Photo by Simone Finney [ID: Man with deep brown skin, up close and wearing black glasses, in a jean jacket, is in the middle of the frame in a sunny room with shiny wood floor. He has a stack of pencils in jacket pocket and there’s a line of crumpled paper on the floor behind him.] Does an artist have a responsibility to anything or anyone other than their whim? The recognizing, capturing, and sainting of beauty is what separates human beings from beasts. In all honesty, I doubt this statement is true, but it sounds true, or at least true enough. This brings us to that fundamental, yet vexing ..read more

Photo by Kegan Marling [ID: A 50 year-old white woman with dark hair cut in a shag, wearing a sequin gold top and bright red lipstick, smiles as she gazes over one shoulder, while gently cradling another dancer’s hand on her opposite shoulder. The photo is cropped from the elbows up against a white wall.] Welcome, spring. The articles and conversations in this issue — there are budding connections among them — explore the tension between what something is and what it means: What is resistance, and what does it mean to Liz Duran Boubion? “To build a coalition [of co-resistance] implies that we ..read more

Rendering by Sean Riley [ID: A blueprint-style drawing of a section of San Francisco City Hall with two red ropes attached from corners of the ceiling to a single dance figure below.] Sean Riley interviewed by Rowena Richie Rowena Richie: “Sunny Jim” Rolph is the San Francisco mayor responsible for christening City Hall “The People’s Palace” when it opened in 1915. The expression referred to its intended purpose: it was not a palace for kings and queens, but for ‘the people.’ Tell me about your set design for Zaccho Dance Theatre’s upcoming performance, The People’s Palace. Sean Riley: I guess ..read more

Photo by Wayne Hazzard [ID: A caramel-colored Black woman draped in shiny fuchsia fabric gestures gracefully amidst the neoclassical architecture of San Francisco City Hall. We see her in profile and only her head and left arm are visible outside the fabric. A navy blue and white bandana is tied upwards around her afro.] Joanna Haigood’s The People’s Palace premieres at San Francisco City Hall May 9, 10 and 12. I had the pleasure and honor of watching a rehearsal and later interviewing Joanna (all over Zoom). Rooted in the knowledge that neoclassical architecture, both implicitly and explicitl ..read more

Design by Jesus Morales [ID: Digital painting of a map for Delta Real/ation. The multicolor graphic shows different environments such as mountains, bodies of water, buildings, and more.] In January, I attended the MIT Reality Hack, an Extended Reality (XR) hackathon in Cambridge, Massachusetts as part of my professional development tour. XR is an umbrella term that includes augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR) mixed reality (MR), and anything in between. The MIT Reality Hack motto, “Hack to the Future”, unfolds annually as a community-driven XR hackathon, attracting a diverse ensemble ..read more

Photo by Isadora Paz-Taboada [ID: On a sunny day, four women explore their relationship with water and ropes. One is sitting on a rock and holding the end of the ropes while the other women are standing in the water. They are wearing typical dresses from Lenca culture.] This article was written in English and Spanish. For the Spanish version, please click here. Este artículo fue escrito en inglés y español. Para la versión en español, haga clic aquí.   *Wise woman. In Spanish Savia means Sap, and Sabia means to be wise, we want to emphasize the meaning and relation between both words. **L ..read more

Photo by Isadora Paz-Taboada [ID: On a sunny day, four women explore their relationship with water and ropes. One is sitting on a rock and holding the end of the ropes while the other women are standing in the water. They are wearing typical dresses from Lenca culture.] This article was written in English and Spanish. For the English version, please click here. Este artículo fue escrito en inglés y español. Para la versión en inglés, haga clic aquí. *En espanol Savia es el líquido que circula por los vasos de la planta, y Sabia significa sabiduría, queremos enfatizar ambos significados y la re ..read more

Photo by Rosetta Hicks [ID: Ellen Sebastian Chang (age 14) with shoulder-length pressed hair, wearing glasses and a sleeveless orange sundress. She is smiling while holding a brown and white chihuahua dog while standing in front of the cinder block house built by her grandfather. There is a low row of flowers in front of the house.] Architecture is the ancient global art of the structures of a place revealing the functional and beautiful needs of the people of the earth. Joanna Haigood’s Zaccho Dance Theatre is also an ancient art that portrays the living bodies of a place in motion, flight, a ..read more

Art installation by Courtney Desiree Morris [ID: Altered video art installation by BAN 9 Artist, Courtney Desiree Morris. The face of a woman of African descent is covered in honey. Words on paper over it read “What is your dream for Palestine?” Written answers include “Self determination,” “End the Occupation.” and “Freedom.”] As the horrors of the ongoing U.S. funded Israeli genocide in Palestine pour into our social media feeds from Gaza over the last six months, it has become more clear to me how FLACC’s seemingly small, yet, public “platform” has more influence and power on a political an ..read more

Photo ©Labverde by Laryssa Machada [ID: In the Amazon forest, Rulan Tangen wears a brown dress and gracefully connects with a branch, symbolizing nature’s strength and rootedness.] Rulan Tangen was on death’s door as she dreamed of Dancing Earth. She could barely recognize her own body as she battled stage-four cancer, hardly able to move, let alone dance. Yet in that liminal space between realms, Rulan was grateful to still be breathing, and in this dream-space she visioned Dancing Earth – an offering borne as a thank you to life. This year, Dancing Earth celebrates their 20-year anniversary ..read more