Art and politics in San Francisco are inextricably tied. Some of the city's most visible advocates have been from the arts community, and politics have long been creative fodder for local artists. In recent years, hot topics like immigration, same-sex marriage and right-wing conservatism have provided inspiration for local dance artists like Krissy Keefer, Keith Hennessy and Sean Dorsey.
This year, Dance Brigade scheduled their annual political performance festival Manifesti-val during the mid-term elections, creating a volatile artistic landscape ripe for creative mining. Says Keefer, Dance Brigade's Artistic Director and local political candidate (Eighth Congressional District), "The Bay Area has been a feeding ground for art and politics, and I wanted to showcase those artists and highlight some of the major dilemmas we face."
Keefer has been working with Guillermo G—mez-Peña on a new piece called The Two Friedas (November 3, 5-6), using material that has been developed for a local television show and creating a dialogue about the nature of art, icons and cultural identity. Dance Brigade will also present excerpts from Keefer's Cavewoman, and G—mez-Peña will present his recent solo, America's Most Wanted Demon, a mediation on transnational identity, globalization and the construction of the US/Mexican border.
Manifesti-val is a three-week program featuring both veteran and emerging artists, including alumni from New College's Experimental Performance Institute (EPI), legendary lesbian folk singer Holly Near and an all-star line-up of local choreographers.
EPI presents a program called EPItaph: No Peace. No Rest. (November 2) with Cody Giannotti, Veleda Roehl, Fern Capella, Melusina Gomez, Harvey Rabbit and Julia Steele Allen. This group has been shaped and mentored in New College's fertile Queer & Activist Performance Studies program, so expect a lot of uncensored, fearless performance that will probably tackle just about every issue under the sun.
Choreographer Kara Davis will be presenting her new work Candide in the same program as Keefer and G—mez-Peña. The piece is set to a filmic backdrop and examines our consumer-driven culture, the effects on intimacy and the relationship with global war and unrest. Davis is a beautiful dancer who has been stretching her choreographic muscles, and this may be one of the highlights in the festival.
On November 4, Holly Near will perform a full-length concert at Brava Theatre. Near's work has spanned a 35-year career, and she's celebrating the release of her new CD.
Keith Hennessy returns to the SF stage with How To Die (November 10-12), a collaboration with Jules Beckman and Seth Eisen. Hennessy usually performs with his group Circo Zero, but for Manifesti-val, he'll be presenting two smaller works that focus on his personal politics, touching on themes relating to the crystal meth epidemic and barebacking. Says Hennessy, "The performance represents a homeless drunk crashed out on the sidewalk in front of my house, and the tweaking gay man obsessively partying until he loses everything."
The festival closes with Sean Dorsey's The Outsider Chronicles (November 16-18), which sold out last year at the ODC Theatre. The show deals with Dorsey's experiences navigating the world as a transgendered FTM, and features several intimate vignettes revolving around lovers' spats, coming out and first loves. Though all the pieces in the show are well-crafted, Dorsey's sharp solo about gender therapy is his most powerful performance.
Manifesti-val, Dance Brigade's Festival of Dance and Social Change, November 2-18 at 8 p.m. Most performances at Dance Mission, 3316 24th St., SF. Info: (415) 273 4633 www.dancemission.com.
Holly Near at Brava Theater, 2781 24th St., SF. Info: (415) 647-2822, www.brava.org.