CONTENTS
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WELCOME by ROWENA RICHIE, Guest Editor
THE BAY AREA IS DEFINED BY ITS BRIDGES: the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge, the Carqui- nez Bridge, the San Mateo Bridge, the Golden Gate Bridge and the Bay Bridge. This issue of In Dance is all about bridges and bridging, too. The way dance and our local dance community span divides of various kinds to connect and enrich.
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Members of the Dancers’ Group staff share what they’ve been up to, linking us to new ter- ritories. Andréa writes about getting inspired and energized at the Women of Color in the Arts forum in Atlanta. Danielle examines the frontiers of motherhood—that it’s quite an adjustment in extraordinary and ordinary ways. Alex and Kat take us into the world of combating anti-fatness. We’re also featuring some contributions by recent CA$H grantees writing about their funded activities. They, too, often write about bridges of different kinds. Their projects and practices span generations, pedagogies, traditions. Another theme runs through this issue: the practice of being. Conni McKenzie brings the refuge of nature indoors through her immersive exhibi- tion Flow . Dia Dear leads us through a Sick Dance practice, a practice that involves not “doing” anything. Audrey Johnson explores being in attunement with the land during her artist residency in Georgia. The ideas in Audrey’s essay transported me back to the time I danced on a literal bridge, shown in this photo, from the fall of 2007. I was at an artist residency and spent most of my time taking walks and frolicking in the fields. I produced little in the way of tangible creative outputs but was filled with awe. One of the residency’s donors made it clear they were disappointed that I didn’t have a finished product. Today, I’m grateful to Audrey and others pav- ing the way for work that challenges our notions of productivity and supports awe and wonder. Placing my attention on bridging and being, the word Baying springs to mind. As in the act of grounding our bridging and being in the Bay. Baying is responsive, inclusive, creative. Street dancers, fat dancers, older dancers, disabled dancers—the Bay is finding its way. What a gift that we live among marvels of construction and culture— pathways to connect us. It was my pleasure to cross over with the writers of this issue. I trust you’ll have a similarly expansive experience.
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
34/ Weaving the Generations Together Through “Quilted Ancestors” by Dazaun Soleyn 36/ Taking Up Space by Kat Koenemann and Alex Tiscareno 42/ A QUEERspace for All by Afia Thompson 44/ Maternal Movement by Danielle Vigil 48/ Bridging the Gap Between Freestyle and Choreography by Tarik Rollerson 52/ Let’s Sick Dance by Dia Dear 56/ Views from the Porch by Audrey Johnson 60/ In Community Highlights and resources, activities and celebrations for our community – find more on dancersgroup.org
07 / Putting Down Roots and Raising Voices by Andréa Spearman 10 / Creating Joy so that We May Remember Kim Requesto, interviewed by Rowena Richie 14/ The Cypher, The Circle & The Drums by Karla Flores 18/ Preparing the Clouds by Shinichi Iova-Koga 22/ Flow by Conni McKenzie 26/ Why the Hella Hyphy Ball is more than just a Ball by Tremaine Wheaton 30/ Taking Up Room on the [Concert Dance] Floor by Melissa Hudson Bell
Dancers’ Group gratefully acknowledges the support of the 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.
notices, artistic opportunities, grant deadlines, local news, and more.
DANCERS’ GROUP Artist Administrator Wayne Hazzard Artist Resource Manager Andréa Spearman Community Resource Manager Shellie Jew Administrative Assistants
Danielle Vigil Alex Tiscareno
General Manager Kat Koenemann Bookkeeper Michele Simon Design Sharon Anderson
Cover photo by Bay Chaconas
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