It's that time of year again, as the Bay Area National Dance Week [BANDW] explodes on an unsuspecting public, stopping traffic with the world's longest conga line (April 21 at Union Square) and offering a plethora of free events around the Bay Area. The events include classes, lecture demonstrations and performances. BANDW is an annual event that has grown considerably the last few years and usually encompasses just about every rhythmic, moving person in San Francisco and all the surrounding areas. The BANDW model is based on the Open Studios model that has proven to be successful for the visual arts field. BANDW includes the Isadora Duncan Dance Awards ("The Izzies") for local dance artists (April 25 at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts) and three special choreographic showcases scheduled in Oakland, San Jose and Mountain View. As usual, the event guide is almost as dense as the San Francisco phone book, so here's a run-down on what queer artists are showing work over the next couple of weeks.

Gay boys rule

The men are well-represented this year, with Joe Goode and Stephen Pelton doing open rehearsals, and RAWdance and SHIFT Physical Theatre giving free performances. Goode (April 27) is celebrating his 20th anniversary this year, so it will be interesting to see what he's up to, and Pelton (April 29) is preparing for his season in May. SHIFT and RAWdance feature the work of Manuelito Biag and Ryan Smith (with artistic partner Wendy Rein) respectively, and represent the next wave of gay men developing new work in the Bay Area. Both groups are participating in the Living Room Series (April 23), which is a great opportunity to see several emerging dance companies. There are two showings, but go early because this event usually fills up quickly.

 

Cloggers & swingers

One of the most interesting developments in this year's BANDW is the emergence of queer social dance. This is especially relevant because it gives participants a chance to experience a smorgasbord of dance styles. Organizations like the Queer Jitterbugs and Queer Contra Dance have been making social dance cool for a while now, and this year there has been a significant wave in queer-oriented dance in BANDW. Queer Jitterbug (April 28) is expanding their original mission by including Queer Ballroom instruction in their program. Beginner-friendly Appalachian-style barn-dancing is the specialty of the Queer Contra Dancers (April 22), taught by a caller to traditional music, and the movement is gender-role-free. Metronome Dance Center (April 22) is planning an event featuring a same-sex Latin dance party, featuring beginner instruction. It's also great to see the Barbary Coast Cloggers (April 27) perform, and even though they aren't a queer-identified group, they have deep roots in the community and are one of the most professional folk groups in the Bay Area.

BANDW has 244 events happening this year, so you can count on finding something you're interested in. Since everything is free, it's also a great way to check out some artists that you haven't seen before, and it's one of the best deals offered to see a wide spectrum of dance in the Bay Area.

The 8th annual Bay Area National Dance Week runs April 21-30, 2006. All events are free. See the event guide online at www.bayareandw.org, or call the hotline (415) 568-6861.

Some BANDW venues

Queer Contra Dance, Bethany Church 1268 Sanchez St., SF

Metronome Dance Center, 1830 17th St., SF

Living Room Series at CounterPULSE , 1310 Mission St., SF