Embracing Fat: Technique, Performance and Movement Innovation

The following article is the first in a three-part series on body image and dance. Look for Part II in June and Part III in the July/August issue of In Dance

Speak: A Call to Move

At 39 years old, I am still a daddy’s girl. I still rely on his words of encouragement and I still aim to make him (and my mother) proud. From […]

Dancing Masculinity

This month Scott Wells and Dancers turns fifteen. Looking back on my first choreographic effort, I realize I’ve come full circle. The first dance I ever made was a duet […]

Farewell to Muriel; Review: San Francisco Ballet, May 26, 2007

San Francisco’s Opera House is so well-proportioned you may not notice how huge in fact it is – but it seats over 3,000. And it was filled to capacity, with […]

Abhinaya Dance Company of San Jose Celebrates 35 Years

A COUPLE OF WEEKS ago I received a property tax statement from Santa Clara County. Imagine my surprise when I spotted an image of Mythili Kumar and her daughter Malavika […]

Connecting at the Dancewoods Festival

This article originally appeared in Stance on Dance. As a dancer, my physical reality strongly influences who I am, how I move and think. Knowing this about myself, I make […]

SHE, WHO CAN SEE, Finding balance with choreographer Alleluia Panis

A BEAUTIFUL YOUNG WOMAN is shaken awake by her troubled dreams. She rushes to work, but the dream haunts her: a chill on her spine, a cold feeling on her […]

What is Ethnic Dance?: Questions and Reflections from a “Post Multiculturalism” Conversation

Let’s face it, like it or not, traditional and ethnic dance forms around the globe are changing. I doubt there’s any dance style that’s performed exactly as it was 50 […]

The Emperor’s Old Clothes?: Reflections on Thirty Years of the Ethnic Dance Festival

Upfront: here is my disclaimer and confession. I owe much to the San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival (EDF), which marks 30 years of presenting this June. I have lived on […]

Respect Your Roots; Contact Improv and the Blues

The following is an abridged excerpt from a forthcoming book on Contact Improvisation by long-time Bay Area teacher and Contact pioneer John LeFan.