San Francisco’s wildly popular FRESH MEAT FESTIVAL of transgender and queer performance returns next week, featuring transgender theater trailblazers, world champion bachata dancers, vogue superstars, a queer retro boy band, award-winning disabled dance pioneers, a 40-member gender-defying choir and more.
The annual festival is anticipated by Bay Area and national audiences all year long: “People travel from New York, Seattle, Florida, Ohio—you name it—to attend the festival,” says Artistic Director Sean Dorsey. “The festival has really become a ‘pride destination’ for a lot of trans and queer folks. A lot of people treat FRESH MEAT weekend as their own Pride weekend.”
The FRESH MEAT FESTIVAL was the first of its kind in the U.S., and this year (the 18th annual), the team is pulling out all of the stops.
Star-Studded Lineup
The star-studded artist lineup performs an enormous range of genres—dance, theater, comedy and live music—with a cornucopia of world premieres. ASL interpretation will be provided every night, and the theater, seating and restrooms are wheelchair accessible.
Featuring edgy, exquisite and extraordinary performances by fourteen gender-nonconforming, transgender and queer artists and ensembles from the Bay Area and across the U.S., the FRESH MEAT FESTIVAL offers a different lineup every night (see website for details https://bit.ly/2GAjlFT ).
This June 20–22 at Z Space, the FRESH MEAT FESTIVAL features performances by: African-American Deaf dance trailblazer Antoine Hunter, integrated/disabled dance pioneers AXIS Dance Company, vogue superstars #kNOwSHADE Vogue Ensemble (Pittsburgh), sublime harmonies by the GAPA Men’s Chorus, exquisite poetry + dance by J Mase III & Randy Ford (Seattle), queer bachata champions Jahaira Fajardo & Angelica Medina, cutting-edge performance artists Javier Stell-Fresquez & Ivy Monteiro (Bay Area/Switzerland), sidesplitting comedy-storytelling by Lottie Riot, the groundbreaking and powerful New Voices Bay Area TIGQ Chorus, trailblazing Trans/queer modern dance by Sean Dorsey Dance, folk-punk by the legendary Shawna Virago, multi-disciplinary music superstar Star Amerasu, gorgeous contemporary and R&B songs by Tajah J, queer retro quartet The Singing Bois, and “femme-cee” Annalise Ophelian.
Included with each ticket purchase is the popular FRESH MEAT FESTIVAL tradition of a post-performance lobby after-party with festival artists, DJ Frida Ibarra, go-go dancers, photo booth, refreshments and more. Advance tickets are recommended for this very popular 3-nights-only event.
Four World Premieres
This year’s festival also features four world premieres that were commissioned by Fresh Meat Productions especially for the 2019 FRESH MEAT FESTIVAL. Audiences will be treated to highly-anticipated premieres by: world champion bachata duo (partners in love and art) Jahaira Fajardo & Angelica Medina, world-touring multi-instrumentalist and trans trailblazer Star Amerasu, exquisitely-talented contemporary and R&B singer-songwriter Tajah J, and acclaimed queer retro boy-band quartet The Singing Bois.
These artists were awarded support to create new work from Fresh Meat Productions’ FRESH WORKS! commissioning program for trans, gender-nonconforming and queer artists of color.
Empowered and Groundbreaking
The FRESH MEAT FESTIVAL is the only annual event of its kind in the U.S., and is celebrated for its world-class artistry and sold-out crowds. The FRESH MEAT FESTIVAL’s transgender focus and leadership are especially powerful this year—in the face of anti-transgender bills and anti-trans backlash across the U.S. The FRESH MEAT FESTIVAL is also a featured event of the 2019 National Queer Arts Festival.
The festival is produced by Fresh Meat Productions, a trans-led SF-based arts organization that invests in the creative expression and cultural leadership of transgender and gender-nonconforming communities through its year-round programs.
Fresh Meat Productions’ programs include the FRESH MEAT FESTIVAL, resident dance company Sean Dorsey Dance’s home season and national touring, a national education program, TRANSform Dance – an education and advocacy program, and national LGBTQ community residencies.
Founding Artistic Director Sean Dorsey, recognized as the nation’s first acclaimed transgender modern dance choreographer, was recently awarded a prestigious Dance/USA Artist Fellowship, in recognition for his almost 20 years of dancemaking and trans activism.
“There’s nothing like it,” raves Dorsey. “I mean, there is just so much JOY in the room. It’s palpable. These are extraordinary artists and extraordinary audiences. And we get together and we make and witness art that articulates our power, beauty, resilience, anger, resistance and love. There’s a lot of love here.”
Love indeed—something that the FRESH MEAT FESTIVAL is known for cultivating and multiplying. Get those tickets before they sell out and experience it for yourself!
WHAT: FRESH MEAT FESTIVAL of transgender and queer performance
WHERE: Z Space (450 Florida Street, San Francisco)
WHEN: Thursday–Saturday June 20–22
All performances begin at 8 pm and will be ASL interpreted.
TICKETS: Thursday/Friday: $15+ sliding scale (advance tickets recommended)
Saturday night Gala: $20–$50 sliding scale (advance tickets recommended)
Post-show receptions EVERY NIGHT with DJ Frida Ibarra, go-go dancers, photo booth, drinks & dancing
TICKETS/INFO/ACCESSIBILITY INFO: http://freshmeatproductions.org/
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