Photo: picsprobono

From Blog Director Jill Randall:

Lately, I have been thinking about dance writing and dance publicity. How do we share/invite/entice/preview a work for our potential audience members? Along with San Francisco Bay Area artists Tanya Chianese and Heather Arnett, we are playing with this idea for the 7 days leading up to their show, Nevertheless, at CounterPulse from April 19-22. This is an incredible collaboration between the ka·nei·see | collective and Cat Call Choir. (Get your tickets here.)

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Today Tanya Chianese and Heather Arnett respond together:

What questions might you want the audience to think about/consider before experiencing Nevertheless?

We want the audience to both enjoy themselves and take care of themselves, and most importantly enter the space with their own history and as little bias as possible so they may have an experience authentic to themselves as individuals.

There are some truly hysterical moments that point out the absurdity of everyday acts of sexual harassment, and it is therapeutic to laugh in solidarity about them. We hope our audience feels comfortable to slap their knees and pee their pants with us. By making fun of these true stories (they are based on actual experiences), we strip away the aggressors’ power. Perhaps if harassers are “called out” in this manner more often they won’t feel as comfortable to do “it” – whether “it” be cat call, interrupt a conversation, or touch someone without invitation.

While this show is wildly fun and funny, it is also very dark and emotional. With that knowledge, we hope our audience will take care of themselves. We have included a trigger warning because there is some imagery suggestive of assault and other disturbing acts. We will be making ourselves available post-show for feedback or an informal decompression session, as well as offering information on support resources.

Rather than contemplate questions before the show, we hope audiences will leave with considerations for themselves. Those analyses will differ per person. Perhaps it is coming to terms with the fact that every woman we know, literally all of them, has experienced this in some capacity. Perhaps it is realizing that even if a woman does not tell you about them, she is likely dealing with some of these microaggressions daily. Perhaps it is an awareness that you are not alone, and we are all here to laugh about it. Perhaps it is remembering it is not your fault. Perhaps it is knowing that if you want to join us, we would love to have you: Cat Call Choir is hiring!

Photo: picsprobono

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ka·nei·see | collective and Cat Call Choir

Nevertheless

• April 19, 2018 at 8pm
• April 20, 2018 at 8pm
• April 21, 2018 at 8pm
• April 22, 2018 at 5pm

Tickets: $20-$35 (Purchase tickets here.)

CounterPulse

80 Turk Street

San Francisco, CA 94102

​Performers: Heather Arnett, Mika Banks, Blair Bodie, Chelsea Brown, Rosanna Chiu, Clarissa Dyas, Mercilee Jenkins, Mallory Markham, Madeline Matuska, Rebecca Morris, Celine Alwyn Parker, Bhumi Patel, Emma Salmon, Vera Schwegler, Ali Toia

Lighting Designer: Linda Baumgardner

​Costume Designer: Carol Salmon

kaneisee.org

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