Lovers of dance, theater, and live performance—mark your calendars! Bay Area favorite, the award-winning, all-queer/trans dance company Sean Dorsey Dance, will perform in San Francisco this month for one weekend only.
September 29 through October 1, the company will perform The Lost Art of Dreaming at Z Space theater. This visually exquisite, deeply-moving show features full-throttle dance, extravagant costumes, and powerful storytelling—inspiring and uplifting audiences at a time when we need it most.
The Lost Art of Dreaming is coming back to San Francisco as part of its 10-city international tour (the most recent stops were Stockholm, Sweden, and Atlanta, Georgia). The show invites audiences to connect with joy and pleasure, embrace expansive imagination, and propel ourselves toward loving futures.
At a moment in America when transgender and queer people are under attack in every state, transgender choreographer Sean Dorsey dares to dream big. Dorsey told the San Francisco Bay Times, “I believe that dreaming is a political act. Inviting us all to dream at a time when transgender communities are living in a state of emergency is powerful: we cannot forge the change we want without dreaming of it first.”
Dorsey has long been recognized as the nation’s first acclaimed transgender modern dance choreographer, but lately he received attention for becoming one of only a handful of transgender people ever to win an Emmy Award. Dorsey was awarded an Emmy for his work on the short KQED produced film Sean Dorsey Dance: Dreaming Trans and Queer Futures (dir. Lindsay Gauthier).
Dorsey shared, “The Lost Art of Dreaming is an invitation for us all to imagine what is possible;it’s a love letter to longing and our deepest dreams; and it’s a physical expression of sumptuous, sensual, and expansive futures.”
The Lost Art of Dreaming is choreographed and written by Dorsey, with movement created and performed by Dorsey, Brandon Graham, Héctor Jaime, David Le, and Nol Simonse. Its original music was composed by Anomie Belle, LD Brown, Dorsey, Frida Ibarra, Alex Kelly, Ben Kessler, Jesse Olsen Bay, and Kelsey Lu. The costumes were created by Tiffany Amundson, Krystal Harfert, and Melissa Castaneda.
“I can’t tell you how many people tell us they want one of our gowns!” Dorsey said, referring to the show’s stunning custom-made, couture gowns that were designed and crafted by Amundson.
All performances will be followed by receptions with the popular Sean Dorsey Dance photo booth, plus the lobby experience of Dorsey’s Postcards From The Future and The Futurist Pledge. Audiences will enjoy a lobby display of original artworks commissioned especially for the show.
“We commissioned four brilliant trans, Indigenous Two-Spirit, and non-binary visual artists (Art Twink, Tupili Arellano, Wriply Bennet, and liminal hymn) to create an original piece of art inspired by the themes of The Lost Art of Dreaming,” explained Dorsey.
“And then we printed these exquisite artworks onto full-color 5×7 postcards for our Postcards From The Future project. On the front: gorgeous art; on the back: space for audiences to write a message from the future and mail it to a loved one … or to themselves!”
Access Note: ASL interpretation will be provided at the Sunday, October 1, performance. Z Space is wheelchair accessible and has all-gender bathrooms.
COVID-19 safety note: KN95 masks are required (and will be provided by the theater) for this event.
Sean Dorsey – Breaking New Ground in Dance
Sean Dorsey is a transgender and queer choreographer, dancer, writer, educator and activist. He has toured his work to more than 30 cities across the U.S. and abroad—and his dance films have been screened in more than 25 cities internationally.
Dorsey has been named a Doris Duke Artist and a Dance/USA Artist Fellow. He is the first openly-transgender U.S. artist to be presented by The Joyce Theater (NYC), American Dance Festival, and many other major stages. As a transgender, white, disabled/hard-of-hearing and queer longtime social practice artist, Dorsey creates his works over 2–3 years in deep relationship with/in community.
Dorsey is also the founder and Artistic Director of Fresh Meat Productions, a San Francisco-based arts organization that invests in the creative expression and cultural leadership of transgender and gender-nonconforming communities.
Fresh Meat Productions’ programs include: the popular annual FRESH MEAT FESTIVAL of transgender and queer performance (every June); resident company Sean Dorsey Dance’s performances, teaching, and touring; FRESH WORKS! commissions; national community residencies; co-sponsoring community arts events; free dance education programs; and national advocacy for intersectional trans justice in dance.
Sean Dorsey Dance: The Lost Art of Dreaming
September 29–October 1Times: Friday @ 7:30 pm, Saturday @ 7:30 pm, Sunday @ 2 pm (with ASL interpretation)
Z Space (450 Florida Street, San Francisco)
Tickets: $15–50 sliding scale
Info/tickets: www.SeanDorseyDance.com
Arts & Entertainment
Published on September 21, 2023
Recent Comments