Published by Dancers' Group, In Dance is discourse and dialogue to unify, strengthen, and amplify.
NOV 2019
Surabhi Bharadwaj, Ashrutam – The Unheard Voice, Nov 1-3, Photo by Enjo Matthew
Traveling provides an opportunity to refresh, reflect and reframe. The refreshing part of a journey starts once I’m in my preferred mode of transport—a bike, a car, a bus, a plane, and rarely a boat because I get seasick. Travel that refreshes can also transpire when dream- ing and meditating. During dreams my only mode of transport is of course my mind, and I can recall numer- ous exotic journeys. There’s the swimming dreams where I am in the deepest part of the ocean gliding in and out of caves, and these caves are filled with treasure. Another dream finds me flying amongst the stars—this is a recurring dream in which I am Captain Marvel. Yes, I want to be a superhero. My meditations are often busier than I hope. And I try and not judge this lack of focus. Even if I am ‘judgy’ during meditating can I accept the gifts received during those special moments of interior and contemplative travel? Yes, please. Before each trip I have the habit of rushing to accomplish tasks that must be moved forward while I’m away. Pay bills, complete reports, reschedule meet- ings, and usually the final task is to forget to set an ‘I’m away’ auto email. Packing is always left to the last minute, because the more time I have to pack the more I pack. And still I am an over-packer. I try, unsuccessfully, to not judge that I will stuff multiple pairs of shoes and socks Welcome by WAYNE HAZZARD, ARTIST ADMINISTRATOR
into my suitcase. Peek inside my packed bag and you will find more shirts than days I am away. Invariably I return from a weekend trip, or month long journey, with items I did not wear. Ok, I admit I like this about myself—at 62 I’m not gonna go all Marie Kondo (only keeping things that “spark joy”). Once a journey begins reflections start. I think about what got me to the place of being on this journey. Reflecting also opens space to deepen my commitment to objectives: get more rest, listen more and accept the past as done; remember that judgment only limits my intentions, not knowing will reveal something and some things can’t be known. Trust. Reframing can take place anytime—often at the end of a sojourn—and it is in this gift that I can keep on giving. Cliché and true. For example; writing these monthly welcomes allow me to travel in and around the metaphors of how, when, why and where we create. Therefore, I can reframe and state that participating in a performance is another form of wondrous travel. An audience, myself included, is eager to experience new territory, often a place yet known. Let us be eager to delight in the discovery of the land-of-dance—fiction and nonfiction— and when we don’t judge where the artist has decided to take us what a glorious time and journey it is. A closing tid-bit: reading is traveling through words. Enjoy the excursion set forth and within.
InCivility, Nov 1-2 Photo by Antti Yrjönen
Nava Dance Theater's, Nadhi Thekkek, Nov 8 Photo by Lara Kaur
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Dialogues in the Diaspora speak by NADHI THEKKEK
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CONTENTS
Photo by Leo Resplandor
Photo by Anubhava
improvisation, and adding a western instru- ment and music (by cellist Chris Evans.) But I believe the two biggest deviations from bharatanatyam were 1) taking on a political theme based on true eyewitness accounts and 2) partnering with an Indian miniature painter to tell the story. As a result of our partnership, Rupy and I created a lay- ered narrative that reminded people of their own stories of displacement, regardless of background, while we reimagined what was possible with both our traditional forms. Earlier this year I premiered Unfiltered with co-creators Sahasra Sambamoorthi (NYC) and Rasika Kumar (San Jose.) Here we again deviated from convention by tak- ing the experiences of women we knew per- sonally to explore the #metoo movement through bharatanatyam. Rasika’s perspec- tive delved into the power dynamic at work, Sahasra’s perspective explored relationship abuse, and mine examined the complicated emotions of date rape. Because we created depictions that weren’t normally seen in bharatanatyam, all of us had to reinterpret our use of hand gestures and facial expres- sions to describe scenarios that aren’t usu- ally depicted. Think computers, cell phones, trains, and drinks at a bar. We also deviated by using English words to create rhythmic syllables (or jethis) to
bharatanatyam can be used to bridge the cul- tural differences in our communities. Bharatanatyam is becoming increasingly prevalent in the diaspora, with teachers all over the Bay Area. But perhaps because of how tradition can be misperceived as rigid or dated, it’s largely losing relevance in today’s youth, where creativity and thinking outside the box is encouraged. At the same time, it feels like who we are as South Asians in the diaspora is changing. In this era, we are being discriminated against because of our skin color, because of our religion, or because of our legal status, and as a commu- nity we are responding to those injustices. If our art forms are supposed to reflect who we are, then they need to embody our activism. What if it’s not mythology, but history that moves us? What if it’s not a story at all, but an emotion or reaction to what is going on in the world? Could we use bharatanatyam to explore these perspectives, or do we need to redraw the boundaries? In Broken Seeds Still Grow (2017), co-cre- ators Rupy C. Tut and I explored communal violence and divisions in secular communi- ties during the 1947 Partition of British India through visual art and dance. In the choreog- raphy, I retained the bharatanatyam vocab- ulary, expressive mime, and set the dance largely to classical Indian music (composed by GS Rajan). I sidestepped some conventions by deconstructing movement, experimenting with
