Secondary Scores in Improvisations: Opening up the Space with Improvisation as Performance

The Unspoken Scores in Improvisation as Performance In a dance form that requires a heightened sense of patience, self motivation, confidence, risk taking, and willingness to fail (as well as […]

In Practice: Smith/Wymore Disappearing Acts’ Six Degrees of Freedom

First of all, full disclosure: the Wymore of Smith/Wymore Disappearing Acts is kind of my boss—Lisa Wymore, Chair of the Department of Theater, Dance, & Performance Studies at UC Berkeley, […]

The Art of the Possible: Increase funding for the arts in 2008

It has been four years since the California Arts Council’s (CAC) budget was drastically cut by 94% leaving our state at the bottom of the nation in per capita spending […]

Varnam Salon 3.0 – Bharatanatyam Studio Showings

Varnam Salon 3.0 features online performances and conversations by Mythili Prakash, Ganesh Vasudeva, Navya Maitri Konda, and Vibha Raju. Feb 26 – Ganesh Vasudeva and Navya Maitri Konda Feb 27 […]

A View From the Trenches: Critical Losses

Art nourishes consciousness. It helps us identify who we are, what we value, and what we might become. “The function of criticism is the re-education of perception.” (Philosopher and educational […]

Artist Residencies as Homes for Community-building and Risk-taking

IN THE RECENTLY-RELEASED documentary about Yvonne Rainer called Feelings are Facts, one statement reveals a key element in the artistic explorations of the 1960s: Steve Paxton says that he had […]

A Conversation on Inquiry and Performance with Tammy Johnson and Larry Arrington

This year marks the 5th Anniversary of Deborah Slater Dance Theater’s Studio 210 Summer Residency. As an arguably unicornesque opportunity. In a city where rehearsal and performance space rental fees […]

BOYS IN TROUBLE: A Conversation with Sean Dorsey

Sean Dorsey is a dance-maker, activist, and trans advocate based in San Francisco. A founder of the Sean Dorsey Dance, Fresh Meat Productions and the Fresh Meat Festival, Dorsey and […]

Cultivating Freedom and Power in the Dance Classroom

I’m watching my two year old dance. He’s spinning fast, letting the full skirt of his dancing dress ripple around him, arms splayed, eyes closed. He sometimes spirals into the […]

SPEAK

I’d like to think I have become a mature dancer. After a 12-year professional career, I don’t get nervous anymore. As I perform, I enjoy the clarity of being on […]