we communicating in ways that are readily or easily understood? Are we always conscious of the choices we are making? And do we need to be? Then there are the nuanced perceptions to the question of physical perfection, and are those responses even within our control? entertainment http://dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2011/2011March_363.html http://dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2011/2011March_363.html Mon, 21 Mar 2011 17:00:00 GMT By Wayne Hazzard What does age say about a person? An organization? In the dance world, one can imagine a host of responses to this question. Have influences of a youth-dominated culture encouraged our field to believe younger is better--only rewarding the freshest and newest? entertainment http://dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2011/2011March_362.html http://dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2011/2011March_362.html Mon, 21 Mar 2011 17:00:00 GMT By Mary Ellen Hunt "What is tradition really?" asks Kawika Alfiche earnestly. "I'm doing what my teacher has done, and what his teacher has done. So I focus on the old and relate it to today. There's so much in that alone, that I can spend a few lifetimes just focusing on hula traditions and it's still not enough time." entertainment http://dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2011/2011March_361.html http://dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2011/2011March_361.html Mon, 21 Mar 2011 17:00:00 GMT By Julia Marx Allison is five years old. She attends dance class each week at her public school in Oakland. In class, Allison spins, jumps, and sways to the music, laughing as she moves easily through the crowd of other kindergartners. The teacher stops the music and Allison knows what to do. She freezes her body in a dance shape; arms held out wide, legs spread, smiling widely. entertainment http://dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2011/2011March_360.html http://dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2011/2011March_360.html Mon, 21 Mar 2011 17:00:00 GMT By Mary Carbonara Black Swan has struck a nerve. While Portman receives accolades, the critics are not in consensus about the actual quality of the film. Though many have added it to their top ten films of 2010, Black Swan also has been referred to as a good bad movie, and some have dubbed it thrilling while chiding director Darren Aronofsky for being over-the-top and even sleazy. There's a strange duality at work here, confounding many aspects of how the film is being discussed and reviewed. entertainment http://dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2011/2011March_359.html http://dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2011/2011March_359.html Mon, 21 Mar 2011 17:00:00 GMT By Brenda Way, KT Nelson, Kimi Okada To celebrate ODC's 40 years of dance-making and community building, we've asked founder and artistic director, Brenda Way, and co-artistic directors, KT Nelson and Kimi Okada, to share their thoughts on this milestone. entertainment http://dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2011/2011March_358.html http://dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2011/2011March_358.html Mon, 21 Mar 2011 17:00:00 GMT By Julie Potter In 25 years of recognizing Bay Area dance, members of the Izzies committee have collectively seen more than 10,000 performances, contributed countless volunteer hours and even announced the awards at a "bring your own tofu burger" barbecue. "As the dance world morphs we adapt. entertainment http://dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2011/2011March_357.html http://dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2011/2011March_357.html Mon, 21 Mar 2011 17:00:00 GMT By Susan Bauer With the mere mention of the word "Bali," images of lush green rice terraces and dancing maidens often come to mind. Though just one of over 17,000 islands that make up the archipelago of Indonesia, Bali has become the centerpiece of Indonesian tourism, with its international image having been carefully cultivated over the years through the influence of Western visitors, Dutch colonial occupation, and its own Indonesian government. entertainment http://dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2011/2011March_356.html http://dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2011/2011March_356.html Mon, 21 Mar 2011 17:00:00 GMT By Claudia Bauer Merce Cunningham's relationship with the Bay Area was deep and career-spanning, so on the eve of his company's final performances at UC Berkeley, Claudia Bauer asked several local artists to share what Merce and his work have meant to them. Naturally, the order of these excerpts was determined by chance. entertainment http://dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2011/2011January_355.html http://dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2011/2011January_355.html Mon, 14 Mar 2011 17:00:00 GMT ByNatalie Greene in collaboration with Sng Yun Fei "BRING ON THE ATTITUDE! Bring your own fierceness! Look... there's paparazzi everywhere! Now work it." Jocquese Whitfield shouts to a classroom full of people during his Tuesday night class at Dance Mission. A diverse crowd has gathered to shake their stuff and refine their Vogue dance vocabulary. Sng Yun Fei and I were two of his students, getting fabulous while investigating the underground world of Voguing. entertainment http://dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2011/2011January_354.html http://dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2011/2011January_354.html Mon, 14 Mar 2011 17:00:00 GMT By Chelsea Eng AS I RE-PLAY 2010 IN MY MIND, one night pops as among the most meaningful and apt to influence me in 2011. As I grieved the imminent death of a loved one, dance resolutely restored me to the world of the living. entertainment http://dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2011/2011January_353.html http://dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2011/2011January_353.html Mon, 14 Mar 2011 17:00:00 GMT By Toba Singer THE 22ND International Dance Festival in Havana, Cuba, from October 28-November 7, 2010, celebrated the 90th birthday of Alicia Alonso, considered one of the most outstanding ballet dancers of the 20th Century. Alonso, along with her former husband, Fernando, and his brother, Alberto, were founders of the world-renowned Ballet Nacional de Cuba (BNC). entertainment http://dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2011/2011January_352.html http://dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2011/2011January_352.html Mon, 14 Mar 2011 17:00:00 GMT By Kathryn Roszak BALLET IS DEAD, bemoans dance historian Jennifer Homans in her latest