THE LIVES OF A DANCE/DANCER: Keith Hennessy on his collaboration with Sara Shelton Mann

IN JANUARY, A REUNION took place at CounterPulse among eight former members of Contraband, the legendary radical dance troupe founded and directed by Sara Shelton Mann and active in San Francisco […]

Dancing Through a Jewish Lens

How does being Jewish shape our lives and our work as dance artists? What do we have to contribute from a Jewish perspective? Just as I was finding my voice as a […]

Turning Thirty: Joe Goode Performance Group Celebrates a Very Vital Enterprise

When a dance company reaches its 30th birthday, this is cause for celebration. It usually means they’ve managed to stay afloat in unstable economic periods, weathered artistic storms, and nurtured […]

BLESSED UNREST: A Festival of Possibilities at the Intersection of Social Justice and Performance

IN A TIME of spiraling inequality, discontent and violence, the sometimes vapory subject of art’s relation to social justice takes on a cold, sober, even urgent aspect. As in the […]

One Chinese Foot, One American Foot: Talking with Lily Cai

MY CONVERSATION with dancer and choreographer Lily Cai began with a topic that is probably the most important issue facing artists in San Francisco in 2016: real estate. We met […]

Choreofund: A Work in Progress

IN DECEMBER 2013, with the support of my co-workers, I started an experiment called CHOREOFUND. It has been my life’s work to investigate the creative process. Some of the most […]

Speak: RACE

1968 was a tumultuous year: Dr. Martin Luther King was assassinated; the Vietnam War was losing support; Muhammad Ali was found guilty of draft evasion; and Apartheid in South Africa […]

Tips on Writing a Letter of Intent (LOI) and Grant Application

DOS AND DON’TS Planning is key to success. Think carefully about your outline and proposal. Talk about your ideas with staff and colleagues. Good writing does not usually happen in […]

Approaching a Quarter Century at Smuin

“How does it feel to be on the cusp of Smuin’s 24th season?” This was the first question I posed to Artistic Director Celia Fushille during a recent conversation about […]

Expanding Expressions: Madhuri Kishore brings Kuchipudi to the Landscape of Bay Area Indian Dance

Madhuri Kishore School of Kuchipudi / photo courtesy of school Traversing the landscape of Indian dance forms practiced in the San Francisco Bay Area, it can be easy for the […]