20 Points of View: a peek into dance-making

Media Contact: Cherie Hill
chill@lunadanceinstitute.org, 510.883.1118
March 23, 2015
20 Points of View: a peek into dance-making
A day-long, free open studio event
April 23rd, 2015
Berkeley, Ca- How do choreographers make up dances? From where do they get their ideas and
inspiration, and how do they translate that into movement? Luna Dance Institute asks these very
questions as they pull back the curtain and host their third annual 20 Points of View: a peek into dancemaking. A day-long free open-studio event, 20 Points of View features 20 local choreographers, each
with 30 minutes to perform, rehearse, improvise or make a dance in Luna’s studio. Dance lovers,
individuals curious about the creative process, school groups, families and community members are
invited to drop in all day, at any time to see artists in action.
Luna Dance Institute’s studio is alive with creative activity every day of the week. Most days you can find
young dancers bursting, melting, twirling and bounding as they take risks to discover their unique artistic
voices. Other days you might see choreographers improvising and rehearsing new dynamic dance works.
Luna is the creative space where choreography is cultivated, and on April 23rd Luna will feature 20 local
choreographers dedicated to artistic inquiry and investigation who share the fundamental value at the
heart of Luna: creativity. Guests arriving throughout the day will be treated to seeing the diversity of Bay
Area dance artists in the intimate stages of developing work.
At the crux of dance-making and dance-performing is the aesthetic experience that occurs between the
dance-maker and the dance audience as their “points of view” intersect. A dyadic communication portal
opens when the choreographer brings all of her beliefs and cultural experiences to the creation and
performance of a dance, and the individual audience viewer brings her beliefs and cultural experiences
to what she sees – it is this intersection, this bridge in the middle that has the potential for juicy,
engaging, exciting artistic exchange. 20 Points of View celebrates this intersection between artists and
audience. We encourage all ages to watch, ask questions, interact and respond as Luna continues to
invest in artists and their audiences.
This year Luna hosts both emerging and established choreographers, including NAKA Dance Theatre,
Rosemary Hannon, Vangi King, Antoine Hunter, Byb Chanel Bibene, inkBoat, Mary Armentrout,
Dandelion Dance Theater, Wax Poet(s), Claudine Naganuma, Cuauhtemoc Mitote Peranda, Colin Epstein
and more.
20 Points of View: a peek into dance-making
COST- Free
RESERVATIONS- None necessary for individuals or small groups
For groups of 10 or more, please email Jochelle at jperena@lunadanceinstitute.org
Luna Dance Institute
605 Addison Street Berkeley, CA 94710
510.883.1118, www.lunadanceinstitute.org
http://lunadanceinstitute.org/20-points-of-view-a-peek-into-dance-making/
Selected artist bios:
Veteran choreographers José Navarette and Debby Kajiyama of NAKA Dance Theatre will perform The
Anastasio Project. The Anastasio Project is a multidisciplinary public performance work that investigates
race relations, state brutality, and border violence using the story of Anastasio Hernandez-Rojas as a
point of departure. Hernandez-Rojas was a Mexican national who was detained at the US-Mexico border
in May 2010 and who was killed by a dozen Customs and Border Patrol agents. Navarrete x Kajiyama
Dance Theater (NAKA) created The Anastasio Project in collaboration with EastSide Arts Alliance.
www.nkdancetheater.com , www.eastsideartsalliance.org
Last seen at Luna sharing excerpts of her evening-length work Gallus Gallus Domesticus, Rosemary
Hannon will bring new explorations in her dance artistry. About herself she writes: I dance. I make
performances about fear, femininity, perseverance, time, old stories, ordinary/enactive perception, and
bodies. I create contexts/constraints to investigate real feelings during entertainments. Performers are
audiences and audiences have consequences. Compositional rituals make me think that deep
conversation is possible. I like comic tragedies. I also perform in the work of other choreographers,
teach and organize dance events.
Heather Stockton is a dance, video and sound artist who created Wax Poet(s) with hopes of cultivating
an interdisciplinary community. Originally from Riverside, CA, Heather has danced in works by Amy
O’Neal/Tiny Rage, Katie Faulkner, Sheldon Smith, Shinichi Iova-Koga, Merce Cunningham (staged by
Holley Farmer), Laara Garcia (Psuedopod Interactive), Wade Madsen, Kristin Carpenter Torok and Nataly
Morales. Her choreography has been presented at Noh Space (SF), The Garage (SF), On the Boards
theater (SEA), Velocity Dance Center (SEA), Littlefield Concert Hall (OAK), Temescal Arts Center (OAK)
and Landis Performing Arts Center (RIV). In addition to dance films, her video work has been featured on
Slate Magazine and Jezebel. Her work was selected for performance at the American College Dance
Festival GALA in 2007 and 2013. http://www.wax-poets.com/
Luna is honored to welcome Colin Epstein back to 20 Points of View for the third year running. Colin
teaches and performs all over the SF Bay area, from the heart of the Richmond to the edges of Oakland.
Constantly inspired by his amazing students of all ages at Athletic Playground, Kinetic Arts Center, and
Shan-Yee Poon School of Performing Arts, Colin explores movement in all its varied forms. Most
frequently seen onstage with Palanza Dance, 13th Floor Dance Theater, and number9, and producing a
yearly event showcasing the incredible breadth of performing talent in the Bay Area (Constants &
Variables, coming this October 2-4, 2015, to Dance Mission Theater).
Byb Chanel Biben’s Kiandanda Dance Theater by Marshall Berman