Raising a Roof: Rob Bailis Give the Lowdown on the ODC Theater Renovation

After three decades of use, the ODC Theater in the Mission District of San Francisco is finally on its way to a much-deserved renovation. While only the brick walls and […]

What’s in a Name: The Legacy of Everybodyโ€™s Creative Art Center

The 1970s were a time in America when black people awakened to their African heritage and were taking on new names more fitting their history and characters. For dancer and […]

Balance, Push and Promotion: Self-Producing After College

My college welcoming committee consisted of one overworked upperclassman. I was an over-eager freshman, still acclimating to a twin-sized bed and raucous hallmates, but ready to join the first student-led […]

Afrimerica, A journey to be at home with ourselves

Is there any place on the planet more misunderstood, more misused, unknown, mistaken, proclaimed, mythologized and unresolved than the continent of Africa (the answer is โ€˜no,โ€™ btw)?

Teaching Honestly, Teaching Fearlessly: Two Decades of Luna

About halfway to this 20th landmark of Luna Dance Institute, I was asked to speak on a panel about careers in dance. During the Q&A, my mentor and teacher, June […]

Ten Tips for Creating a Top Performing Website

Think back to the last dance performance you saw: How did it inspire you? What feelings did you have after you left the performance? How did you hear about it? […]

MAP-MAKER: Katy Warner and the LINES Dance Center Celebrate 25 years of Dance Education

THE QUEST TO CAPTURE the illusion of flight is a defining tenet for any ballerina, yet Katy Warner, founding member of Alonzo King LINES Ballet, has experienced the real thing. […]

CULTIVATING RELATIONSHIP: Randee Paufve Reflects on How Dancing Can be Communicative and Evocative

RANDEE PAUFVEโ€™S PRODUCTION, Strangers Become Flowers, will have its premiere in February at ODC Commons Studio B. In November I watched a run-through at Shawl-Anderson that lasted about 45 minutes […]

WHAT I DO IS MEDICINE: Julia Chigamba and the Healing Power of Dance

I WAS WALKING ALONG a street not far from Downtown Oakland, looking for the studio where I was scheduled to meet Zimbabwean dancer and choreographer Julia Chigamba to discuss her […]

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 […]