SITE  DANCE

Site Dance, or site-specific dance, is the performance of dance in a particular location, outside of the theater or proscenium where it typically occurs. Sites for dance can be indoors or out, urban or wild. Site dances can simply be work made in a rehearsal studio and transferred to a location, or work made carefully to collaborate with a site and its peculiarities. It is this latter site dance-making that interests me. 

An example of this is the work I co-directed for the New Mexico School for the Arts, Rite of Way, (see link below). Set at the Railyard in Santa Fe, this work was made from research we did regarding the railroad, its advent and impact on the region. Choreography was then generated from this research and developed with student dancers.

Wild landscapes or national and state park sites can give dance work a different tone, with investigation of species, ecologies and habitats used to inform the work. A research-based site work yields a more meaningful experience both for dancers and audiences.

I am a dancer and choreographer with a particular interest in setting dance performance in outdoor sites. I have many years of experience creating and presenting this kind of work with both young and adult dancers. Site dance is a beautiful and exciting way to engage dancers and audiences. Working with and in location is very enriching- allowing dancers and audiences to consider our landscapes, their histories and our mutual impact and connection with the environment. Site performances draw invited as well as unwitting audiences, dazzling and surprising spectators with its unexpectedness. Dancers moving in landscape offer a rare and special poetry to the world, often landing as contemplative ritual for participants and viewers alike.

I want to work with the dancers in your community!

Process:

First, a site is chosen, allowing for any permitting or permission necessary.

Next, we research the site. Looking into its history, features, ecologies, habitats and species. From this research we derive ideas, questions and feelings. The dance work is then generated from these touch points.

Dancers are broken into groups to build phrases of choreography. As director, my job is to knit together and augment these phrases into suites of dances. This portion of the process is wonderful and supports young dancers with the agency to be artists. The process continues until we have manifested a 30 to 40-minute piece.

Simple costuming is considered and implemented.

The piece is announced, audiences invited, and a weekend of performances happens- usually two or three performances. 

Work links:

ATRIA, Director- video project

https://youtu.be/Wx2AIcNkXOg?si=SSH1kM9B8VRJ0Bp6

FEDERAL DANCES, Director- site dance project

https://youtu.be/BpDxz1OYzTo?si=yDrgMlGbAYO4FFDz

ARMORY, Director- site dance project

https://youtu.be/-J7eTW2p7Zo?si=Qwaayn8NVb-lqctv

RITE OF WAY, Co-Director/Choreographer- student site dance project

https://youtu.be/RrLsY6TpfUw?si=EXzMtsn3xvz8DfzT

ALL AT ONCE, Co-Director/Choreographer- student site dance project

https://youtu.be/MpQ18qrZNo0?si=TN3Bkz0qBXZxoKe1

WEST OAKLAND THREE, Director- site dance & video

https://youtu.be/ptG01wwkqvw?si=pOVcFR0_yZ-qS2Ou

MEDIAN DANCES, Co-Director/Choreographer- site dance & video

https://vimeo.com/151117363

 I was born in Tucson, Arizona. My family was rather nomadic and my dance training travelled. 

Beginning at the age of seven, I studied classical ballet in Santa Fe, then Scottsdale, and later in California. After achieving some proficiency in ballet, I became absorbed with modern and folk forms, studying with various mentors in the Bay Area.

I began making and performing my own dances at eighteen, working occasionally in collaborative groups and more often creating solo pieces. I eventually landed in Oakland, where I became interested in site work and setting dance in locations outside the theater, often in the urban landscape. I made several dance films of these pieces.

In 1998 I became a co-director of The Temescal Arts Center in Oakland where I taught, performed and facilitated dance for thirteen years. I also directed the dance program at Grand Lake Montessori School for three years. 

In Santa Fe, beginning in 2012 I co-directed a site dance program at The New Mexico School for the Arts for four years. In that period and beyond, I directed and co-directed several full-length site works all around Santa Fe. 

In 2020 I moved to Baja, Mexico and made a collaborative video piece called Resuenen with some solo site work woven into it. In 2023 I moved to Santa Cruz, California.

I remain intrigued by the power of dance in unusual spaces, seeing the potential for performance on hillsides, in meadows, at the beach, and on traffic medians…

EARLY TRAINING

Ballet:

Classically trained 10 years, from ages 7 to 17. Notably with Mark Lanham of the Canadian Royal Ballet 

and Laureen Farber.

Modern:

Many years from ages 17 to 35 in the Bay Area with Tanya Calamoneri and many other teachers.

Folk Forms & Butoh:

Afro-Haitian with Blanche Brown in San Francisco and at City College in San Francisco.

Butoh with Harupin Ha and Leigh Evans in San Francisco

PERFORMANCE & DANCE ON FILM PROJECTS

The Moon has Fat Thighs, 1987- Collaborative, group piece performed at New College in San Francisco

Watched Pot, 1989- Video and live Duet, directed and performed ATA in San Francisco

Dear Sweet Deer Suite,  1997- Solo site piece set on the Bocce Ball court in Lake Merritt Park in Oakland

Red River, 1999- Quartet, directed by Leigh Evans, performed at Theater Artaud in San Francisco

Pygmy Hippo, 2000- Quartet, co-directed by Tanya Calamoneri and Micaela Gardner, performed at New College 

in San Francisco and the Temescal Arts Center in Oakland

Pound Foolish, 2002- Duet co-directed and performed by Tanya Calamoneri and Micaela Gardner, 

at the Temescal Arts Center and the Julia Morgan Theater in Berkeley

West Oakland Three, 2009- Solo Site Video directed and performed in Oakland

Landward Dances, 2010-11- Solo Site Video directed and performed in Oakland

All At Once, 2012- New Mexico School of the Arts Ensemble site piece, 

co-directed by Adam McKinney, Sarah Ashkin and Micaela Gardner, Santa Fe

Federal Dances, 2013- Ensemble Site piece directed by Micaela Gardner and set in The Federal Park in Santa Fe

Rite of Way, 2014- New Mexico School of the Arts Ensemble site piece, 

co-directed by Adam Mckinney, Sarah Ashkin and Micaela Gardner,   Santa Fe

Shed, 2015- New Mexico School of the Arts Ensemble site piece,

Co-directed by Adam McKinney, Sarah Ashkin and Micaela Gardner,   Santa Fe

123, 2015- Ensemble Collaborative site piece,   Santa Fe

Blind Spot, 2016- New Mexico School of the Arts Ensemble site piece,

Co-directed by Adam Mckinney, Sarah Ashkin and Micaela Gardner,   Santa Fe

Chancey Dancing, 2016- Collaborative Ensemble piece performed at the Railyard Performance Center, Santa Fe

Dancing in a Hard Place, 2016- Collaborative Ensemble site piece, set at The Center for Contemporary Arts,

Santa Fe

Earth Terma, 2017- Trio site piece, directed by Micaela Gardner, Center for Contemporary Arts, Santa Fe

Armory, 2018- Quartet site piece, directed by Micaela Gardner, Center for Contemporary Arts, Santa Fe

Atria, 2019- Trio Video, directed by Micaela Gardner

Resuenen, 2021- Collaborative Video Project, directed by Micaela Gardner

TEACHING:

Director Dance Program, Grand Lake Montessori School, Oakland, 1998-2001

Modern Dance, Temescal Arts Center, Oakland, 1998- 2010

CoDirector/Choreographer, New Mexico School for the Arts, Santa Fe, 2012-2016