San Francisco Movement Arts Festival 2017

This January I was fortunate enough to choreograph and perform in Grace Cathedral in SF.

I have choreographed and performed in a variety of spaces. From the traditional theater setting to the Museum of the African Diaspora. I have danced outside in the Berkshires, braving the giant mosquitoes, and performed along Market street, scaling statues and playing the harmonica.

I am a bit of a jack of all trades when it comes to performance and choreography. I’ve performed outdoors in musical theater numbers and choreographed first wedding dances. I have spun on suspended ladders at the Yerba Buena Center for the Performing Arts and on a very raked stage in Cairo, Egypt. Both tested my balance to the extreme. Hint: It’s all about your core muscles.

I have always been passionate about dance and performance and, if the project is right, will pretty much leap into anything.

So, when Jim Tobin invited me to perform in his San Francisco Movement Arts Festival I jumped at the chance. I was unable to be a part last year, as I was pregnant with my daughter Josephine.  I had performed in the Nutcracker, and would perform later that year in a dance I choreographed about motherhood. But at that time, I took a much-needed break.

This year I wanted to participate. What better way to ring in 2017 than performing in a church? I saw so many of my dear colleagues there, both performing in and watching the show.

Jetta Martin Dance Company had the great honor of performing on the labyrinth itself. A maze meant to induce reflection, each time we performed our piece I found myself becoming more and more immersed in the work.

I had performed on loop before. Often with Joanna Haigood’s Zaccho Dance Theatre. There is a trance-like element to it. I remember working on Between Me and the Other World and literally having no concept of time passing. The only way I knew that the piece was ending was Joanna whispering in my ear.

The Movement Arts Festival was different in that I could step out of being a performer to actually watch the other performances going on at the time. I loved that element. It was almost more like a dance community gathering than anything else.

I brought my 7-month-old daughter to the show and she did beautifully. Sleeping and watching, sometimes singing. I felt so thankful to be a part and to return to what I love in such great company, in such a gorgeous venue and such a wonderful festival.

Photo Credit: Jane Hu