Welcome, June 2014

At a certain age—say, over 50— you might think that you’ve seen it all or not be surprised by much, or so goes conventional wisdom. Therefore, when I opened an […]

From Kathakali to Kathak: Eight Indian Classical Genres at the 2014 SF Ethnic Dance Festival 

The weekend of June 14-15, 2014, is shaping up as an unusual opportunity for Bay Area dance lovers: the chance to experience a stellar showcase of Indian classical dance by some of the […]

Piñata Breakthrough: A Conversation with Liz Boubion

For the last several years, choreographer and somatic movement therapist Liz Boubion has collaborated with a variety of artists from different genres, to deconstruct piñata rituals in theaters, galleries and […]

Understanding Your Health Insurance Options

From the first hints of reforms to the nation’s health care system several years ago to the opening of the “statewide exchanges” this past October, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) […]

WE DANCE TOGETHER, WE STAND TOGETHER: Batsheva’s 50th Anniversary Tour to San Francisco

WHEN I EMBARKED on writing an article about Batsheva Dance Company, Ohad Naharin (company artistic director), the company’s 50th anniversary, Gaga, and their upcoming tour of Sadeh21 (2011) to San Francisco in November at […]

MIZMAR, GHAWAZI AND SWORDS – OH MY! Celebrating Community Through Dance

LEAVE the chiffon, sequins and sparkles at home. Bring your friends, family and co-workers to enjoy what promises to be a spectacular afternoon with belly dance companies Bal Anat and Karavansaray. Just […]

Team Rita

When I first got a call from Rita Felciano, she was working at the San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival office in Fort Mason Center and I was the editor at […]

30 YEARS: The Dance Community’s Reflections on Rita Felciano

EDITOR’S NOTE: What better way to honor a writer—especially one like dance critic Rita Felciano— than to feed her words. Along with Ann Murphy’s article on page 3, the following […]

Critical Dialogues: Heather Desaulniers and Katherine Hawthorne

What if, rather than writing a review, a critic sat down with a choreographer to have a two-way conversation about the work? that’s the experiment behind critical dialogues. For this […]

SPEAK

The pathway to adulthood is a funny thing, it’s different for everyone. In 2007, at age 42, I spontaneously decided to open a performance space (with co-founder and technical director […]