AS A DANCEMAKER, my chosen form of expres- sion is bharatanatyam, a traditional dance form of South India. Like many traditional art forms, bharatanatyam feels precious, like something that has traveled through time and space but at the same it’s very much alive and changing. There is so much of bharatanatyam that digs deep, that connects the artist and the observer on a personal level. But, as a choreographer, how do I negotiate the boundaries of bharatanatyam to create work that 1) embodies the art form I believe in and 2) reflects my experience as a first generation, American-born, Malayalee, woman? I was born in the US, my first language was English, and I was raised Catholic. Bharatanatyam is an art form from India, danced to Indian languages I couldn’t understand, and draws inspiration from the gods and goddesses of Hindu mythol- ogy. Technically, there is very little about bharatanatyam that is supposed to feel famil- iar to me. But despite my lack of familiarity, bharatanatyam connected me to characters in Hindu mythology and made them relat- able. It explored the human emotions that I saw every day and found them in mythologi- cal stories and ancient poetry. Through these experiences, I’ve seen that bharatanatyam has the kind of power that makes what seems foreign actually seem familiar, and this is one of the primary reasons I believe
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ON THIS PAGE / Dialogues in the Diaspora by Nadhi Thekkek 3 / San Francisco Dance Film Festival by Heather Desaulniers 4 / In Practice: Nina Haft & Company’s Precarious Pod by Sima Belmar 6 / Calendar 8 / Video Tips: Documenting Your Work by Lindsay Gauthier 10 / Terry Sendgraff: We See You Flying! by Anne Bluethenthal and Aileen Moffitt
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From Vision to Mainstay in a Decade: San Francisco Dance Film Festival by HEATHER DESAULNIERS
SFDFF has experienced much growth and change since their inaugural event in 2010. The duration of each festival has gradually increased over time, moving from a single weekend to the upcoming edition’s nine days. Similarly, the number of venues has expanded, with screenings this year hap- pening at five unique spaces: Brava Theater Center, Catharine Clark Gallery, Delancey St. Screening Room, Lucasfilm Premier Theater, and the Roxie Cinema. Variety of submis- sions has ballooned and multiplied, as has the scope of international entries – 2019’s program includes films from Taiwan, South Korea, Chile, Iran, Slovenia, and more. But perhaps one of the most notable changes has been in the festival’s leadership structure. In its first few years, SFDFF joyfully welcomed some heavy hitters to its family – Judy Flan- nery as Executive Director and Randall Heath as Managing Director – two people whom Schoenberg credit with putting the organization on artistic steroids and setting it on an incredible, advancing course: “SFDFF feels very healthy, with a great working envi- ronment, helmed by these professional, tal- ented individuals who constantly surprise me with their skill and ideas.” At the same time, Schoenberg herself transitioned into a differ- ent position and became SFDFF’s Director of Programming. While Director of Program- ming still encompasses a host of wide-rang- ing responsibilities, she was excited that this new role allowed her to focus more on her passions, like film curation (in collabora- tion with Heath and a screening committee) and building relationships with filmmakers. “Letting go of something that you are the founder of can be tough, especially at first,” she relays, “but I was glad to have the fore- sight to step sideways and see what other expertise could bring to the table.” But much has also stayed the same these past ten years. First and foremost is SFDFF’s commitment to Schoenberg’s original vision – championing independent artists and cre- ating a platform for their work to be seen. And, of course, the overwhelming positive response! From the first pre-event to pres- ent day, viewers have been all in for this experience. Having said that, Schoenberg is quick to acknowledge that building an audi- ence base has been a challenge from the very beginning, one she hopes can change as SFDFF enters its next decade: “It is still a battle to get people to come to the the- ater for the festival; once they do, they’re on board and hooked.” It’s safe to say that attendees of the 2019 festival will for sure be hooked – such a remarkable line-up awaits! A trio of Brit- ish premieres are surely not-to-be-missed. SFDFF’s opening night selection is the North American premiere of Queen + Béjart: Bal- let For Life , directed by Lynne Wake, which chronicles a collaborative project linking Queen’s music and Maurice Béjart’s chore- ography. Equal parts emotional stunner and sensory banquet, connection leaps from the documentary’s every moment – the connec- tion across time, across disciplines, between iconic artists and the deep losses from AIDS. The US premiere of Romeo & Juliet , from Ballet Boyz founders Michael Nunn and Wil- liam Trevitt, screens on Wednesday night. With Sir Kenneth MacMillan’s choreography and titular performances by William Brace- well and Francesca Hayward, this new adap- tation relives the timeless saga that inter- twines the transcendent power of love and the ugly power of hate. SFDFF is also hon- ored to present the world premiere of Betrof- fenheit ’s filmed version, directed by Jeff Tudor, written by Jonathon Young and cho- reographed by Crystal Pite. Recently onstage at Cal Performances, the potent mixed disci- pline work follows Young’s real-life journey through personal tragedy, grief, escape and
