Keepers of Home: Muisi-kongo & Kiazi Malonga

Muisi-kongo Malonga and Kiazi Malonga are the children of Malonga Casquelourd, a world-renowned Congolese dancer, drummer and choreographer who built an exceptional legacy in the traditional arts in the US, and spent half his life activating Congolese culture at the Alice Arts Center (now named after him), in Oakland, California

“Crip Ecstasy” Centers Accessibility in Nightlife

There is a sense of belonging felt deep in my bones that only the dance of a nightclub can bring.

In a New Place: Dance & Disability in 2018

The San Francisco Bay Area is known to be on the vanguard of what is possible in dance, who dances, where, and how. Because of the work of AXIS Dance […]

Welcome

Imagine a society—a world—that enables and ensures each person can live and create without money. I hope and dream about this. It will be an equalizing time when every individual […]

Welcome

I have hope. I worry. I have hope. I worry. I have hope. Does this cycle resonate? With desires to create, to manifest dreams, comes a simultaneous action to worry. […]

Fabric Animal: Weaving Bodies Through Time

On a recent afternoon in Emeryville, Sonsherée Giles and Sebastian Grubb gave a work-in-progress showing of their upcoming duet, Fabric Animal, to long-time Bay Area choreographer Nancy Karp. They have […]

Big Moves Dance Company: Beyond Body Positive Towards Fat Liberation

In recent years the body positive movement has gone mainstream. From television to huge billboards you can find more representation of diverse bodies and the term “body positivity.” Companies like […]

Did You Know? Bahiya Movement

Photo by Chani Bockwinkel Highlighting the Activities of Artists/Organizations in Our Region Bahiya Movement was founded in 2011 by mother/daughter team Afia and Nafi Thompson. Bahiya is a Swahili/Arabic word […]

Healing the Immigrant Body with Performance

Photo by Robbie Sweeny During my 16 years as an undocumented artist, I was deeply disconnected from my body and from society at large. The heavy impact of my status […]

SPEAK: What’s the Big Deal with Cultural Appropriation, and What’s the Path Forward?

Photo by Rachel Duff Photography Cultural appropriation is considered to be the taking of one or more aspects of a culture other than one’s own and using it for personal […]