opus, Apollo's Angels: A History of Ballet. Homans grew up in the Balanchine era and now finds the contemporary ballet scene to be an arid desert, bereft of choreographic vitality. Many argue that Homan's 600-page tome declares the opposite--that ballet is alive and well--and in some ways she's right. entertainment http://dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2011/2011January_351.html http://dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2011/2011January_351.html Mon, 14 Mar 2011 17:00:00 GMT By Joe Weatherby If you book your gigs from home and/or rehearse there, you may take the portion of your apartment that is used exclusively and year round for that purpose. If it's just a desk in a corner, it's still worth taking as it enables you to take mileage every time you leave your home to go work. Otherwise, without Home in Office, your first and last trips of the day are for commute and are not deductible entertainment http://dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2011/2011January_350.html http://dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2011/2011January_350.html Mon, 14 Mar 2011 17:00:00 GMT By Julie Potter FULL DISCLOSURE: CROWDSOURCING DANCE EMPOWERS the audience to collectively perform the roles of, at times, curator, programmer, and even funder, potentially stoking tension between arts professionals and the public. Defined by business guru Jeff Howe as "the act of taking a job traditionally performed by a designated agent and outsourcing it to an undefined, generally large group of people," crowdsourcing started as a buzzword following his 2006 article in Wired Magazine. entertainment http://dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2011/2011January_349.html http://dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2011/2011January_349.html Mon, 14 Mar 2011 17:00:00 GMT By E. Eastman FULL DISCLOSURE: I am not a journalist, but when given the opportunity to interview the judges of the popular television program, So You Think You Can Dance, I did not hesitate to pretend. entertainment http://dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2011/2011January_348.html http://dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2011/2011January_348.html Mon, 14 Mar 2011 17:00:00 GMT ByClaudia Bauer IT'S BROUGHT US SCHEMING Survivors, sadistic restaurateurs and women intent on marrying millionaires they've never met. And reality TV is now dance's biggest venue, with shows like So You Think You Can Dance, Superstars of Dance, America's Got Talent and Dancing with the Stars consistently at the top of the ratings. If there's no such thing as bad publicity, then reality TV is the greatest thing that's ever happened to dance: millions of people see ballroom, contemporary, Bollywood, hip hop and more on So You Think You Can Dance (SYTYCD) alone, and after seven seasons it's still going strong. entertainment hhttp://dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2011/2011January_347.html http://dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2011/2011January_347.html Mon, 14 Mar 2011 17:00:00 GMT ByClaudia Bauer LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, start your espresso machines--you'll need extra zip to keep up with the Bay Area's spring dance schedule, which includes new pieces from renowned local choreographers, avant-garde work by up-and-coming artists, and performances by historic companies visiting for the first time...or the last. Bursting at the seams with names and dates, this preview testifies to the depth and breadth of the Bay Area dance scene, in terms of the artistry it offers and the audience that supports it, and we can be proud of both. entertainment http://dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2011/2011January_346.html http://dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2011/2011January_346.html Mon, 14 Mar 2011 17:00:00 GMT By Wayne Hazzard What was your first dance image? Whatever your response, it's most likely that your answer to this question informs the type of dance you consume, and affects which classes and performances will be eschewed because of that perception. Was the decision to first attend dance yours? entertainment http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2010/2010November_332.html http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2010/2010November_332.html Mon, 6 Dec 2010 17:00:00 GMT By Claudia Bauer HIP HOP IS BIG BUSINESS. The genre that started with kids break dancing at New York block parties in the 1970s is now a requirement on So You Think You Can Dance, and every suburban gym offers hip-hop cardio fusion. But beyond the aerobics classes and the rap-video swagger, the true heart of hip hop beats as strongly as ever. entertainment http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2010/2010November_331.html http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2010/2010November_331.html Mon, 6 Dec 2010 17:00:00 GMT By Julie Kanter EVERY ARTS ORGANIZATION will have to defend a seemingly indefensible situation to a potential funder at some point. Your first instinct might be to do everything you can to avoid mentioning an issue you think might be a red flag. entertainment http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2010/2010November_330.html http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2010/2010November_330.html Mon, 6 Dec 2010 17:00:00 GMT By Mary Carbonara This article is the third in a three-part series on the transformative experiences of Bay Area dancers, choreographers and dance teachers. Crossroads I: Dancers ran in September 2010 and Crossroads II: Choreographers ran in October 2010 in In Dance.THERE IS NOTHING BETTER than good teaching, as far as I'm concerned. entertainment http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2010/2010November_329.html http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2010/2010November_329.html Mon, 6 Dec 2010 17:00:00 GMT By Bruce Davis LOS LUPENOS DE SAN JOSE was founded in 1969 in San Jose, California. What began as a study-performance group formed to promote Mexican dance and culture grew over time to become one of California's leading nonprofit organizations representing Mexican folklorico. entertainment http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2010/2010November_328.html http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2010/2010November_328.html Mon, 6 Dec 2010 17:00:00 GMT By Greta Schoenberg PHOTOGRAPHER WEIFERD WATTS, a prolific dance photographer and my good friend of 11 years, passed away October 10, 2010 after a sudden heart attack. For over 25 years Weiferd captured an incredible array of dancers from the Bay Area, New York, and abroad. entertainment http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2010/2010November_327.html