• June 2, 2009

    Devendra Sharma for Performing Diaspora: Let us reclaim the respect for the indigenous folk artist

    By Published On: June 2nd, 2009

    Colonialism does strange things to a culture. Ignoring one’s own indigenous “ordinary” culture, and blindly imitating others’ “legitimate” culture is one of them. It takes years and a lot of efforts before a culture realizes its self-worth during the post-colonial journey. At present, urban culture in India and Indian diaspora around the world is undergoing

  • June 1, 2009

    “Bihag”, my choreographic take on the Hip hop Tinikling

    By Published On: June 1st, 2009

    This week, I frantically drove to a graffiti exhibit and documentary screening in Downtown Los Angeles of the movie "GraffLife" directed by Randy DeVol. It follows the secret night missions and on the run daytime activities of urban taggers living in my home and city. I thought I was late; this was one of the

  • May 31, 2009

    Scott Wells & Dancers present What Men Want

    By Published On: May 31st, 2009

    Fri.-Sun. May 22-24, Thurs.-Sun. May 28-31, 8pm, $20 $25 at the door) Macho Ballads; dances with aggressive overtones & romantic undertones. New works & the recent Litquake collaboration with writer, Michelle Tea--“an aesthetic-pleasure-overload fantasy” SF CHRONICLE. The dances for 10 men & premiere with world class jugglers will rock. Buy Tickets Now!

  • May 31, 2009

    in/divisible

    By Published On: May 31st, 2009

    from brittany: (www.danceceres.org) In this work, I am reminded how many times it takes an idea/concept to enter the body before it actually sinks into to my bones? Some times a feeling is instantaneous- other times it takes years to absorb and safely reside. How long does a new experience rest quietly in the bones

  • May 30, 2009

    Guqin and me

    By Published On: May 30th, 2009

     What is guqin? The guqin, a seven-stringed zither, is China’s oldest stringed instrument with a documented history of about 3,000 years. It became part of a tradition cultivated by Chinese scholars and literati and has been associated with philosophers, sages, and emperors since the time of Confucius. Perhaps because of this illustrious history, following the

  • May 29, 2009

    Charlotte Moraga for Performing Diaspora: Contemporary Traditional Kathak Dance

    By Published On: May 29th, 2009

    What is kathak? Kathak is a unique dance form which incorporates rhythmic virtuosity, compelling storytelling, poetry, recitation, song, swift and subtle movement, and a rich philosophy whose roots extend thousands of years. In 1992, I enrolled in a Kathak class at SFSU with world-renowned master, Pandit Chitresh Das. Little did I know the vast ocean

  • May 28, 2009

    I guess Scott Wells & Dancers really do know what men want….

    By Published On: May 28th, 2009

    Wow!  I can honestly say I have never been so turned on by a group of men before.  I don't mean this in any strictly sexual way, after all I tend to label myself as a straight male, but the essence of these pieces delves so much deeper than the visceral.  It was poetic to

  • May 28, 2009

    dance as sacred

    By Published On: May 28th, 2009

    For me, dancing is both a sacred and spiritual act. I was reminded of that as I sat and listened to the recently selected Performing Diaspora (PD) artists discuss there work during their orientation meeting here at CounterPULSE (CP) a few weeks ago (I am intern at CP for the summer).  As I

  • May 27, 2009

    TALKS! Art & Politics: Susan Greene

    By Published On: May 27th, 2009

    Wed. May 27, 7:30pm, Free Susan Greene is a public artist, activist, educator and clinical psychologist. Her practice straddles a range of cultural arenas, focusing on borders, migrations, decolonization and memory. Greene is one of four Jewish American women artists who in 1989 founded the ongoing “Break the Silence Mural Project” in solidarity with Palestine.

  • May 20, 2009

    Watch an excerpt of Deep Waters Dance Theater, CounterPULSE Artists in Residence March 09

    By Published On: May 20th, 2009

    If you didn't make it to our recent Artists in Residence show in March, here's a little snippet for your viewing pleasure! Amara Tabor-Smith, Deep Waters Dance Theater with Aimee Suzara, Our Daily Bread... video by: Loren R. Robertson

  • May 20, 2009

    Neang Sovann Atmani – Prumsodun Ok for Performing Diaspora

    By Published On: May 20th, 2009

    A Cambodian classical dancer, when practicing her moving meditation developed over a thousand years ago as a ritual prayer, displays a serpentine grace that is hypnotic and sublime. Her form is supple, her gestures fluid, and she floats in curvilinear paths across the stage. This is no coincidence as the serpent – moving like the waters that bring fertility and sustenance to the land, bridge between heaven and earth, the being in which the first “Cambodian” sovereign took form (in one creation story anyways) – was worshiped prevalently throughout what is now Cambodia before the introduction of major religions. And today, after many generations of refinement, the serpent can still be seen in this highly stylized art form: its scales transformed into a costume’s detail and its function assumed by a human dancer.

  • May 16, 2009

    The Myalist – Opal Palmer Adisa

    By Published On: May 16th, 2009

    While most know of Obeah in Jamaica, few know its counterpoint, Myal. An Entry in Jamaica Talk: Three Hundred years of the English Language in Jamaica by Frederic G. Cassidy ( MacMillian Caribbean, 1961), we get one notation: "Obeah, the Jamaican form of sorcery or `black magic', [sic] was once counterbalanced by myal, or `white