Here’s To Hip Hop: Hip Hop Is Here

From old school movements like the Richmond Robot and Oakland Boogaloo, to Hyphy and Turfing to San Francisco’s ‘new style’ hip-hop choreography, the Bay Area is a hub for hip-hop […]

Sustaining the Field Through Change: Facilitate Community by Releasing Control

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.” My interest lies in […]

Beauty in Search of a Resting Place

Does an artist have a responsibility to anything or anyone other than their whim?

Gary Masters and Marie Basile Continue to Pay Tribute to Dance’s Past and Future

Not long ago, we said farewell to 2014 and welcomed in a new year. For some, this shift is just a passage of time, devoid of any special meaning. For […]

Major celebrations and successes meet the usual challenges of presenting new work

This past year was a time of big birthdays, initiatives, celebrations, and rebuilding in Bay Area dance. Outshining all in historical import, ambition, publicity, and yes, hype—some perpetuated by this […]

A Banana Peel is Good for Headaches: Observations from the Traditional Arts Field

Between dinner and dessert one evening, Doba G., a medical doctor in her late seventies who emigrated from the Ukraine to San Francisco in 1993, gave me a tip: Lily: […]

SPEAK: A Slim Corner of the World

Being asked to reflect on 20 years of dance making is daunting. So I have decided to write in the second person. Adrienne Rich, one of my favorite poets and […]

New Visions in Korean Dance: Kyoungil Ong and Hearan Chung create community and dances that inspire

Two major choreographic forces in the Bay Area’s Korean dance community offer their work to honor the 30th Anniversary of San Francisco’s Ethnic Dance Festival this month. Weekend One presents […]

Bigger, Better, Faster, More: Audience Development Tools for the 21st Century

THERE’S A REVOLUTION 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 […]

Critical Pedagogy: The Art & Power of the Question

When asked their goals for students, teachers often respond, “I want them to be critical thinkers.” What exactly does this mean? Do our classroom and studio practices support the development […]