Jewels in the Square

Caitlin, one of our dancers, was poking through her computer files the other day and came across a stash of photos her boyfriend, and loyal RAWdance supporter, Benjamin Hale had taken of the company last year when we performed CheckBox for the Jewels in the Square series in Union Square. As we get ready to perform there again in two weeks (see details below), we thought it'd be fun to share a few of our favorites from last year.

Our favorite part of this show (aside from the dancing of course) was the grid of neon green tape we laid out to mark off the "stage". Passersby were so fascinated by dancers taping the ground that they stayed to watch the show. This year we're thinking red...











This piece was a fun blend of rigidly straight lines (above) and utter chaos (left).

Corey, Melissa, and Tessa (in the foreground on the right in this photo) performed this piece with us and were amazing. We miss you guys!











Despite the concrete, it's so much fun performing in a neighborhood where shoppers, tourists, and business people don't expect to see dance. However conditions can be tricky. Only an hour apart, the first run (left) almost blinded us, while we froze in the second (right). Fingers crossed for this July 16!

Don't miss...
Jewels in the Square presents: "Sneak Peek"
Time: Wednesday July 16, 6pm & 7pm
Venue: Union Square Park, SF
Tickets: Free!
Additional Info:www.unionsquarepark.us and
www.rawdance.org/upcomingevents.html
RAWdance returns to the outdoor downtown Jewels in the Square series, bringing highlights from our upcoming home season at CounterPULSE as well as a few surprises. Once again, we will again take over Union Square, in the bustle of the city's commercial heart- lifting, snaking, throwing, turning, and sweating. "Sneak Peek" will also showcase excerpts by several CONCEPT series artists, past and future, including ahdanco, Aura Fischbeck Dance, and Maxine Moerman Dancetheater.

Don't Fence Me In

It's always an interesting task to define a look for a new piece. Since most of us don't have the Opera's budget to have full sets built and live animals on stage, each new work poses the challenge of selecting a set of objects or making a backdrop that helps define the world in which the dance takes place. Last year we had fun ripping up and knotting together our old curtains (Scarlett O'Hara eat your heart out) to create a web which we suspended as a backdrop for ties that bound, studies. For Per-Verses and Drained, a friend built us sturdy wooden cubes that just happen to double as storage units at home.

Today we ordered part of the set for our newest work Fallout, which is a take on the nuclear family and fear. The piece is slated to premiere in Singapore next January, so the set not only has to perform on stage, but also has to fit in a suitcase and stay under airlines' ever shrinking weight limits. Amazon came through with flying colors. Now if we could just find the right armchair at the IKEA in Singapore...

Glamorous

For all those out there who think dance is glamorous, this one's for you. Our six-member company currently has one fractured right wrist, three left knee problems, one chronic right knee issue, and some displaced cervical vertebrae. None of it happened in our rehearsals thankfully but we are still an entertaining sight, braced up and bandaged while we rehearse into the night.

On the plus side, I'm definitely on the mend, recovering from a small fracture in my right wrist. Mobility is improved and outside of rehearsal, I'm sans brace. In rehearsal however, the hard plastic is a risk for anyone who comes near me. Take a look at Wendy's leg after we spent a rehearsal revisiting partnering work from the ties that bound, studies. Like we said, glamour....

Choreographer or pastry chef?

RAWdance has been incredibly lucky to work with photographer extraordinaire, RJ Muna for the last couple of years. A few weeks ago we had another photo shoot and although we always plan them beforehand, we never really know what's going to happen until we're in front of the camera. This year was certainly no disappointment, involving a long string of fake pearls (seen here), Ryan dousing me with water, and Justin (who works with RJ) stepping into one of the shots as our "diva photographer".

The highlight came after the shot however, when we were looking at the proofs and decided that the shot to the left (originally set on the ground), looked like warped bride and groom figures on a wedding cake and that we needed a cake to complete the photo.

So for the sake of artistic fulfillment, we researched bakeries (including plastic and/or borrowing options, but found none) and wound up ordering a small cake from Noe Valley Bread Co. If we had to get a real cake, it might as well be a good one. Only when I picked it up to bring it to RJ to shoot, it wasn't decorated nearly enough on the sides. So RJ swooped me up in his car and we went hunting for other options. Through the Mission, around Potrero, nada. In the end, Safeway came through with insta-icing and a plastic piping container. Let's just say it's been a while since I've gone Martha on a cake, but since we wanted it to look a little messy, it fit the bill.

RJ got the shot. We got the cake. We ate the cake. Chocolate with raspberry whipped cream and a white chocolate buttercream. Mmmmm. Maybe the next shoot will need ice cream...