Incubate artists, change the world.

Counterpulse’s Artist Residency & Commissioning (ARC) Performing Diaspora program is an incubation residency and commissioning program that supports artists whose work is rooted in a traditional art form, yet is also completely contemporary. Performing Diaspora artists draw on tradition as a radical way to carry the stories of previous lives in today’s time and space.

CounterPulse offers a rotation of supported artist residencies each year spanning different ways of making. Each residency concludes with a fully produced work on stage at CounterPulse.

Interested in participating in one of our residencies? Check out current Open Calls >>

Cover Photo: From Performing Diaspora 2014, Nava Dance/Nadhi Thekkek, Photo courtesy of artist.


The 2022 Performing Diaspora residency is made possible by support from the National Endowment for the Arts.

Archived Events

Performing Diaspora Residency 2022

Vera Hannush/VERA! & Unsettled/Soiled Group
Thursday - Saturday, December 8-10 & 15-17 at 8PM PT

to leave the land and [Re]member

pateldanceworks and Byb Chanel Bibene/Kiandanda Dance Theater
Thu & Fri, Jun 3-4 & 10-11, 8pm PDT at CounterPulse. Sat, Jun 5 & 12, 2pm PDT Matinee at CounterPulse. Sat, Jun 12, 2pm PDT Livestream and Artist Q&A

She-Verse and mouth//full

Cherie Hill IrieDance and Gabriel Christian & Chibueze Crouch
Thu-Sat, Dec 5-7 & 12-14, 7:45pm-9pm

I dreamed Bruce Lee was my father and Lost Chinatowns

Melissa Lewis and Cynthia Ling Lee
Thu-Sat, Dec 6-8 & 13-15

Mother the Verb & Lxs Desaparecidxs

Javier Stell-Fresquez, Ivan "Ivy" Monteiro, and Davia Spain & Randy Reyes
Thu–Sat, Dec 7–9 & 14–16, 7:30pm

Performing Diaspora 2016

SAMMAY & dana e. fitchett
DEC 1-4 // THU-SAT 8PM, SUN 3PM

Traditions

Ganesh Vasudeva
SEP 6, 2013, FRI at 8PM

Performing Diaspora Weekend Two

Laura Inserra, Muisi-kongo Malonga, and Nadhi Thekkek
AUG 22-25, 2013, THU-SUN at 8PM

Performing Diaspora Weekend One

Byb Chanel Bibene, Joti Singh, and Jia Wu
AUG 15-18, 2013, THU-SUN at 8PM

Performing Diaspora Symposium

AUG 10, 2013, SAT 10:30AM - 6PM

Work in Progress: Performing Diaspora

Byb Chanel Bibene, Jewlia Eisenberg, Muisi-kongo Malonga, Nadhi Thekkek, Joti Singh, Jia Wu
SAT JUN 29, 2013, 10AM-5PM

Performing Diaspora 2013 Application Workshop

JUL 23, 2012, MON from 7-8:30PM