Welcome

I am a child of the 60’s — the “make love not war” era, and therefore as a young man I recoiled from graphic images televised nightly of the Vietnam […]

Bringing the Minkisi Home

It was unexpectedly and on foreign land that Byb Bibene encountered a nkisi nkondi for the first time. During a visit at the Musée du quai Branly in Paris, where […]

In Practice: Body Nerds: Judith Butler and Monique Jenkinson

On November 3, 2017, philosopher Judith Butler took to the CounterPulse stage and, be still my beating heart, danced. Joined in mutual illustriousness by Monique Jenkinson in a tempered version […]

SPEAK: Live a Vibrant Life

Overwhelmed and teary-eyed, we sat holding each other in silence as we witnessed a full-circle moment. More than a decade of dance that began with timid steps in a basement […]

Images as Inspiration

In 2013, choreographers Christy Funsch and Peiling Kao held a performance in the former Meridian Gallery on Powell Street, where they danced in response to new paintings by British postmodernist Abby […]

Gaining Perspectives, Changing Perceptions: ARTICLE #1: How Politics and Power Shaped Dance in Pakistan

In a time where hatred and violence are a common occurrence abroad and in the U.S., I believe that artists play a critical role as cultural ambassadors and social change-makers. […]

The New Milkbar: A Blueprint for Embodiment

The Milkbar, a home for experimental dance, music, theater, film, site-specific, installation, and cross- and inter-disciplinary works of all kinds, has moved. We’re thrilled about our new space and want to […]

Weaving a Future for Inclusive Dance: Integrating Disability Into the Dance World

This article originally appeared in Dance/USA’s eJournal, From the Green Room, on March 22, 2016, and is reprinted here with kind permission. Dance/USA, the national service organization for the professional […]

IN THE SANDBOX: Sara Shelton Mann and a Career’s Worth of Collaborators Join in Erasing Time

CHOREOGRAPHERS WHO PERSEVERE and maintain a long career can find themselves wondering about history, legacy and influence. Hence, the retrospective. As a convention, it is generally more testimonial than inquiry […]

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 […]