Summer's a great time to go out and see great dance. Both Union Square and the Yerba Buena Gardens have programs that are free to the public, so there's no shortage of opportunities to see some good work. Every year, Yerba Buena Gardens presents ChoreoFest, a free, weeklong dance festival that promises a mixture of hip hop, butoh, West African dance and bluegrass music.
This year, Brechin Flournoy returns for her third year of curating the festival, continuing to spotlight iconoclastic artists in unusual pairings: a little flamenco here, throw in some butoh there, and mix with a large helping of West African drumming. The lunchtime programs will be all over the map (in a good way), so you can walk down to the Gardens and see something different every day. Says Flournoy, "I'm bringing back the postmodern ideas of Dada and the dance-fusion structure in which artists from different movement genres collaborate on a site-specific work in the Gardens."
Starting on Monday, July 9, Flournoy is kicking the festival off on a high note with the bluegrass band The Stairwell Sisters, who will be accompanied by cloggers Evie Ladin and Heather Desaulniers. Says Ladin, "Our music and dancing are primarily about collaboration. In the band we work through consensus, so everyone brings their experience and ears to the table."
On Wednesday, things take a dramatic change in energy and style. Director Matthew Graham Smith has an open rehearsal for a site-specific piece that will debut on Friday, 7/13. Smith is working with DREAM Dance Company, Kory "Kato" Watkins, Tamika Harris and Paige Sorvillo. This will be one of the most experimental programs, as Flournoy continues to encourage collaboration between butoh dance (Sorvillo) and hip hop (DREAM Dance, Watkins and Harris). Says Harris, "The challenge is working with different disciplines and not knowing where the experience may lead. It's surprising how the interaction begins to form and unity ignites from it. ChoreoFest recognizes different kinds of culture. It embraces those differences, and creates a place for collaboration. "
On Thursday, 7/12, the festival features Yaelisa Caminos Flamencos. This engaging company should be great outdoors, with lots of rhythmic music and energetic footwork.
Friday, 7/13, is a double bill, with the premiere of Smith 's butoh-hip hop collaboration and a new presentation of Deborah Slater's The Desire Line. Innovative dance-theatre choreographer Slater debuted The Desire Line earlier this spring at Dance Mission. This will be an unusual opportunity to see a theatrically designed piece in a completely new environment. Says Slater, "It's always interesting to create a piece in one context and move it into another. It's the purity of the movement that reveals itself, without the amplification of lighting, video or any other media additions."
The festival wraps up with another double bill on Saturday, 7/14, as Smith's butoh/hip hop collaboration returns and Diamano Coura West African Dance Company presents Mansana Cisse, a full-length presentation featuring 10 performers and an epic story of "love and a coming of age that ends in tragedy." Diamano Coura is known for their mesmerizing, fast-paced movement and acrobatics, and features music from Senegal, Liberia, Guinea and Mali.
ChoreoFest performances at 12:30 p.m., free, at Yerba Buena Gardens, 760 Howard St., SF. www.ybca.org