http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2010/2010November_327.html Mon, 6 Dec 2010 17:00:00 GMT By Toba Singer IN THE FILM THE LAST STATION, the Countess Sofia tries to drown herself after chancing upon the will of her husband, Leo Tolstoy. He has not left his prodigious body of work to her, but the public domain. The countess survives both her suicide attempt and her civic-minded husband. The court awards her ownership of Tolstoy's works. entertainment http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2010/2010November_326.html http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2010/2010November_326.html Mon, 6 Dec 2010 17:00:00 GMT By Jorge Rodolfo De Hoyos IN THE SPRING OF 2009 I interviewed Joti Singh and Zenon Barron; at the time they were collaborating through Choreographers in Mentorship Exchange (CHIME), investigating a unique partnership and exploring the constructs of ethnicity and cultural identity through their distinctive dance forms through the cultural lens of the Punjabi-Mexican communities of California in the early 20th century. entertainment http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2010/2010November_325.html http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2010/2010November_325.html Mon, 6 Dec 2010 17:00:00 GMT By Julie Potter HAVE SPACE? NEED SPACE? Starting November 15, the Bay Area Performing Arts Spaces (BAPAS) online resource holds the keys to hundreds of venues throughout the Bay Area. entertainment http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2010/2010November_324.html http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2010/2010November_324.html Mon, 6 Dec 2010 17:00:00 GMT By Wayne Hazzard "It gets better," the current phrase and theme to an online video campaign seeks to help lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, transgender, queer and questioning youth understand the choices and support structures in place when contemplating suicide or other destructive behaviors. entertainment http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2010/2010September_315.html http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2010/2010September_315.html Thu, 21 Oct 2010 17:00:00 GMT By Julie Kanter. OVER THE MANY YEARS that I have been working with artists and arts organizations on institutional fundraising (aka grantwriting), I have learned that one of the most important jobs of a grantwriter is to provide context for any request made to a funder. entertainment http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2010/2010September_316.html http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2010/2010September_316.html Thu, 21 Oct 2010 17:00:00 GMT By Mary Carbonara. This article is the first in a three-part series on the transformative experiences of Bay Area dancers, choreographers and dance teachers. WHILE A FRESHMAN IN COLLEGE, I found myself at a crossroads, trying to decide whether to stay in school or drop out to dance. I sought advice from one of my beloved teachers, asking if she thought I could make it as a dancer. entertainment http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2010/2010September_314.html http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2010/2010September_314.html Mon, 11 Oct 2010 17:00:00 GMT By Joe Landini. IT IS A LONG-STANDING argument that maintaining strong creative and artistic cultural presence is a pivotal part of a flourishing culture. This argument has been used to fight for arts funding and promote culture as a civic responsibility. entertainment http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2010/2010September_313.html http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2010/2010September_313.html Mon, 11 Oct 2010 17:00:00 GMT By Kegan Marling. Site-specific dance has a long and complex history, and I've eagerly anticipated someone capturing its glory in writing. entertainment http://dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2010/2010September_308.html http://dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2010/2010September_308.html Wed, 6 Oct 2010 17:00:00 GMT By Julie Potter. IN THE DANCE ECOSYSTEM each individual role is reliant on another, requiring dialog and sharing. Ongoing conversations strengthen the relationships between dance artists, choreographers, administrators, presenters, funders and the press. How can communication within the dance ecosystem enable dance's future and allow the form to thrive as part of the mindshare in an age of infinite choice? entertainment http://dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2010/2010September_309.html http://dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2010/2010September_309.html Wed, 6 Oct 2010 17:00:00 GMT By Clay Lord. THERE'S A R-EVOLUTION BREWING in audience development, that amorphous and all-encompassing term that describes the tools we use to lure and keep patrons in our seats. A slew of new tools is being developed simultaneously by arts organizations, foundations and for-profit vendors that, in the next year or two, may drastically improve the specificity and frequency of how theatre companies can interact with patrons and potential patrons. entertainment http://dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2010/2010September_312.html http://dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2010/2010September_312.html Wed, 6 Oct 2010 17:00:00 GMT By Maureen Walsh. THE LONG-RUNNING PERFORMANCE SPACE at 1519 Mission, in San Francisco, went dark at the beginning of August. Like many alternative art spaces, 1519 never held permits to accommodate larger audiences, and after a Fire Marshal inspection the space was restricted to 49 person capacity despite its growing performance season. entertainment http://dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2010/2010October_317.html http://dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2010/2010October_317.html Mon, 27 Sep 2010 17:00:00 GMT By Ariel Osterweis Scott. Ariel Osterweis Scott (AS): The last time I saw you was at a Miguel Gutierrez performance. I remember you said something provocative regarding an explicit performance art piece I hadn't seen: Isn't anything sacred anymore? Ralph Lemon (RL): It's an old school point of view, right? entertainment http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2010/2010October_318.html http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2010/2010October_318.html Mon, 27 Sep 2010 17:00:00 GMT By Claudia Bauer. Flooded with Gold Rush lucre and teeming with the adventurers who hunted for it, San Francisco in the 1850s was a rootin'-tootin', quick-shootin', prostitutin' Wild West boomtown. Halloween in the Castro has nothing on the Barbary