eventually, hope. Alongside these phenomenal entries, Schoenberg is looking forward to so many other moments of the festival. Two different films, Dancing on Icebergs from New Zea- land and Fram from Finland, seek to unite dance and choreography together with the urgency of climate change. In keeping a pulse on current technology, Adobe engineer Bhau- tik Joshi and Capacitor’s Artistic Director Jodi Lomask take a sojourn into virtual real- ity, as part of SFDFF’s yearly Co-Laboratory Program. Marvel at how the brain looks and functions as Lomask’s brain is mapped dur- ing the choreographic process in Into the Neural Forest . Or if short films are more your speed, there are plenty of offerings pep- pered throughout SFDFF’s nine days. “Shorts are still my favorite, and this year, we have a number of shorts programs, some of which are designed around a distinct theme,” shares Schoenberg. “ Finding Me investigates the dis- covery of identity through dance; Women on the Move features all female filmmakers; and Raising Voices highlights social justice.” Schoenberg is beyond thrilled that so many filmmakers, directors and participants are planning to be at the festival in person, especially Charles “Lil’ Buck” Riley, the first recipient of SFDFF’s brand new Embodi- ment Award for artistic excellence and influ- ence. “I’m quite star struck, to be honest – Lil’ Buck is an international dance force and presence, a ground-breaking collabora- tor famous for a flowing form of street dance known as Memphis jookin,” says Schoen- berg. “An inspirational artist who sees the potential art has for change, he has done so much for dance, film and social justice.” In addition to the Embodiment Award, Lil’
WHAT DO YOU LOVE ABOUT FALL? It’s by far my favorite time of year, so my list is on the longer side. There are the beloved seasonal traditions - Thanksgiving feasts and spooky Halloween trick or treating (my dog’s pizza costume last year was epic). Crisp autumn temperatures, though admittedly those are less common in Northern California. I can even fess up to my pumpkin spice latte devotion, no matter how uncool or uncouth. But above all, I love how fall seems a moment to mark milestones. Trees renew by shedding color- ful leaves. Folks return rested and rejuvenated (hopefully) from vacation ready to dive into new projects. School begins once again, and a multitude of activities resume after summer break. When everything starts back up, there is an undeniable sense of forward motion, of passage into the next chapter. Fall dance in the San Francisco Bay Area has always been full of this milestone spirit, and this year is no exception. In September, Shawl-Anderson Dance Center launched the new Queering Dance Festival while Epiphany Dance Theater’s Trolley Dances just marked its sixteenth iteration a few weeks back. Late fall will see the seventy-fifth anniversary of San Francisco Ballet’s Nutcracker and the thirty-third year of ODC/Dance’s The Vel- veteen Rabbit . And as we say farewell to October and greet November another sig- nificant milestone unfolds: the 10th annual San Francisco Dance Film Festival (SFDFF). From November 2nd to the 10th, the festi- val will take over the city’s major screening venues with an eclectic array of short films, full-length features and gripping documenta- ries from all over the world. The vibe will be one of celebration and accomplishment, cer- tainly for the films and filmmakers, but also for SFDFF itself, which in a single decade has become a mainstay in the dance community. When SFDFF officially launched in 2010, it brought to fruition an idea that had been on founder Greta Schoenberg’s heart and mind for some time. While dancing professionally in Europe in the mid-1990s, the Santa Cruz native had had many opportunities to wit- ness dance/choreographic artists incorporating film, video and multi-media elements into their work. The innovation and risk-taking indeed impressed her, but she also started to realize that the intersection of film and dance could address yet another challenging obstacle. “I was frustrated with the reality that permis- sion was needed from the powers that be to create something, as well as large budgetary resources,” Schoenberg explains. “It was excit- ing that I could make short dance films that wouldn’t require as much rehearsal space, I didn’t have to pay for a theater nor get a green light from anyone – it felt like a more demo- cratic and egalitarian approach to artmaking.” After returning to the Bay and settling in SF, this attraction to dance and film only grew stronger, and in 2009 Schoenberg cobbled together a collection of films along with dance photography by her husband Gregg Schoen- berg and the late Weiferd Watts for an event at a friend’s art gallery: “It was extremely DIY, and I had no idea whether anyone would come, but a bunch of people showed up – the idea had sparked, and from there, we were invited to do a more formal showing at the Ninth Street Independent Film Center.” Schoenberg was on board, and in March 2010 the San Francisco Dance Film Festival debuted to local audiences. “That first festival was still very grass roots; we had fewer films, it was shorts-driven, mostly local work, and we had a limited budget for marketing and publicity,” remembers Schoenberg. “And yet there was so much excitement about what this could be – Dancers' Group reached out with an unso- licited grant to get us going; this early vote of confidence from an organization that works so hard bringing our community together was incredibly valuable.”
Buck’s artistic contributions will be cele- brated with an evening of film featuring the San Francisco premiere of Lil’ Buck: Real Swan , directed by Louis Wallecan. With the festival a mere weeks away, the focus is understandably on the here and now – details, logistics, problem-solving and the invariable last minute issues that arise with such a massive endeavor. Though that doesn’t stop the SFDFF staff and board from thinking about the next ten years, and the ten years after that. Securing more funding. Developing a larger audience. No question. And for Schoenberg, that future also includes broad and expansive ideas: “I want to make the most of our current trajectory; to cre- ate collaborative and educational programs; to continue giving voice to the underrepre- sented; to showcase the plethora of ideas from our community; and to celebrate and support even more artists in getting their work seen.” Lofty aspirations? Indeed. But remember, it was vision like this that first built the San Francisco Dance Film Festival, and turned it into a permanent fixture on the fall dance calendar. Sure seems like an orga- nization that is all about getting things done. HEATHER DESAULNIERS is a freelance dance writer based in Oakland. She is the Editorial Associate and SF/Bay Area columnist for CriticalDance, the dance curator for SF Arts Monthly, a contributor to DanceTabs as well as several other dance-focused publications.
San Francisco Dance Film Festival runs November 2-10. Times, venues and screenings vary, please visit sfdancefilmfest.org.
