Welcome

As the writers sent me their drafts, I’m struck by possible “essay pairings.”

Speak: Tension

My name’s Dia Dear. I’m an untraditionally trained dancer, choreographer, performance, and visual artist and make live, solo work. My work grew out of drag clubs and queer nightlife in […]

To PhD or Not to PhD

An overview of PhD programs across the U.S. and U.K.

Working in The Garage: Tools to Help Carve Out Space for Contemporary Dance

Contemporary dance has a long history of being developed on the fringes of the cultural landscape. Choreographers have traditionally found space to make new work in basements, lofts, parking structures […]

Curating Performance in East Bay: Spotlight on Four Artist Groups

As most young artists discover, making the art is only half the work. Bringing the art to people involves a particular method to the madness. Commissions, showcases, residencies and co-productions, […]

Feminist Space in Dance: hers and hers asks questions with little seismic’s Katie Faulkner

Hey, We’re hers and hers. A new queer feminist dance collective in San Francisco We (Courtney King and myself) craft dance-theater with strong woman-identified performers, we write epic poems that […]

Ten Tips On How to Engage with Parents in Parent-Child Classes

I’ve been teaching dance for a while. My resumé says something like confidently creates developmentally-appropriate dance curricula for ages 0-adult. But I’ve got to say that my confidence was challenged when I started leading […]

What Does “Healthy” Mean? A Look at Dancers’ Body Types and Shifting Notions of Wellness

It wasn’t so long ago that university dance programs were affiliated with physical education departments, and some schools were slower than others in moving their dance students into the humanities. […]

Hip Hop Her Way; An Interview with Sisterz of the Underground’s Sarah Smalls

Sisterz of the Underground (SOTU) is a community, network, and support system created by, and for, females who choose hip-hop as a form of expression. As an open hip-hop collective, […]

Dancing Through a Jewish Lens

How does being Jewish shape our lives and our work as dance artists? What do we have to contribute from a Jewish perspective? Just as I was finding my voice as a […]