“Home Cookin’” Food Party @ CounterPULSE was deep…
So this past Sunday it was raining in the Bay Area. Cold and wet. But that afternoon at CounterPULSE in San Francisco, an intimate crew of folks braved the rain, brought food, shared stories and ate together. The topic was, “what are the factors that support or prevent us from cooking meals on a regular basis”. What I am finding about food is, no matter what the topic might be, the food will direct the path of discussion. Most of
1/4 mark
When I think about my understanding of what it meant to be gay when I was 16, a handful of images come to mind. Walking down Stockton Avenue and trying to sneak a quick look into the old Renegades Bar when the door would swing open. I could never really see in, but stories unfolded in my head around the mystery of that worn-down pub with painted over windows and rough-edged leather bears occasionally outside inhaling a smoke. Quirky wall
The Best Laid Plans…
A particularly challenging and fertile aspect of being a creator of experimental performance is that I often have to describe a project in detail many months or even years before I start on it. When working with 10 or more ensemble members and needing to plan out schedules and spaces that are accessible for dancing, instruments, wheelchairs, props, sets and more, I have to do a lot of advance planning. I joke often with my husband about how I have
Synchronicities
One of my favorite things about the creative process is synchronicity. I follow intuition above all else in my art making and find myself continually rewarded by the ways that relationships I never could have dreamed up appear all of a sudden. Until recently I was planning on making a piece called Don't Suck! Cycle II as part of a four month residency at CounterPULSE in San Francisco. The recent deaths of my close friend Sharon and my grandmother moved
Narass ak jamm (digest in peace)
Well, it has definitely been awhile since I last posted…I have been on a journey with this food project that has taken me to the Republic of the Congo, New Orleans twice (I may be going back), several food parties in and around the SF bay area and most recently to Senegal from where I just returned less than 3 days ago. This last journey has been the most profound for me in so many ways but what I am
Public Showings
We have our first work-in-progress showing for my CounterPULSE residency this coming Saturday, Jan. 15th. Even though we're still at the beginnings of our creation process, I'm very glad we have this showing to work towards. There are many reasons that I find public showings of performance works in progress useful. These include: --forcing us as artists to make some decisions about what we want to show --giving a deadline to a particular segment of our creation process --encouraging everyone
Trying to hold on to the magic of Africa….
It’s been almost 2 weeks since I left Senegal..every day in Senegal I ate 3 meals a day. Everyday, 3 times a day, we stopped everything else so we could eat ( I say we because I never ate alone there). Whether it was Adama’s cooking that we ate everyday at L’ecole des Sables where I was studying dance, or with my brother and sister in law and their family’s house…I ate 3 meals a day
In a recession, you gotta have stew…..
I have to say…there is so much going on, I’m having a hard time keeping up in these posts! For the last 2 weeks it’s been about recession stew. Recession stew is a creation of mine that was inspired by the way my mama would take random left overs and hold overs in the fridge and make magical meals. I’ve been cooking up my stew at various locales over the last couple of weeks; fed it to the beautiful young
Internship Week 1: Committed Souls
1/11/11, a lucky numerical day I believe to start something new. I got off the BART train in high heels freezing my tiny self and toes off, noting that I never want to wear these specific heels again to the city. I had coffee breathe and stopped by Walgreens to get some gum, I also eagerly needed to use the bathroom and wasn't familiar with the city enough to find one. As I walked down 9th street, I imagined myself arriving
Ode to my Father and my brother…
I’m cooking as fast as I can! A week and a half ago, I found myself cooking for one food party after another and no sooner than I finish washing my trusty pot that I cook my stews in does Julie Phelps and Keith Hennessey call me and ask me if I can come cook for 150 people at the amazing marathon performance they produce at Dance Mission called, Too Much! What do I say? Hell yeah! I had a