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by SIMA BELMAR IN PRACTICE: Nina Haft & Company’s Precarious Pod
WHEN I WAS DANCING with Nina Haft in the late 1990s and early 2000s, Jewish themes were prevalent. She made a dance called Minyan that derived some of its choreogra- phy from davening, the full body gesture of Jewish liturgical prayer, and another called Mit a Bing! Mit a Boom! A Klezmer Dance . In that one, I played David Berman, the Jew- ish gangster (or “gambling pioneer” if you prefer). I loved working with Nina in part because she’s a deep dance nerd who loves researching both book and body archives. Recently, Haft has turned her choreo- graphic attention toward the question of what it means to be human in relation to the natural world. Precarious Pod is an immer- sive and interactive dance event that inves- tigates what animals have to teach humans about instinct, sustainability, and survival. The choreography and improvisational structures were developed in relation to three different animals on different points on the extinction spectrum: crows, wolves, and the vaquita, a harbor porpoise. Haft’s research has been extensive: she’s read books ( A Foray into the World of Animals and Humans by Jakob von Uexkull, Stay- ing with the Trouble by Donna Haraway, Trace by Lauret Savoy , Becoming a Beast by Charles Foster and The Genius of Birds by Jennifer Ackerman); followed the work of wildlife ecologists and animal behavior- ists studying the impact of reintroducing wolves into Yellowstone National Park; and attended the annual conference of the Asso- ciation for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography where she led workshops with scientists as an artist working on water and climate change. At a showing of the wolves section, which features dancers Rose Huey, Rogelio Lopez, Andrew Merrell, and Rebecca Morris, Haft explained that the dancers were “not meant to look like anything other than human beings, but rather to explore what it’s like to inhabit the point of view of another spe- cies.” She asked us—an audience of three that included set designer Lauren Elder— what was coming across, what we con- nected with and wondered about, what we were confused about, and when we felt dis- engaged. The following conversation took place after the showing, when Haft was still thinking about how the work would unfold in performance. Sima Belmar: Watching the quartet, I felt like there were three movement evocations at play: wolf movement, human movement, and contemporary dancer movement. I like to think of dancer as a particular category of human because of the way we consciously cultivate our senses, our instincts, and our muscle memory. I saw the dancers practice sensing across space. They practiced star- ing. They piled up in a pack cuddle. Backs of heads reacted to sudden movements tak- ing place behind them. Faces sniffed the air. Foreheads smeared across collar bones. There seemed to be heightened attention paid to the way finger, palm, and foot pads make contact with the floor, the air, and other creatures in the space. All of this both heightened and defamiliarized the contempo- rary dance movement at work in the piece, in an almost disidentifying move. Nina Haft: I’ve been doing a lot with exploring how improvisational structures might be a way to understand instinct. Things that are choreographed, those more defined patterns, even though it gets in our muscle memory, it’s more from the outside in, so it’s conditioned by the environment. If you put wolves in a zoo they’re going to act like wolves but there are going to be certain things that are changed about the way they behave and yet you can’t erase the instincts. For me, improvisation is a way to live in and look at what is instinctual and what is learned. As you know as a dancer, when we start improvising, it’s sort of like clearing out the pipes of all the stuff that’s been patterned
Photo by Pak Han
session, then I’m literally aligned with these larger forces. There are also non-western systems that I’m not trained in any meaning- ful way—for example, traditional Chinese medicine has other associations with those parts of the body—so I leap frog between different systems to find ways to give the dancers options to reflect. We do this for about 8-9 minutes. With the wolf pack I’ve been doing a process where we immediately go into a very open, not terribly structured group improv with more tactile connection because we’re consciously trying to build a sensory feeling of being a pack. We’ll work certain kinds of scores that are about things like establishing who’s the alpha, who’s the interloper. It’s different with each one of the animals. With the vaquita, because they are becoming extinct, and they tend to live in pairs, what I’ve been doing with Mallory [Markham] is playing with this idea of what happens when you’re the last one left—what does it feel like when you’re trying to find another one and can’t? We’ve been doing a lot of improvising with what it would be like if sound were the way she navigated, not sight. How can you heighten a sensitivity to where you are in the room if you imagine you’re broadcasting sound and nothing bounces back? How do you approximate echolocation as a human? We don’t hear that well but we do have ste- reo hearing. We’re trying to cultivate and foreground instincts we have but don’t rely upon as humans. SB: What about the crows? NH: Crows have this two-stage breath- ing—when they take in air, it first goes into these empty sacs in their bones. Then they have another pressure action that sends it into the lungs and back out. That’s part of why they’re so buoyant, they have these hol- low chambers in their leg bones and pelvises. So Jennifer [Twilley Jerum], Jesse [Wiener],