Coast. entertainment http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2010/2010September_310.html http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2010/2010September_310.html Fri, 24 Sep 2010 17:00:00 GMT By Wayne Hazzard. Everything is set to launch another rich dance season and September marks the return of new productions, programs and renewed theaters that reflect our robust growing community. entertainment http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2010/2010September_311.html http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2010/2010September_311.html Fri, 24 Sep 2010 17:00:00 GMT By Claudia Bauer. AFTER THE ALWAYS-HECTIC spring performance season, summer is a pleasantly quiet time in Bay Area dance. Outside of a few visiting artists, student recitals and small-company shows, it's three whole months to regroup and recharge for the abundance to come. Hopefully you're well rested, as fall 2010 offers a bumper crop of dance. In recent seasons, savvy pacing--and sometimes painful prioritizing--has been they key to maxing out without burning out, so grab your calendar and start saving dates. entertainment http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2010/2010September_308.html http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2010/2010September_308.html Fri, 13 Aug 2010 17:00:00 GMT By Julie Potter. IN THE DANCE ECOSYSTEM each individual role is reliant on another, requiring dialog and sharing. Ongoing conversations strengthen the relationships between dance artists, choreographers, administrators, presenters, funders and the press. How can communication within the dance ecosystem enable dance's future and allow the form to thrive as part of the mindshare in an age of infinite choice? entertainment http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2010/2010September_309.html http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2010/2010September_309.html Fri, 13 Aug 2010 17:00:00 GMT By Clay Lord. THERE'S A R-EVOLUTION BREWING in audience development, that amorphous and all-encompassing term that describes the tools we use to lure and keep patrons in our seats. entertainment http://www.dancersgroup.org/programs_newstages.php http://www.dancersgroup.org/programs_newstages.php Tue, 10 Aug 2010 17:00:00 GMT Dancers' Group is proud to announce the launch of a new granting program helping Bay Area dance companies and artists pay for renting one of four theaters in San Francisco. entertainment http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2010/2010July_307.html http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2010/2010July_307.html Mon, 2 Aug 2010 17:00:00 GMT By Sonia Reiter. When New Orleans-born, Berlin-based choreographer Meg Stuart walks into a crowded room her presence ricochets against the walls penetrating the bystanders. The stakes are at once raised and there is a a sudden palpable energy in the space. She is 40-something, tiny and compact, around 5'2" with a slender, muscular build, strong handsome features and thin blondish hair that flops over her forehead in multiple directions. She is quiet and unobtrusive and yet her intense observation of the people around her puts them all figuratively onstage. entertainment http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2010/2010July_305.html http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2010/2010July_305.html Mon, 2 Aug 2010 17:00:00 GMT By Daniel Schifrin. A new museum is an odd place, brimming with contradictions. On the one hand, a museum building, however post-modern, is infused with people's expectations of quietly contemplating material culture. On the other hand, so much of contemporary art is noisy, dynamic, multi-media, and often task-oriented. In other words, the temple meets our kitchen table. entertainment http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2010/2010July_304.html http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2010/2010July_304.html Thu, 22 Jul 2010 17:00:00 GMT By Patricia Reedy. "The best part about dance for my students is that it has become 'cool' to take risks and try new things. It is no longer peer accepted to stand back and act 'too cool' for dance--risk taking is where it's at." -- E, 4th grade classroom teacher, NHA entertainment http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2010/2010July_303.html http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2010/2010July_303.html Thu, 22 Jul 2010 17:00:00 GMT By Kathryn Roszak. In these times, it's hard to know with any certainty what the future holds for the ballet world. While there still seems to be plenty of room for the status quo, with big ballet companies staying afloat, it's a challenge for new, small dance companies to emerge. entertainment http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2010/2010July_302.html http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2010/2010July_302.html Thu, 22 Jul 2010 17:00:00 GMT By Staff. 2010 marks 30 years of performances and instruction in the Bay Area by Mythili Kumar, who founded the company in 1980. Abhinaya's performances showcase the ancient living tradition of classical Bharatanatyam tracing its evolution through an extensive repertoire inspired by India's religious, mythological, and contemporary literature. entertainment http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2010/2010July_299.html http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2010/2010July_299.html Fri, 16 Jul 2010 17:00:00 GMT By Kegan Marling. The panel-based selection process frequently used by arts funders, residency programs and award committees has always felt on par with how dodge ball teams were picked in PE class--elitist, superficial and incorrigibly human. I get a little ruffled thinking about the career-affecting decisions made by small groups of people who may or may not be familiar with my work. Who wants a few panel experts (translation: opinionated people) determining the worth of an artistic venture? entertainment http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2010/2010July_300.html http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2010/2010July_300.html Fri, 16 Jul 2010 17:00:00 GMT By Lou Fancher. The eighth annual Bay Area Tap Festival hits the boards August 16-22. A rapid-fire week of workshop classes, free panel discussions, and community showcase performances, all hosted by Alonzo King LINES Dance Center, will build energy and enthusiasm for the festival's grand finale, The Bay Area Rhythm Exchange concert performances. entertainment http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2010/2010July_301.html http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2010/2010July_301.html Fri, 16 Jul 2010 17:00:00 GMT By Wayne