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Remembering Ruth Beckford (Dec 7, 1926- May 8, 2019) The legendary dancer, chore- ographer and Oakland com- munity activist, died at age 93. Beckford known as The Dance Lady , toured with the acclaimed dancer/choreogra- pher Katharine Dunham when she was just 17. She started the Ruth Beckford African Hai- tian Dance Company, taught Dunham technique at her dance studios in Oakland and San Francisco, and started the first modern dance depart- ment at a recreation depart- ment in the country. She used dance to teach life skills and encourage the girls to be self sufficient and confident in their individuality. She stayed close to many of her former students for more than 50 years. In her words: “I choreo- graphed my life. Step by step, year by year.” Dancers’ Group Announces Lighting Artists in Dance Grantees In its 12th year, the Lighting Artists in Dance program provides lighting designers access to funds that will sup- port artistic collaborations with a dance artist/company. Funded projects culminate in the creation of dance perfor- mances taking place in the Bay Area. The program is unique in its focus on supporting emerging as well as estab- lished Lighting Designers for dance. Two thirds of this year’s grants are awarded to first-time awardees, “helping to ensure that a new genera- tion of Lighting Designers can develop meaningful collabo- rations in our vibrant dance sector, while established designers can continue to deepen their craft” says Danc- ers’ Group’s program director Michelle Lynch Reynolds. The 2019 Lighting Artists in Dance grantees are: Jessi Barber, lighting designer for Wax Poet(s) MidCentury Blue(s) is a dance and light installation triptych. It draws inspiration from Yves Klein's Blue paint and George Balanchine's signature blue lighting for his black and white ballets. The first two parts will use traditional choreogra- pher-performer dynamic. The third part upends the dynamic with shared authorship.
Danielle Ferguson, lighting designer for Funsch Dance Experience Funsch Dance's extended- length work, EPOCH , subverts conventional performance models by pushing the limits of duration. In cheeky defi- ance of Doris Humphrey's warning "All dances are too long," EPOCH unfolds over 12 hours, in a gratuitous surplus of movement, interrupted by moments of nothingness, to challenge the valuing of acquisition and excess. Beth Hersh, lighting designer for Epiphany Dance Theater Rock e Malta is an interdisci- plinary production investigating the matriarchal histories and experiences of an international web of female artists as they relate to religion's ability to create walls, the disregard of woman's work/power and the ruin/re- birth that comes from the collision of the old/new. meaning, “I’ll be there”, is a new dance-theater project by Nkeiruka Oruche. A satirical narrative told through African & Afro-Diaporic contemporary dance and music, Mi Soon Come uses transportation as conduit for a nuanced illumi- nation of ownership, belong- ing, and possibility for Urban Africans. Alexander V Nichols, lighting designer for Margaret Jenkins Dance Company Shadows, Embers, Echoes celebrates MJDC’s 45th anni- versary through collaboration with Nichols, Paul Dresher (composer), Michael Palmer (poet), and Rinde Eckert (per- formance artist). Daniel Weiermann, lighting designer for Alyssa Mitchel The Classroom will explore elements of the learning process, incorporating video/ audio interviews with twenty- six Bay Area students, teach- ers and principals. dancersgroup.org/lad Dance/USA Awards Artist Fellowships to 10 Bay Area Dance-Makers Dance/USA Fellowships to Artists provides direct support to dance artists nationwide who work through dance to address social change within one or more communities. DFA funds may be used at the artist’s discretion to support costs related to their prac- tice; artists are not required to complete a project or perform. Stephanie Anne Johnson, lighting designer for Afro Urban Society Mi Soon Come (MSC) , a Jamaican patois phrase
Alleluia Panis San Francisco, CA
Several Bay Area artists have been honored:
Charya Burt Windsor, CA
As a choreographer and cul- ture bearer, Panis embraces the sometimes contradictory dynamics of Pilipinx Diasporic life, combining modern West- ern dance and indigenous cul- tural ceremony. Her practice involves research in Pilipinx arts, community storytelling, relationship building, and mentoring of next-generation artists, particularly in the SOMA neighborhood of San Francisco. As a Chicana dancer, choreog- rapher, and educator, Sanchez focuses on community arts and traditional dance forms to provide a platform for Latinx communities, emphasizing the voices and experiences of Latina and Chicana women and youth. In her practice, called Conjure Art, Tabor-Smith utilizes Yorùbá Lukumi ritual to address issues of social and environmental justice, race, gender identity and belonging; and to cultivate meaningful and lasting rela- tionships in Oakland, CA. danceusa.org Vanessa Sanchez San Francisco, CA Amara Tabor-Smith Oakland, CA
Trained by Cambodia’s surviv- ing dance masters following the Khmer Rouge Genocide, Burt emigrated in 1993; she preserves classical Cambo- dian dance technique for Cambodian communities across California and creates dances that are relevant for young dancers.
Sarah Crowell Oakland, CA
Margaret Jenkins Dance Lab The Dance Lab, a sunny and spacious 3,200 square foot studio featuring sprung hardwood floors and floor-to-ceiling mirrors, is home to the Margaret Jen- kins Dance Company and a research and development site for dance emphasizing artistic process. The Dance Lab is 80ft x 40ft with 12ft ceilings, with one pillar in the middle of the space. It features a sprung hardwood floor, heating, ceiling fans, floor-to-ceiling mirrors, WiFi, sound system with MP3/auxiliary input, rehearsal piano and a lounge area with microwave and refrigerator. The Lab is ADA compliant and acces- sible via elevator. Marley floor is available for an additional fee. Highlighting venues and studio space around the Bay Area
Crowell practices social change primarily within
Destiny Arts Youth Company, which she founded, and which explores issues of interest to young people, includ- ing identity, race and sexual orientation.
Mama Naomi Diouf Castro Valley, CA
As an immigrant from Liberia who arrived during the Black Power Movement, Diouf has been an artist, educator and activist who shares the diverse narratives of people of African Descent. She intends to take a sabbatical to develop the next generation of African dance leaders, both within her company and locally, and train African artists to teach and to advocate. dance choreographer, writer and activist, Dorsey creates dances in and with commu- nity; creates opportunities for trans and gender-non- conforming (gnc) people to experience supported creative expression and cultural lead- ership; and challenges the exclusion, silencing and harm of trans/gnc people in Dance. Sean Dorsey San Francisco, CA As a transgender modern Hunter is a Deaf African Amer- ican choreographer, dancer, instructor, speaker, and Deaf advocate who creates opportunities for Deaf artists and produces Deaf-friendly events; he founded the Urban Jazz Dance Company and Bay Area International Deaf Dance Festival. Makuakane is obliged to keep traditional dances and chants intact and pass transgen- erational knowledge onto students and has been given permission to create work that reflects those traditions. Navarrete collaborates with San Francisco Bay Area com- munities severely impacted by systems of oppression, in partnership with organizations that offer parallel professional support. Jose Navarette Oakland, CA Antoine Hunter Oakland, CA PatrickMakuakane San Francisco, CA As a Kumu Hula, a tradi- tion bearer and shaper,
The Margaret Jenkins Dance Lab: 3200 sq. ft. Rental rates start at $35 per hour 301 Eighth Street, #200, SF
bayareaspaces.org/spaces/2944 Find more spaces for dance at bayareaspaces.org
ODC/Dance Presents Summer Sampler July 26-27, and August 2-3
“As always with ODC... anticipate superlative, witty modern dance par excellence.” - San Francisco Chronicle
odc.dance/summersampler
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in dance JUN 2019
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