into us and finding a way to get at something that feels deeper and that takes time. My role as director is to set up structures that sup- port the dancers in tracking and reflecting on what’s influencing their choices. I start all my rehearsals by doing this almanac practice. It uses the position of the sun and the moon, these planetary forces that are invisible to us but that represent things about the season and also the phase of the moon, which affects tide cycles and pulls on the body of water that we are, and it’s like tuning your instrument, you tune it before you play. That’s what we do, we tune to these forces that historically have been used by people to decide how we live in the natural world and survive, what kind of food we eat, when we plant, when we har- vest, what we do about insects, which ani- mals we track—there’s a whole folk technol- ogy that people have developed. That’s what the Farmer’s Almanac is in North America. There are lots of other ways to do it. SB: Take us through what that looks like in practice. NH: I consult the position of the sun and the moon on the app iLuna. In western alma- nacs there are different parts of the body associated with the 12 signs of the zodiac. So for example, today the moon is in Pisces, and Pisces is associated with the feet. And the sun is in Virgo, which is associated with the bow- els. And it’s also a full moon today which means that it has some of the strongest grav- ity pull. So we drop into our bodies to sense and allow movement to arise from sensation in the feet and the intestines. It’s very inter- nally, sensory focused. It’s not about warm- ing up your muscles or reviewing anything. It’s about a way of heightening your sensitiv- ity to the parts of the body that are associ- ated with the positions of the planets. So if I can really notice and track those parts of my body as the starting point of my practice
and I spent a lot of time in the beginning exploring what would it be if your pelvis was the most buoyant part of the body instead of the most weighty. What kind of movement might arise? Of course, as a human being it doesn’t feel that way but if you spend enough time initiating, sensing, organizing your movement around certain things, you construct an alternate sense of what your body is, so it’s almost like inhabit- ing a different form. SB: The message from climate change is that we’re running out of time. The almanac practice seems to acknowledge that we’re running out of time, but we also can’t rush. NH: If I look at this project and my King Tide project, one thing I’ve been doing since 2013 is slowing down. It’s not like we have to hurry up to make something hap- pen. Things are happening and we’re not being present with them. So the choice to slow down and take time reveals what is actually going on. Part of the problem with human responses to climate change is that we’re in this panic mode so we’re not see- ing clearly, either ourselves and our choices or the impact they have on the environment. If I could really visualize every piece of plas- tic I’ve ever bought, how it’s going to be here for another 500 years, instead of feeling despair or guilt, what if I could really slow down and make a different choice? In the rehearsal process it feels really restorative. We’re really living because we’re present and that is intrinsically hopeful. I think there’s a possibility for even in a troubled climate or state of things falling apart to make choices that are about living into the future, not just waiting for time to run out. And that’s what I think being a dancer offers. We’re lucky we have this practice. If we want to use it in this way, we can connect with each other, we can create a reality out of nothing but ourselves and time, and that impacts other people. I
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» Continued from pg 2 Dialogues in the Diaspora
overtly that says, pay atten- tion to what makes you a specific creature having an impact on the environment around you. SB: So one reason for doing a performance of such a rich practice is to invite audiences into your ecosys- tem. NH: The audiences are going to be small. You get an experience of being con- nected to other audience members. There’s a bunch of creatures in the room and this is how I’m behaving— why am I behaving like this? Why did I choose to come over here? Why do I feel more comfortable? SB: Would you consider leading your audience in an almanac improvisation as a way to transition into the performance, to drop into the practice? NH: The dancers’ idea was to have the wolf pack
dance to. “It happened, I don’t deserve this, it’s not my fault,” were repeated at differ- ent times in the show. Moreover, we wore simple tunics (kurtas), went casual with how we wore our hair, and the composer (Roopa Mahadevan) brought in harmonies and piano to bring the story together. All are atypical in bharatanatyam. As a result, the work looked and sounded totally different than a bharatanatyam performance, but to me it also felt authentic and more true to the experiences of the women we portrayed. How far away can the new lines of tra- ditional arts be drawn? It’s a question I have been asking this year while choreo- graphing on two brilliant dancers, Randee Paufve (Paufve Dance) and Shruti Abhishek, through the CHIME residency supported by the Margaret Jenkins Dance Company. This year long creative inquiry was meant to see how the different backgrounds of the danc- ers (Shruti being a bharatanatyam dancer and Randee being primarily a modern/ contemporary trained dancer) would influ- ence my choices in movement and the nar- rative. What started as a deconstruction of bharatanatyam vocabulary has become a truth-seeking journey about lineage, ancestry, and the past. To some degree, this inquiry isn’t as outwardly political as Broken Seeds or Unfiltered , and some parts of it are not at all bharatanatyam as we currently know it. Regardless, Randee and Shruti dance together, and at this moment, that dialogue feels really crucial. In this political era, this is not only deviating from a traditional art form, this is a form of activism. I am not the first to bring new elements into bharatanatyam, or to make political work. In fact, it seems to be trending now among new dance makers, and there are of course the few senior dance teacher/choreog- raphers who have been making this kind of work for decades in the US, India, and other parts of the world. Whether it was back then or right now, there will always be arguments between people who think they are purists and people who think they are innovators. But regardless of those differences, it’s cru- cial that we look towards the future of our dancemaking specifically through 1) build- ing capacity for emerging artists to take risks in their work, 2) building platforms for critical dance writing, and 3) bridging the gaps between funding sources and the bharatanatyam artists who need it. Given the critical mass of bharatanatyam dancers in the Bay Area, these shouldn’t be out of reach, and while there are a few advocates starting to make some of this happen, we need to do more. There are other aspects of bharatanatyam that cannot be ignored. It’s past and present