Hazzard. How do we catalyze creativity? I have a crystal ball on my desk. The optical beauty of the sphere never ceases to provide amusement to first time visitors to my office--and even a few Dancers' Group staff entertainment http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2010/2010June_296.html http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2010/2010June_296.html Tue, 29 Jun 2010 17:00:00 GMT By Sri Susilowati. When first I moved to The States years ago, my artistic mission/intention was to introduce Indonesian dance to Americans and to preserve the Indonesian arts. However, over this time, I changed my perspective on the action of preserving. I found that Americans who have studied Indonesian dance tend to be even more conservative than Indonesians. entertainment http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2010/2010June_294.html http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2010/2010June_294.html Tue, 22 Jun 2010 17:00:00 GMT By Evangel King. I often think I am without value as a dance artist, yet I know from the bottom of my soul, dance is the very center of my life and is my true calling. Living with both extremes and holding them in an embrace rather than using the word but to cancel one or the other out is like a splash in the face that invokes openness and depth, cultivating and watering my creativity. A tenacity wells up from my soul to make art. It builds like a wave from the unseen depths emerging as a full-blown tsunami. entertainment http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2010/2010June_293.html http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2010/2010June_293.html Tue, 22 Jun 2010 17:00:00 GMT By Jorge Rodolfo De Hoyos. I feel. In quiet moments I begin to notice things that are sensual, things that are always, and my thoughts like fascia holding everything together. I experience my city-home of San Francisco as an ever-shifting and ever-potential construction site--a cold network of concrete structure and simultaneously a breathing exoskeleton embodying itself with human communities. entertainment http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2010/2010June_295.html http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2010/2010June_295.html Tue, 22 Jun 2010 17:00:00 GMT By Carlos Carvajal. It is intriguing that for the past four seasons, the Ethnic Dance Festival has had more than one artistic director on staff. Choosing from a wide variety of talented artists and performers, both CK Ladzepo and Carlos Carvajal are tasked with the difficult job of streamlining up to 50 audition finalists representing a multitude of countries: Spain, India, Japan, Korea, Indonesia, China, Portugal, Bulgaria, to name a few. With only 34-36 spots in the season line-up, it's no wonder it takes two to curate four weekends of top-notch dance. Carvajal was eager to share his program letter, which will appear in the EDF's program, and what follows is a candid portrait of his job as an artistic director and his thoughts on this year's show. entertainment http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2010/2010June_291.html http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2010/2010June_291.html Tue, 15 Jun 2010 17:00:00 GMT By Michael Estanich.Currently, I am an Assistant Professor of Dance at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point and after three years of focusing on navigating the rocky shores of academic life, I have ventured back into professional performance and choreography. Through part practicality and part innovation, a new approach to making work has emerged for me. I know that the idea of long distance collaboration is not new, but it has enlivened a set of curious and uneasy questions in me. How can I possibly make new dances when the dancers and I live in different cities? Who has creative control over the project? Can I make a dance 'outside' the studio, and if so, what is it going to look like? entertainment http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2010/2010June_290.html http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2010/2010June_290.html Tue, 15 Jun 2010 17:00:00 GMT By Claudia Bauer. At the end of the movie Miss Congeniality, Sandra Bullock's character tearfully confesses that she really does want world peace. Okay, it's a little silly--and I'm not embarrassed to admit that I cry every time I see it. Because as much we want to laugh off our worries about the planet, they're always tugging at us. But what can we do to improve even the small things, much less bring about world peace? entertainment http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2010/2010June_289.html http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2010/2010June_289.html Tue, 15 Jun 2010 17:00:00 GMT By Wayne Hazzard. Certain smells elicit a flood of memories and summer seems to hold an inordinate share of these olfactory remembrances. Heat is most likely a contributing factor and this month I am noticing smells that are potent and even piquant, provoking recollections of time spent in and out of the dance studio. Along with the plethora of street smells, that can be harsh and even unpleasant, our proximity to the ocean is a reminder of an ever-shifting aromatic mix with base notes of baking bread, a hint of Thai spices, vanilla, wet dog, tobacco and beer; this perfumic melange is like yeast, ever-changing, and a lively metaphor for expanding within self. entertainment http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2010/2010May_283.html http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2010/2010May_283.html Tue, 1 Jun 2010 17:00:00 GMT By Vanessa Camarena-Arredondo. I was making my way home from the Financial District to the Mission on BART after work; feet pinched by the not-so-comfortable shoes I wore that day as part of my day time drag; nose buried in some reading about cultural participation in the region while texting Ilia, one of the dancers in the group I sing with, about picking her up for rehearsal. entertainment http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2010/2010May_286.html http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2010/2010May_286.html Tue, 1 Jun 2010 17:00:00 GMT By Sonia Reiter. When meeting Sara Shelton Mann and David Szlasa to talk about their new collaboration tribes/dominion premiering at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts on May 20, my goal was to speak as little as possible. Hopefully I would just dangle topics that they would like bait and fly together, and I could simply sit back and witness. Luckily David and Sara are so intellectually and artistically enamored with each other that this is pretty much how the afternoon goes. At the time of this interview they haven't