Summer 2022 In Dance

CONTENTS

MEMBERSHIP Dancers’ Group – publisher of In Dance – provides resources to artists, the dance community, and audiences through programs and services that are as collaborative and innovative as the creative process. Dancers’ Group has evolved the paid tiered membership program to a fee-free model. If you’re interested in becoming a new member, consider joining at our free Community level. Visit dancersgroup.org for more information and resources.

WELCOME by ROWENA RICHIE, Guest Editor

FOR YEARS DANCERS’ GROUP has invested in me. They’ve cared for my health artistically. They’ve championed my dance theater projects, published personal essays in these pages, even supported a video collaboration about weaving in Peru. Weaving feels like an apt meta- phor for guest-editing this issue. What a gift, tapping the intelli- gence and wisdom of old friends and new who have contributed writing to this issue. Thank you for trusting me, divulging vulnerabili-

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Performances to the Community Calendar Dancers’ Group promotes performance listings in our online performance calendar and our emails to over 1,700 members. Resources and Opportunities Dancers’ Group sends its members a variety of emails that include recent community

46/ Reconnecting With Your Body ‘Statue of Strength’ and other trauma-informed tools empower refugees by Marianna Fiotaki and Gabriella Brent 50/ Cracked Open by Paul Modjadji and Fearghus Ó Conchúir 58/ Access to the Full Range of Reproductive Choices Is… by Dana Walrath Sensitive Content: Visual and written references to reproductive rights, abortion, isolation and gun violence 62/ A Letter to Our Multi-

8 / From One to Many: Dance is the Bridge

Dancers’ Group gratefully acknowledges the support of Bernard Osher Foundation, California Arts Council, Fleishhacker Foundation, Grants for the Arts, JB Berland Foundation, Kenneth Rainin Foundation, Koret Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, Phyllis C. Wattis Foundation, San Francisco Arts Commission, Wallace Alexander Gerbode Foundation, Walter & Elise Haas Fund, William & Flora Hewlett Foundation, Zellerbach Family Foundation and generous individuals.

ties and sharing expertise. Thank you, Dancers’ Group! The theme of health and wellness has been a major focus of mine over the past decade, first as a cancer survivor and then as a fellow at the Global Brain Health Institute. The resulting collection is “Not Your Typical Dance Wellness Issue.” You’ll hear from folks from around the globe and from a variety of pro- fessional backgrounds, ages and identities. Threads emerge: healing trauma, bridging difference and the sheer joy of movement, and watching others move, is woven through. I think you’ll see the connection between dance, on the one hand, and wellness, on the other, is essential to supporting our fragile but resilient humanity. These pieces have touched me, transported me, given me hope and reaffirmed my commitment to making dance healthy.

By Brenda Butler and Christopher “Mad Dog” Thomas

notices, artistic opportunities, grant deadlines, local news, and more.

14 / Moving Across Cultures

Transmitting cultural knowledge through movement language by Shahrzad Khorsandi

DANCERS’ GROUP Artist Administrator Wayne Hazzard Artist Resource Manager Andréa Spearman Administrative Assistants Shellie Jew Anna Gichan

18 / Inside Out

by Jason Bowman 27/ Stories in the Moment

Creating shared spaces of belonging for and with people living with dementia by Magda Kaczmarska

34/ It’s–Still–Hard to Say Unwritten by Joyce Calvert 36/ Weaving Wisdom in the Andes Documentary explores the relationship between an ancient craft and brain health by Rowena Richie 40/ Gravitating Towards Elders Through Somatic Education by Diana Lara

Danielle Vigil

Marginalized Disabled Dancers by Vanessa Hernández Cruz

Bookkeeper Michele Simon Design Sharon Anderson

66/ Walking Backwards by Chris Black 72/ In Community Highlights and resources,

Welcome to our tapestry!

activities and celebrations for our community—find more on dancersgroup.org

Cover photo courtesy of Vanessa Herná ndez Cruz

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