CALL FOR DANCERS for “And the Community Will Rise” 2020!

CALL FOR DANCERS!

Lenora Lee Dance (LLD) is seeking female and male dancers of African and of European ancestry for “And the Community Will Rise” a series of 12 site-specific, immersive, multimedia performances in San Francisco at the Ping Yuen Housing Complex, September 10 – 27, or September 18 – October 4, 2020. LLD is open to dancers of various movement backgrounds. Training in modern / contemporary dance, experience in choreography, improvisation, and collaboration are a plus. Rehearsals will be twice a week starting in March, with dress rehearsals in August. All rehearsals and performances are paid.

Those interested can email LenoraLeeDance@gmail.com to sign up for a January 12, 2020 audition rehearsal. Please also email a resume and video links of dance pieces you have choreographed or are featured dancing in. Call (‪415) 570-8615‬ for more information. Other appointments can be arranged. www.LenoraLeeDance.com

Background

“And the Community Will Rise” includes a series of 12 site-specific, multimedia, immersive performances, transforming selected common spaces, courtyards and apartments in Ping Yuen into performance sites with live contemporary dance, media design, recorded original music, and voiceover from interviews with former and current residents, advocates and historians.

In collaboration with the Chinatown Community Development Center (CCDC), this work would explore residents’ struggle for affordable housing and rights as tenants and recent immigrants, as well as the complexities of Ping Yuen tenants’ diverse cultural backgrounds including Chinese, Russians, and African Americans.

Timing is crucial as San Francisco is witnessing growing displacement of its low-income residents, and neighborhoods inhabited for decades by generations of communities of color are facing gentrification. Drawing from residents’ family history and lived experiences, the performances will explore the lasting impact of local Chinese Americans and their coalitions with other marginalized communities on both the community and the nation. These rituals of remembrance in historical spaces are critical to our communities in providing a sense of place in American society especially in the face of mass displacement.

Co-presented by CCDC, Asian Improv aRts, API Cultural Center

Supported in part by Creative Work Fund, California Arts Council, Kenneth Rainin Foundation, and Generous Individuals

Photos by Robbie Sweeny