Photo by Karen Henrich
is fraught with appropriation, classism, and inconsistent pay structures, and these must be addressed as we move forward. We must look at how all of these play into our indi- vidual artistic practices. Our work is moti- vated by our love for the art form, but what are we doing to ensure it continues to thrive in its new home. Are we dancers asking for the compensation we deserve? Are we speak- ing out against mediocrity? How does the western gaze play into our work? Are we reaching across disciplines to support other artistic practices? We can continue to experi- ment with the boundaries of bharatanatyam or not, but we cannot operate in a vacuum. Our professional practices, choreographic choices, and the stories we tell are shaping the world we dance and live in, and we need to own our place in it. bharatanatyam dance company based in San Fran- cisco. As a first generation, American-born, South Asian woman in the diaspora, Nadhi uses her artistic practice to examine place, identity, and politics. Her work has been supported by CounterPulse Perform- ing Diaspora, CA$H Grants, Zellerbach Family Foun- dation, and others. Nadhi trained under gurus Smt. Sundara Swaminathan (Artistic Director of Kala Van- dana Dance Company), Smt. Padmini Chari (Artistic Director of Nitya School of Dance). As of 2012, she has continued training under Guru Sri. A. Lakshman- aswamy in Chennai, India. Her company will perform dance excerpts of Broken Seeds Still Grow during the Rotunda Dance Series on November 8. nadhithekkek.com navadance.org NADHI THEKKEK IS a bharatanatyam dancer and Artistic Director of Nava Dance Theatre, a
Photo courtesy of artist
bring people into the space. So one of them comes up to me as an audience member, con- nects with me personally, leads me into the space, helps me choose where I want to be, settles down with me and says, maybe, let’s breathe together, does something that’s like what we do when we’re in rehearsal. It will take a little time. Part of why I wanted to work with Ian [Winters] and media was to have ways to change what you see and hear at certain crucial junctures based upon what the audience does—what they get close to, what they get far away from, if they’re making a lot of noise, if they’re being quiet, if they’re all in one big throng or if they spread them- selves out. SB: So the environment is reacting to them. How does it do that? NH: Ian and I decided, what if it was like a Wizard of Oz kind of thing? What if David [Coll] is up in the tech booth, respond- ing to what he observes about how people are behaving. Ian pointed out that that is actually the way nature is, it’s not this pro- grammed thing that every time I get this close or move away quickly you see the same thing happen. What happens in nature is I get close to something and it doesn’t know that I’m a danger and it doesn’t respond. And then over time I have impacted it but it’s not immediately apparent to me. I’m not in control of it but it is responsive and it takes me a little while to understand. That’s what I want people to reflect upon. SB: It feels like no matter what you do, the work is so grounded in deep research and practice that it can’t help but be a something. NH: Yeah, it is a something. It’s not a spectacle even though it has a lot of those elements. SB: Well, we’ve learned from Yvonne Rainer that you can say no to spectacle all you want and that doesn’t necessarily reduce spectacularity. You can have all the bells and whistles, but if you’re inviting us into a world where the visual is not primary then you’re intervening into spectacle. NH: Moving from spectacle to proprio- ception in an almost subliminal way. I hope it works. SIMA BELMAR, PH.D. , is a Lecturer in the Depart- ment of Theater, Dance, & Performance Studies at the University of California, Berkeley, and the ODC Writer in Residence. To keep up with Sima’s writing please subscribe to tinyletter.com/simabelmar.
believe that if we’re more in tune and aligned we’re going to make better choices. SB: It seems like so much of your process is about sloughing off automatic movement habits to find, not new pathways, but new experiences of old pathways. As a viewer, I felt like I was being afforded a real-time experience of attunement within a structure. That’s what creatures are—attunements in a structure, where we can’t do absolutely any- thing we want. I can’t swing from a tree right now or soar above this coffee shop, but I’ve something to learn from creatures who can. What do you hope audiences will experience at the performance? NH: I’m interested in taking the time to sift through and be conscious of what feels like a human response, what feels like an animal response, what feels like a disorienta- tion, something that wouldn’t normally arise because it’s not a familiar dance response. I would feel like I had missed an opportu- nity if this piece ended up being full from start to finish with dance vocabulary. On the other hand, I’m not attempting to fool any- body into thinking we’re not humans in a dance lineage making a dance event happen. So what is it within those parameters that we can do that opens up perception and an experience of self that is more responsive to its surroundings? A lot of what I do in this directing prac- tice is set something in motion, witness it, then interview the dancers about what