begun their real creation period yet, though the piece has been logistically in the works and on their minds for over two years now. entertainment http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2010/2010May_287.html http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2010/2010May_287.html Tue, 1 Jun 2010 17:00:00 GMT By Kegan Marling. To describe 2nd Sundays, I often use our tag line: A free salon where artists share work and dialogue with the audience and fellow artists. After watching the program grow over the past 4 years, I've realized this statement doesn't capture that 2nd Sundays is so much more than a conversation. entertainment http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2010/2010May_284.html http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2010/2010May_284.html Mon, 17 May 2010 17:00:00 GMT By Maureen Walsh. Can you imagine laughing for thirty minutes straight? I mean, straight through. Laughing. Non-stop. No pause. Not stopping to talk or relax for a second. Pure laughter for a whole thirty minutes. Eight people did just this in the studio space at Million Fishes Gallery on Bryant Street--they laughed for 30 minutes. Straight. Why? It was an experiment--part of Jorge De Hoyos' exploration of boundaries in his art making. Every kind of laughing happened in that room, in that thirty minutes. Soft laughs, great gufaws, shrieking contests, quiet shakes and utter ridiculousness. What for? That's what De Hoyos asked the group to do. That was the score, the map he planned out, and the others were there to make it happen, to support his curiosity, to walk through the exercise and make it a reality. So they laughed for thirty minutes straight. entertainment http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2010/2010May_285.html http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2010/2010May_285.html Mon, 17 May 2010 17:00:00 GMT By Elizabeth Zimmer. The Internationale Tanzmesse NRW, a biennial festival in Duesseldorf, Germany, is either a bonanza of work opportunities or an exercise in "body fascism," depending on whom you talk to. Listen to Benjamin Levy, an American choreographer who's been there, and he'll tell you it's a fantastic chance to learn how the European dance community does business, "emphasiz[ing] friendship, exchange, and investigation rather than the standard commercial aims I'm accustomed to." entertainment http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2010/2010May_282.html http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2010/2010May_282.html Thu, 13 May 2010 17:00:00 GMT By Sherwood Chen. Located six hours north of San Francisco along California's Lost Coast, Petrolia (population 500) is the home of inkGround, which since its development in 2008, has served host to artist residencies, outdoor dance workshops and new performance developments by Shinichi Iova-Koga and the diverse artistic contributors who shape his company inkBoat. I arrived at inkGround for the first time in September 2008 to join inkBoat's weeklong residency to develop The Crazy Cloud Collection, a new assembly of dance fragments directed by acclaimed dancer and director Ko Murobushi, one of today's most important Butoh exponents. entertainment http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2010/2010May_288.html http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2010/2010May_288.html Thu, 13 May 2010 17:00:00 GMT By Claudia Bauer. We dancers demand an impossibly high degree of control--over our muscles, our bones, our emotions. We strive to defy powers greater than ourselves (gravity, for starters) and to outwit random misfortunes like illness and injury that can delay achievement or derail a career. Yet even at our best, all we really do is occupy a point on the continuum of human ability, and a fleeting one at that. At another point on the continuum, nearer than we may realize, are dancers with Parkinson's disease. entertainment http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2009/2009December_244.html http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2009/2009December_244.html Tue, 5 Jan 2010 17:00:00 GMT By Laura Maguire. Much celebrated this year is the 100th anniversary of Serge Diaghilev's Ballets Russes, the Paris-based company that changed the face of dance in the twentieth century, as well as having enormous influence on the worlds of music, fashion, and design. Formed in 1909 by Russian impresario extraordinaire, Serge (Sergei) Diaghilev, the Ballets Russes was responsible for revolutionizing classical ballet, both in terms of its modernist approach to choreography and its experimental collaborations with other art forms. Some of the twentieth century's most noted choreographers-Michel Fokine, Vaslav Nijinsky, Leonide Massine, Bronislava Nijinska, and George Balachine-began their careers with the Ballets Russes, which also nurtured such incredible dance talent as Tamara Karsavina, Anna Pavlova, and Alexandra Danilova, among many others. entertainment http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2009/2009December_246.html http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2009/2009December_246.html Tue, 5 Jan 2010 17:00:00 GMT By Maureen Walsh. Busy, busy-such is the life of an artist currently performing his own work both locally and in New York, simultaneously working on a PhD in Performance Studies, as well as preparing for a month long 20th anniversary Home Season complete with performances, publications, and a 12-hour queer performance marathon. All of this is probably only half of what Keith Hennessy is actually up to these days, but somehow he also managed to squeeze in time to answer my questions. What follows are his quick witted, poignant and insightful answers. entertainment http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2009/2009December_242.html http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2009/2009December_242.html Wed, 30 Dec 2009 17:00:00 GMT By Rachel Howard. Back in February or March of 2000, I braved MUNI in the rain and headed to the Cowell Theater for my first concert of Bay Area dance. This was a showcase juxtaposing student works with professional companies, and I watched with avid attention, but mostly, during the intermissions, I listened. I eavesdropped on klatches of what appeared to be choreographers and dancers. One woman said loudly that the Aerial Dance Festival was coming up. I butted in. "Aerial dance? Like people dance from ropes and harnesses in the air?" She explained that they also danced of the sides of buildings and mountain faces, and from trapezes. My eyes must have been wide, because her sweetly pitying expression was like a hand upon my shoulder. "Oh, honey," she said. "You've got a lot to see." entertainment