Modern Mixology: Cocktails and Contemporary Dance Mingle in 8x8x8

“It’s in a bar?” asked my incredulous friend. “And you can drink?” That’s a common double-check when people hear about 8x8x8 for the first time. Relaxed and a little rowdy, the grassroots, DIY […]

Critical Dialogues: Heather Desaulniers and Christy Funsch

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 […]

Jack Carpenter: a Master of Illumination

The estimable dance and theater lighting designer Thomas Skelton once remarked, “There are many barriers between the dancer and good lighting, but each can be hurdled with enough imagination, common […]

Questions from a Mom

To be a choreographer takes absolute commitment. To be a parent takes absolute commitment. Can the two live harmoniously? I have thought a lot about what it takes to be […]

Joy, Risk, and Change: An Interview with Marc Bamuthi Joseph

When any high-profile institution changes leadership, it begs the question of changes in topography. Earlier this year, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts proudly announced Marc Bamuthi Joseph as their […]

Longing: The Global Postmodern Poetics of David Roussève’s “Saudade”, Mar 2009

The same moment I discovered how much my body could be hated is the same moment my heart discovered how much I could be loved. This was a life that […]

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.

Going Bicoastal: RAWdance Does a Triple Take

Photo by Hillary Goidell For fifteen years, under the banner of RAWdance, Wendy Rein and Ryan T. Smith have been teaching and producing work in San Francisco. Their leadership in […]

What’s in Place

Not every year is like 2015. The Supreme Court upheld marriage equality, the Warriors won the NBA title, and we celebrated Anna Halprin’s 95th birthday. The median price of a […]

TADA! Educators Change the Future of California Dance

Maria, a high school senior in Fremont, California has a dilemma. She needs to choose between three exemplary undergraduate college dance teacher education programs—New York University, California State University East […]