hap- pened. Then they reflect and I listen. I study them and listen and reframe what the task is based on that conversational practice. What you see when you see a performance is just the next cycle of it. SB: It sounds like you’re inviting audi- ences to drop into your practice, rather than witness a spectacle. What can you do to help audiences understand that invitation? A program note that says, “Thank you for coming and dropping into our practice”? I for one will come to the show in November and really think about my role as a listener— to my thoughts and sensations as much as to the sights and sounds unfolding around me—as an integral part of what’s happening. NH: I want it to be like going for a walk in a regional park. As city dwellers, we selec- tively immerse ourselves in nature, but parks are designed experiences. And yet, nature will do what it’s going to do whether or not we’re there. It’s in process all the time inde- pendently of our presence. It’s impacted by our presence. We have an opportunity to be impacted by it. What’s different is that the performance foregrounds what it means to be human, whereas if you and I go for a walk in Tilden park, there’s nothing about it
Rotunda Dance Series presents Nava Dance Theatre , Nov 8, SF City Hall, SF, dancersgroup.org/rotunda
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Nina Haft & Company presents Pre- carious Pod , Nov 15-24, Joe Goode Annex, SF, ninahaftandcompany.com
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calendar NOV 2019 VISIT THE ONLINE COMMUNITY CALENDAR, to find additional events and to submit a performance. dancersgroup.org
Noche Flamenca Z Space, SF
Conceived, choreographed, and directed by Noche Flamenca Artistic Director Martín Santangelo and lead dancer Soledad Barrio, Entre Tú y Yo explores through dance the pos- sibilities afforded and constraints imposed by relationships. Thu-Sat, Oct 31-Nov 2, 7:30pm; Sun, Nov 3, 2pm; Tue-Sat, Nov 5-9, 7:30pm; Sun, Nov 10 at 2pm; Tue-Sat, Nov 12-16, 7:30pm, $25-$70. zspace.org/entre-tu-y-yo
Oakland Ballet Paramount Theatre, Oakland
Inspired by Dia de los Muertos, Luna Mexicana is a medley of exuberant dance, joyful music, colorful costumes, flowers, candles, food, and celebration of family. Fri, Nov 1, 7:30pm; Sat, Nov 2, 4pm, $24-200. oaklandballet.org
*Surabhi Bharadwaj ODC Theater, SF
Ashrutam – The Unheard Voice is an Indian classical dance production, recognizing and honoring the contribution of Devadasis to the Indian Performing Arts. Devadasi represents a matriarchal community of women who not only cultivated Performing Arts through the generations but were also progressive women who broke societal stereotypes several centu- ries ago. Fri, Nov 1, 7:30pm; Sat, Nov 2, 3pm &
Lenora Lee Dance, Nov 1-3 / Photo by Robbie Sweeny
Hannah Young, Swathi Lakshmanan, Jennifer Gerry, Vidhya Subramanian SAFEhouse Arts, SF RAW (resident artist workshop) presents new work by Hannah Young, Swathi Lakshmanan, Jennifer Gerry, and Vidhya Subramanian that explores various styles and themes of dance theater, Bharatanatyam, film and mental health. Fri, Nov 1, 8pm; Sun, Nov 3, 7pm, $15-$20 safehousearts.org
7:30pm, $25-60 ashrutam.com
IncivilitySF EXIT Theatre, SF
IncivilitySF returns for its third election cycle, with an all-star lineup of activist artists, All Fenner, Praba Pilar, Larry Bogad, and A. Spear- man & Co., working with themes of social jus- tice, community-empowerment, and political awakening. Fri-Sat, Nov 1-2, 8pm, $10-$25 eventbrite.com
“Glo” Artist Showcase SAFEhouse Arts, SF
Bahiya Movement presents Dwanna Timms of DW TImms, Dominique Lateur and Sierra Taylor-Cline, A. Spearman & Co., and Bahiya Movement showcasing new work. Sat, Nov 2, 8pm, $15-$20. safehousearts.org
*Lenora Lee Dance Dance Mission Theater, SF
San Francisco International Hip Hop DanceFest, Nov 22-24 / Photo by Anne-Sylvie Bonnet
Celebrating its 12th Anniversary Season with the World Premiere of multimedia dance produc- tion, In the Skin of Her Hands . Inspired by the lives and experiences of breast cancer survi- vors, this piece is a journey through healing, compassion, and forgiveness in the face of the unknown. Fri-Su, Nov 1-3, 5pm & 8pm, $25-60 lenoraleedance.com
Kathy Mata Ballet LINES Dance Center, SF
the stories span an emotional range but share one common thread: compelling dance enter- tainment. Times, venues, prices and screen- ings vary. sfdancefilmfest.org.
San Francisco Dance Film Festival
Kathy Mata Ballet presents new work along with dances from the August showcase with accompaniment by music director/ accompanist, Lucy Hudson and accompanist Michael Dolman. Sun, Nov 3, 3:30-5:30pm, FREE kathymataballet.org
Art and experimental, documentaries, family films, live performance capture, and shorts,
Aspen Santa Fe Ballet Bankhead Theater, Livermore
With dual home cities, one nestled in the Rocky Mountains, the other gracing the Southwestern plateau, the two-decade-old contemporary bal- let company actively cultivates new ballets and choreographic talent, resulting in a catalog of adventurous repertoire. Sun, Nov 3, 3pm,
Printz Dance Project Joe Goode Annex, SF
Past/Present (2 ) will include past repertory favorites along with new company work, a performance workshop piece, and screening of a short dance film. Thu-Sat, Nov 7-9, 8pm; Sat, Nov 9, 5pm, $25. printzdance.org Rotunda Dance Series: Nava Dance Theatre San Francisco City Hall The Rotunda Dance Series brings many of the Bay Area’s most celebrated dance companies
$20 – $95 lvpac.org
Dance Collage City College of San Francisco Wellness Center
A day of workshops and performances bring- ing together Bay Area colleges, artists and students to celebrate community. Sun, Nov 3, 12:30-7:30pm, $1-$20 ccsf.edu
Hope Mohr Dance Bridge Project, Nov 8-9 / Photo by Hillary Goidell
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Nina Haft & Company Joe Goode Annex, SF The World Premiere of Precarious Pod , an immersive and interactive dance performance about animal instinct and planetary change, asking: what do animals teach us about coop- eration and survival? Article on page 7. Fri-Sun, Nov 15-17, Nov 22-24, Fri-Sat