http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2009/2009December_243.html http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2009/2009December_243.html Wed, 30 Dec 2009 17:00:00 GMT By Wayne Hazzard. Don't stop believin'- yes, the now-famous power ballad by Journey originally airing in 1981, speaking to my state of mind then, before cell phones and emails, before AIDS and HIV, before lovers and husband, before believing in bald, before dancing with Ed Mock, Margaret Jenkins and Joe Goode, before meeting Anna Halprin and Lucas Hoving, before founding Dancers' Group and the Footwork Studio. It was a time when dancers taught high-impact aerobics classes that were cash-cows. That was how dancers made livings, now it's Pilates and yoga. Dancers wore tights, leotards and unitards to class, teachers scolded or threatened to kick-out the baggy-clothed, and a select group dominated modern dance training in San Francisco. entertainment http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2009/2009November_239.html http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2009/2009November_239.html Wed, 2 Dec 2009 18:00:00 GMT By Anne Bluethenthal. Krissy Keefer is known to many of us in the Bay Area dance scene as a passionate performer, flamboyantly outspoken artist, an ardent activist, a charismatic and committed leader, a prolific producer, and a mentor and teacher to countless young artists and children. I have been privy to her thoughts and progress for years, as a fellow artist, peer and friend. entertainment http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2009/2009November_234.html http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2009/2009November_234.html Wed, 2 Dec 2009 18:00:00 GMT By Mary Ellen Hunt. When I sat down to talk about outreach with ODC artistic director KT Nelson, school director Kimi Okada, and outreach coordinator Annie Jupiter-Jones on a sunny morning at ODC's Shotwell St. studios, I was all set to draw a neat diagram and map out the organization's various community programs. As they began rattling off programs, describing them in kaleidoscopic detail, it quickly became clear that mere paper could not contain their dizzying array of educational efforts. entertainment http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2009/2009November_238.html http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2009/2009November_238.html Tue, 24 Nov 2009 18:00:00 GMT By Shae Colett. In a dance form that requires a heightened sense of patience, self motivation, confidence, risk taking, and willingness to fail (as well as the willingness to succeed), it is not surprising the amount of underlying scores in one improvisation, meaning: guidelines, tracking or even reference to what the dance could become. I have developed many fascinations throughout my practice of improvisation as performance. I consider myself a questioning person; I like to know all the facts therefore, I ask a lot of questions. Recently I have been trying to hold back my questioning disposition in order to allow my instincts to take over. entertainment http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2009/2009November_236.html http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2009/2009November_236.html Tue, 24 Nov 2009 18:00:00 GMT By Ryan Crowder. CounterPULSE wanted to try something new with Performing Diaspora to better support work from artists, document the process of production and to interact with audiences. We created a virtual artist residency, like none other we have seen before, thus expanding the organization's breadth and depth online so that the artistic work, performances and discussions can reach beyond a visit to our space. Audiences can now be more involved in the creation of the work, get to know the artists and watch their pieces develop over time. It's our hope that this builds more investment in the program than had someone simply seen an event posting and come to a show. entertainment http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2009/2009November_233.html http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2009/2009November_233.html Wed, 18 Nov 2009 18:00:00 GMT Edited by Maureen Walsh. Traversing personal and cultural borders are two topics that the Performing Diaspora artists, staff and audience are talking about. I've sifted though the CounterPULSE blog, selecting compelling exerpts from Prumsodun Ok, Sri Susilowati and Adia Whitaker. These snippets hightlight thier trials and triumphs in bridging cultural boundaries of gender, identity and creative innovation. I hope these encourage you to join the discussion currently in progress at http://counterpulse.org/blog. entertainment http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2009/2009November_230.html http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2009/2009November_230.html Wed, 18 Nov 2009 18:00:00 GMT By Kate Law. California has a very rich traditional dance and performance community. The Bay Area alone has over 300 ethnic dance groups. Along with this rich diversity comes support for traditional art to be performed, such as the San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival. Some traditional artists, however, want to innovate within their form and there is little support for experimenting within tradition. That is where CounterPULSE's Performing Diaspora festival comes in. entertainment http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2009/2009October_226.html http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2009/2009October_226.html Wed, 11 Nov 2009 18:00:00 GMT By Kate Law. On October 2nd Humanities West opens its 25th Anniversary Season with "Copernicus, Galileo, and Kepler: Redefining our Place in the Universe," a two-day program of lectures, discussions, and the premiere of Kathryn Roszak's "The Star Dances." This event is a celebration of the International Year of Astronomy-honoring the 400th anniversary of Galileo's first use of the telescope in 1609. entertainment http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2009/2009September_216.html http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2009/2009September_216.html Wed, 11 Nov 2009 18:00:00 GMT By Emily Hite. For decades, Jenkins has been recognized as a leading choreographer, dancer, teacher, mentor, organizer, and supporter of dance. During that time, 110 company dancers have been part of making the work along with numerous collaborators, most notably Michael Palmer. As dancer #110 as well as a journalist, I find pleasure in learning about Jenkins' journeys in process and creative explorations through the lens of the company's living history. I have cornered current and past MJDC dancers and associates for interviews, receiving a