For the past 13 years, renowned choreographer Amy Seiwert and her company Amy Seiwert's Imagery (ASI) have been a driving force in San Francisco's dance scene, introducing Bay Area audiences to a remarkable array of world premiere works by emerging and established choreographers, while offering dancers from across the U.S. unique opportunities to collaborate in new and innovative ways.
With Seiwert recently being appointed to the position of Associate Artistic Director of Smuin Ballet in September and ASI ceasing operations by the end of the year, this month's presentation of the company's annual Sketch series will be a poignant celebration of ASI's rich contributions to the Bay Area dance community.
"Sketch 13: Lucky" brings together four dance makers — Seiwert, ASI Artistic Fellow Natasha Adorlee, French-Canadian choreographer Hélène Simoneau, and internationally renowned choreographer Trey McIntyre — for an intensive workshop process with dancers from ASI, BalletMet, Sacramento Ballet, Smuin Ballet, and ODC/Dance. The program concludes with a performance of the four works at ODC Theater.
Appropriately, for "Sketch 13," choreographers and their collaborator/dancers will be focusing on the theme of luck, challenging themselves to step out of their comfort zones, to flex their creative practices, and embrace the element of chance into their processes.
The works are typically finished just in time for the performance, so details are scant prior to the program, but McIntyre is using American Sign Language as a starting point and inspiration for his work, having collaborated with Antoine Hunter, a deaf dancer in the Bay Area.
Reflecting back on the past 13 years, Seiwert said, "As an artist, you need to be able to take risks in order to grow. Sketch started to address that need, creating a platform for choreographers to step outside of their comfort zones. For me, it's been a place where the process is as valued as the results, which is rare in my field."
'Sketch 13: Lucky,' July 28-30 at ODC Theater, 3153 17th St. $13-65. www.asimagery.org|
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