AIRspace SAFEhouse Arts, SF
AIRspace residents, randy reyes, Kevin Wong, Europa Grace & Kim Ip, present new work. AIR- space is a year-long artist residency program for queer and trans people of color. Thu, Nov 21, 8pm, $15-$20. safehousearts.org USF Dance Ensemble Lone Mountain Studio Theater, SF STILL STANDING will feature new works by: Alma Esperanza Cunningham, Cherie Hill, dana e. fitchett and alumnus Melissa Lewis. Guest artists Kinetech Arts. Thu-Sat, Nov 21-23, 8pm, $5-$10. usfca.edu/pasjevents
7pm & 9pm, Sun 4pm & 6pm ninahaftandcompany.com
NewGround Theatre Dance Company Arts Unify Movement Center, San Mateo
A re-imagined production exploring grief and bereavement through the eyes of five char- acters struggling to come to terms with the loss of a loved one. Fri-Sat, Nov 15-16, 8pm; Sat-Sun, Nov 16-17, 2pm, $30 artsunitymovement.com/newgrounddance
USF Dance Ensemble, Nov 21-23 / Photo by Robbie Sweeny
pateldanceworks The Finnish Hall, Berkeley
Tina Vanessa, Kayla Belly Dance, with special guest dancers and Middle Eastern food and drinks. Thu, Nov 14, 8pm, $12-$15. cairo-cabaret.square.site
Seven dancers in sections of movement, spoken word, storytelling, and meditation. Sat-Sun, Nov 16-17, 7pm, FREE bhumibpatel.co
Tere O’Connor Dance ODC Theater, SF
Prayukti Arts : Nitya Narasimhan
Long Run is a major work which pushes the emotional content of Tere O’Connor’s move- ment to new physical extremes, allowing time- based elements like polyrhythms, velocity and duration to become critical forces, overtaking the eight performers as they struggle to bring their bodies into a state of calm. Thu-Sat, Nov 14-16, 8pm, $15-$30. odc.dance FLACC 2019: Bridges & Bones / Puentes Y Huesos Dance Mission Theater, SF Festival of Latin American Contemporary Choreographers is celebrating its 6th annual showcase, replacing ideas of borders and walls that separate and erase Latinxs in the US by creating cultural bridges, honoring ancestors and building artistic alliances to support and unify 15 dance companies. Fri-Sat, Nov 15-16,
IncivilitySF, Nov 1-2 / Photo by Serrano
Zohar School & Company, Palo Alto The Margam is relative and subjective, flexible enough to incorporate a variety of dance com- positions set in the Bharatanatyam movement vocabulary. A Margam typically consists of an invocatory piece, a central piece, abhinaya pieces and a culminating piece. Sun, Nov 16- 17, 5-6:30pm, $15. nityanarasimhan.com Astana Ballet Herbst Theater, SF The Heritage of the Great Steppe , a Ka- zakh folk dance. The evening includes three neoclassical one-act ballets, with two of the pieces by Brazilian choreographer Ricardo Amarante. Tue, Nov 19 7:30pm, $90. astanaballet.com/en
Printz Dance Project, Nov 7-9 / Photo by Jeff Zender
Tere O'Connor Dance, Nov 14-16 / Photo by Ben McKeown
to San Francisco City Hall for free monthly noon-time performances and is presented by Dancers’ Group and World Arts West in partnership with Grants for the Arts and SF City Hall. Fri, Nov 8, 12pm, FREE dancersgroup.org/rotunda
San Francisco International Hip Hop DanceFest Palace of Fine Arts, SF The 21st Annual San Francisco International Hip Hop DanceFest features nearly one dozen innovative hip-hop performances from dance companies from around the globe. Under the umbrella of hip hop, this year’s festival show- cases work that draws variously from b-boying, breaking, popping, freestyle, locking, clubbing, housing, voguing and urban choreography. Fri-Sat, Nov 22-23, 8pm, Sun, Nov 24, 12noon & 5pm, $47-57. sfhiphopdancefest.com FLACC 2019: Bridges & Bones / Puentes Y Huesos Berkeley Art Museum And Pacific Film Archive Festival of Latin American Contemporary Choreographers is celebrating its 6th annual showcase, replacing ideas of borders and walls that separate and erase Latinxs in the US by creating cultural bridges, honoring ancestors and building artistic alliances to support and unify 15 dance companies. Fri-Sat, Nov 22-23,
8-10pm, $20-32. flaccdanza.org
Dance Mission Theater Herbst Theater, SF
¡Adelante! , the 20th Anniversary Celebra- tion of Dance Mission Theater, will feature performances by Dance Brigade, Grrrl Bri- gade, Arenas Dance Company, Duniya Dance and Drum, Micaya, Allan Frias, Alayo Dance Company and more. Fri, Nov 8, 7:30-9:30, $10-$50. dancemissiontheater.org
Juliet Paramor, Annalise Constantz, Ezra Unterseher SAFEhouse Arts, SF
RAW (resident artist workshop) presents new work by Juliet Paramor, Annalise Constantz, and Navigational Dance that explores themes of poetry, nature, habit and choice. Fri-Sat, Nov 15-16, 8pm, $15-$20. safehousearts.org
Hope Mohr Dance Bridge Project ODC Theater, SF
SAFEhouse Arts RAW, Nov 21 / Photo courtesy of artist
Signals from the West has commissioned ten Bay Area artists from diverse disciplines and backgrounds to create new works of art in response to Merce Cunningham's legacy. Saturday’s performance will feature a pre- show Haptic Tour and Live Audio Description by Gravity Access Services. Fri-Sat, Nov 8-9,
8pm, $20-$50. hopemohr.org
4-6pm, $11-65. flaccdanza.org
Diablo Ballet Del Valle Theatre, Walnut Creek Family-friendly ballet, A Swingin’ Holiday , created by Broadway’s Sean Kelly, is set to the exhilarating music of the ’30s and ’40s. The program will include The Nutcracker Suite by Julia Adam, former principal dancer with San Francisco Ballet. Fri-Sat, Nov 8-9, 8pm; Sat-Sun, Nov 9-10, 2pm, $15-$50 diabloballet.org Cairo Cabaret El Valenciano Restaurant, SF Cairo Cabaret includes live Arabic music featuring the Georges Lammam Ensemble, dance performances by Parya Dance, Abigail Keyes Dance, Janelle Rodriguez, Rachel Duff,
Project Aiwa Shelton Theater, SF
Performances by Cirque Du Soleil alumni & Whirling Dervish Gregangelo Herrera, Contortionist Jeliza Rose, and otherworldly Bellydancers Ahava, Andrea Sendek, Tammy Johnson, Rose Harden, Tre Henderson and more. Live music by Bouchaib Abdelhadi and the event features Algerian dancer Esraa Warda. Sat, Nov 30, 3pm & 6:30pm, $30-$50. eventbrite.com
Aspen Santa Fe Ballet, Nov 3 / Photo courtesy of the artist
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