welcoming response of contributions. entertainment http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2009/2009October_225.html http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2009/2009October_225.html Tue, 3 Nov 2009 18:00:00 GMT By Ryan T. Smith and Wendy Rein. Our first international tour began with a poster. We'd like to claim that we embarked on creating a new work from some deep-seated artistic urgency, but no, it started with a poster. We were in Singapore in January 2007, exploring the city on an extended layover before an overdue vacation. A friend, and native resident, took us on a whirlwind tour through a maze of air-conditioned malls, eventually leading us to two huge Epcot Center-like domes, right on the waterfront. There it was at the entrance to the Esplanade, the city's main arts complex-a glossy, shadowy dance image pulling us in. Factually, it told us it was the eve of the 2007 M1 Singapore Fringe Festival. Viscerally it told us we wanted to be on that poster. entertainment http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2009/2009October_228.html http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2009/2009October_228.html Tue, 3 Nov 2009 18:00:00 GMT By Patricia Bullit. On July 28 Jill Togawa, Director of Purple Moon Dance Company, and I held a conversation in my Berkeley home regarding her upcoming site specific performance work, When Dreams Are Interrupted. Although I've never been audience to Purple Moon Dance Company, Jill and I were mutually interested in each other's work and began a friendship while serving on the Bay Area Dance Award Committee, the Izzies. entertainment http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2009/2009October_227.html http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2009/2009October_227.html Tue, 27 Oct 2009 18:00:00 GMT By Sima Belmar. Is it possible to write dance criticism without special authority (though it will probably be actively granted or denied the writer), but rather with an eye (ear, fingertip, tongue) toward multiple knowledge bases, projects, and structures that position dance, writ large in the larger fabric of society? And if we accept that the dance review is the story of a performance, if the critic is somehow speaking for the work or for the artist, does this seal off the voice of the work, of the artist? What is the critic's responsibility to the artist as she double-speaks for herself and for the artist? entertainment http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2009/2009October_223.html http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2009/2009October_223.html Tue, 27 Oct 2009 18:00:00 GMT By Natalie Greene. Modern dance is thriving in Lima, Peru. Classes, performances and festivals abound and contemporary dance is in the public eye. Popular choreographers are celebrities in Lima and receive media coverage beyond just previews and reviews. Reporters delve into the daily and personal lives of Lima's successful dance-makers, and the public is interested. With such popular appeal and fashionable mystique, one wonders whether modern dance is just the latest Limeno trend, or if there is lasting value in this newly well-known art form. entertainment http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2009/2009October_221.html http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2009/2009October_221.html Tue, 20 Oct 2009 18:00:00 GMT By Jorge Rodolfo De Hoyos. After three decades of use, the ODC Theater in the Mission District of San Francisco is finally on its way to a much-deserved renovation. While only the brick walls and original foundation lay bare on 17th and Shotwell Streets, exciting visions for a new home for performance fill the negative space. In Dance approached ODC Theater Director Rob Bailis for an update on these developments. entertainment http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2009/2009September_218.html http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2009/2009September_218.html Tue, 29 Sep 2009 18:00:00 GMT By John Killacky. Sitting in Yerba Buena's theater last March, I was mystified by the ecstatic reaction French choreographer Jerome Bel received restaging his "encounter" with classical Thai dancer Pichet Klunchan. All around me young dancers and a wide spectrum of Bay Area choreographers seemed to be having epiphanies, while older postmodernists like myself were bored and cranky at what we perceived to be derivative conceptual posturing and exoticized multiculturalism. entertainment http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2009/2009September_211.html http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2009/2009September_211.html Wed, 23 Sep 2009 18:00:00 GMT By Edward C. Warburton. Imagine artistic and cultural exchange on a worldwide scale. One where live, truly collaborative performing arts events occur on a regular basis at multiple locations simultaneously, not simply connecting a few sites or broadcasting shows to ballparks, but linking theatres and performance studios with classrooms and public spaces in rich telepresence, interactive experiences in virtual venues all over the world. The next generation of telematic performance will rely on advanced cyber infrastructure platforms that will enable distributed digital media arts practices using high definition audio and video, distributed computation, high performance optical networks, and interactive media environments. This is the future, not fantasy. entertainment http://www.dancersgroup.org/programs_2ndsundays.php http://www.dancersgroup.org/programs_2ndsundays.php Tue, 8 Sep 2009 18:00:00 GMT The upcoming proposal deadline for the 2nd Sundays program is for the Spring season, running February through May 2009. Selected artists each present up to 10 minutes of work followed by a facilitated in-depth conversation between the artists and the audience about the work. This program is an ideal opportunity to gain useful feedback about works-in-progress, or to delve deeper into completed work. entertainment http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2009/2009July_209.html http://www.dancersgroup.org/content/programs/articles/2009/2009July_209.html Tue, 1 Sep 2009 18:00:00 GMT This speech was delivered on June 3, 2009 at the Opening Plenary of Dance/USA's annual conference in Houston, Texas, the theme of which was "Sustainable Future: Reality Check." entertainment http://www.dancersgroup.org/download/HitandRunHula.mp3 http://www.dancersgroup.org/download/HitandRunHula.mp3 Tue, 11 Aug 2009 18:00:00 GMT Dozens of hula dancers hit the streets of San Francisco for a day of free performance. Listen to artistic director Patrick Makuakane talk about this exciting upcoming event. Produced by Sarah Jessee entertainment