Life as a Modern Dancer

The State by State Project: California

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A 2 minute video clip – offering a window into the work of vertical dance company Bandaloop

From Blog Director Jill Randall:

This week's State by State Project features California. First – clearly – it is a large state with a variety of dance communities. Second, I have spent almost my entire dance career in the state (20 years), so I personally have a lot of people and organizations to reference here. 

At this moment in time, some artists feel that the San Francisco Bay Area dance scene is now larger than NYC, when you consider all of the dance styles and performances taking place in the area.

There is a ton of modern history here – Isadora Duncan, Lester Horton, Bella Lewitsky, Anna Halprin, Joe Goode, Margaret Jenkins, and AXIS Dance Company….to name a few. 

Please find a wide variety of links here to city guides, MFA programs, artist profiles, books, and more.

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AXIS Dance Company

City Guides (Organizations, Festivals, Finding Work, and More)…A Modern Dancer's Guide to….

San Francisco Bay Area

Los Angeles

Masters Programs

There are 46 MFA programs in the U.S. right now. Nine are in California. (See the full list of 46 here.)

Plus, USC offers an MA in arts journalism.

Artist Residency Programs in California

Headlands Center for the Arts – beauty, peace, time and space in the Marin Headlands. Serving U.S. and international artists…

Djerassi Resident Artists Program – Djerassi is a gem of a residency – open to artists from all over the world. Nina Haft shares about her experience as:

I have been there twice, and each time I was able to incubate an entire new evening-length work, which seemed to unspool with little effort post-residency. Having my dancers come to visit and work in the studio was a great way to share the beauty and the quiet that that wonderful little asymmetrical studio offers.
 
My second visit in particular changed the course of my work – giving myself time to move and make without an end goal while contemplating (and reading, and walking and studying) the landscape….changing my work profoundly. Ever since, I have valued and protected time in the studio without an end goal. When that is possible, a great new beginning has room to grow.
 
They also take amazing care of us as artists. To this day I have strong connections with artists who were there with me. The world does not generally support artists and our creative process to the degree that DRAP does. To be fed, housed, valued, celebrated and asked for nothing in return except a commitment to one's art practice is extraordinary.
 
Randee Paufve added in,
 
My Djerassi residencies have had a profound impact on my work.
 
The gift of time, in a community of artists, of being in this place where art and artists are so highly valued. It let me know what might be possible if I had this kind of support for my work continuously. There is no other place in the world quite like this, a gentle ocean on dry land, a pole barn that feels like a palace, the dreamiest dance studio and sleeping loft, nightly dinners that made us feel like royalty, communing with coyotes, birds, trees and the sweetest air for breathing. Please scatter my ashes at Djerassi.  
 
The Choreographic Moment: Some Essays from California-based Artists

How much does a dance project cost?

Check out Oakland artist Kristin Damrow and her great video blog – vlog – on this topic. 

Artist Profiles of California Artists

Many CA artists have been featured on Life as a Modern Dancer. Today we offer an abbreviated list of 12 artists from around the state:

Marc Brew (now based in Oakland)

Linda Carr (Berkeley)

Amy Foley (San Francisco)

Christy Funsch (San Francisco)

Jess Humphrey (San Diego)

Tandy Beal (Santa Cruz Area)

Annie Rosenthal Parr (Mill Valley)

Melecio Estrella (Oakland)

Kristin Damrow (Oakland)

Charles Slender-White (San Francisco)

Victoria Marks (Los Angeles)

Courtney Moreno (San Francisco)

Dancer writer Emmaly Wiederholt (Stance on Dance) has also interviewed numerous California artists through her Dancing Over 50 project. Click here to see the extensive list of interviews, accompanied by Gregory Bartning's gorgeous photos.

My Dance Week: A Window into the Work and Schedules of California Artists 

Valerie Gutwirth (Berkeley/Oakland dancer and public school teaching artist)

Nina Haft (professor at Cal State University East Bay and Artistic Director of Nina Haft & Company)

Heather Gillette (Chair of the dance department of Santa Ana College)

Tara McArthur (Bay Area performer, Gyrotonic instructor, and teaching artist)

Co-Working Spaces

This is a great post with Grace Kraaijvanger, dancer and creator of the Marin County co-working space The Hivery.

On Commuting 

An article that includes insight from Los Angeles artist Damon Rago and SF Bay Area artist Randee Paufve.

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Books

Beyond Isadora: Bay Area Dancing 1915-1965 by Joanna Harris

Radical Bodies: Anna Halprin, Simone Forti, and Yvonne Rainer in California and New York, 1955-1972 by Ninotchka Bennahum,‎ Wendy Perron,‎ Bruce Robertson (Editors)

Anna Halprin: Experience as Dance by Janice Ross

Anna Halprin: Dance – Process  - Form by Ursula Schorn, Ronit Land, and Gabriele Wittmann

Documentaries 

Artists in Exile: A Story of Modern Dance in San Francisco – directed by Austin Forbord

You can order the DVD here….

Many clips from the film can be viewed through this Facebook page. Click here.

Breathe Made Visible – about Anna Halprin (you can pay a fee and watch the full film on Youtube)

Bella Lewitsky – Bridget Murnane is in the process of making a film. Find out more here.

Dance Film Festivals

Dance Camera West Film Festival in Los Angeles

San Francisco Dance Film Festival

Reports of Note

The Future of Physically Integrated Dance in the USA (Conceived by AXIS Founder & Director Judith Smith, executed by AXIS Staff & Consultants Jennifer Calienes and Debra Cash)

Moving Arts Leadership Forward: A Changing Landscape (report by the Hewlett Foundation, authored by Emiko Ono)

Living Transition Plan (for arts orgs) – by Michelle Lynch Reynolds and Sharon Benítez, with Byron Johnson

Bay Area High School Dance

There are numerous high schools in the Bay Area with dance programs. While this website is not able to list every school, you still get a sense of the programs in public and independent schools. Click here.

Dance in LA Unified School District

LAUSD is the 2nd largest school district in the country. Shana Habel shares here more about the dance program.

Luna Dance Institute

The Bay Area organization Luna Dance Institute is a nationally recognized leader in the field of creative dance and arts education. They offer numerous discussions and workshops throughout the year. Co-founder Patricia Reedy also published the book Body, Mind, & Spirit in Action: a teacher's guide to creative dance.

 

Please be a part of the conversation about California! Add links below for other artists, festivals, programs, organizations, and writing of note! Thank you.

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I’m Jill, the creator and editor for this site. I am passionate about sharing artists’ journeys and offerings resources and inspiration for the field.

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