FACT/SF - Summer Dance Festival 2025

Pictured: LizAnne Roman Roberts
Photo Robbie Sweeny

FACT/SF
Summer Dance Festival 2025
Weekend 1
ODC Theater, San Francisco
August 15th, 2025

I’ve long been a fan of FACT/SF, a San Francisco-based modern dance company led by Artistic Director Charles Slender-White. And for a number of reasons. They take creative risks. They mentor choreographic talent. They advocate for dance artists. In addition, FACT/SF has a structural/formal strength that is really special. No matter what they present on stage, it is deeply grounded and rooted in modern dance technique. Seems like an ‘obvious’ trait for a contemporary dance troupe, but it’s actually rarer than you might think.

The last time I saw the company in performance was the virtual, livestreamed debut of Slender-White’s Split (part of a 2021 CounterPulse festival). So, it’s been a minute. What a treat to be back at ODC theater to see the newest iteration of their Summer Dance Festival – two weekends; a myriad of physicality; an array of choreographic visions. Program one brought an eclectic mixed bill from The Davis Sisters, Jenna Riegel and of course, FACT/SF. The three pieces were distinctive, though I did recognize that signature throughline: technique was the undeniable center of each work.

Kicking things off was the hilariously clever Make (It) Work: ((A) Work In Process) (Working Title) from Joy and Alexander Davis, or The Davis Sisters. For their festival entry, the duo brought a smorgasbord of performance art. A tasting menu of work created between 2017 and 2024. A collection of wild scenes celebrating their oeuvre. From one moment to the next, it was impossible to predict what was about to transpire. A promenade with a golf club. The deconstruction of a sandwich. A podcast. A recitation framed by a giant sunhat. It was such a trip, not simply because of that delicious unpredictability but because of the performance acumen and comedic connection that is The Davis Sisters. The piece was maybe a little long for an opener, but unquestionably entertaining and engaging.

Like much dance theater, Make (It) Work: ((A) Work In Process) (Working Title) utilized many different theatrical devices: comedy, props, costuming, set pieces, music, text and my absolute favorite, stagecraft. It isn’t often that you see the different aspects of stage craft used as an integral part of performance – genius! Choreographically, the work traversed different genres and eras. An early duet had a real 1980s vibe, with movements reminiscent of Ballroom voguing from that time. Silver sequin garments and disco-inspired phrases took us to the 70s. Classic contact improv shapes would make the Judson crew proud. And some slo-mo body surfing felt like a humorous, cheeky Grand Union. Gesture featured heavily throughout, including a very evocative arm/hand sequence that peeked outside of the wings. Specific and precise, it got me thinking about how such unassuming movements have the ability to craft powerful dynamic tone, atmosphere and emotion. 

Up next was the world premiere of Jenna Riegel’s to the marrow, a new duet commissioned by FACT/SF and danced by LizAnne Roman Roberts and Slender-White. Costumed in gauzy, flowy ecru, the pair each rolled a small orb along a diagonal light field. A measured and precise atmosphere was framed by a somewhat haunting musical score. They were clearly taking the utmost care with something they had been tasked to protect. As the duet moved on, the circular items were carefully placed upstage left so that expansive movement could unfold in the center of the space. Suspension and release were everywhere. As was special attention to the palms of the hand. Palms facing up relating a posture of receiving, while all of the earlier motions embodied giving. There was an overwhelming sense of otherworldliness – the angelic costuming, haunting banjo, the subdued light. Themes of friendship and parenting came through well, though I think the brilliance of to the marrow is that it could apply to any relationship that has a simultaneous energy of giving and receiving.

Closing FACT/SF’s 2025 Summer Dance Festival was the premiere of Slender-White’s Maelstrom, a tour de force quartet performed by the company. As the lights came up on ODC’s stage, the group propelled into the space with the force of an arrow. Piercing. Pounding. High throttle movement. Each motion had a clear stopping point, making every phrase so crisp and exact. Stirring (like stirring a pot) imagery abounded: arms cartwheeling through space, torso undulating, legs carving out round circuits. But Maelstrom was also not afraid to sit in extended moments of stillness and quiet. Heads and necks were full of ease. There was purposeful off-balancedness. And legs hovered, not in a particular arabesque shape or extension, but just as if they were taking flight.

Book Review - "Maya & Natasha"

Maya & Natasha by Elyse Durham published 2025 by Mariner Books

Historical fiction is a hit with my monthly book club. I might even go so far as to say it’s the group’s preferred literary genre. The chance to encounter a created story, but one that is set in a real place and a real era with all of that times’ economic, political and sociological realities.

Elyse Durham’s Maya & Natasha is a delightful work of historical fiction. The novel follows two sisters, aspiring ballet dancers Maya and Natasha, as they navigate a mélange of challenging personal and professional forces. The Soviet Union in the middle of the twentieth century. The laborious, sheltered and unforgiving world of pre-professional ballet. Maturing into adulthood. An absence of biological parents. And perhaps the most nuanced force of all - not just sibling dynamics, but twin dynamics.

As the years pass for Maya and Natasha, the reader meets those that inhabit their orbit. Relationships develop and disintegrate. Revelations abound. As does youthful teenaged rebellion. There are mammoth disappointments, surprising opportunities and hints of betrayal.

Part II of the book ushers in the early 1960s and we quickly learn that fate has employed Maya and Natasha on very different paths. And the vibe of the writing mirrors that shift as well. Durham stays committed to historical fiction, yet at the same time manages to weave creative non-fiction into the work. New, real-life characters join the plot and one starts to speculate how these imagined and authentic worlds will collide. There’s a backdrop of true international crises, explored through the lens, perspective and experience of the characters. And as the book concludes with the shorter Part III, many things have come full circle for the twin protagonists.  

Maya & Natasha succeeds on three fronts. First is the incredibly accurate picture Durham paints of the ballet universe. For those readers well-versed in that unique, and often odd arena, the book will come across nostalgically familiar (whether those remembrances are of joy or trauma or both) and the descriptive prose is quite poetic. References abound to true repertory works (those very familiar and those less so), rising stars of the time and worldwide dance institutions. Her knowledge and expertise of the form was a joy to discover.

Second, Durham crafted ballet into a container for the story, and that’s important for the novel’s prospective readership. It’s for more than just a dance audience. Undeniably, Maya & Natasha exists and unfolds within the proscenium arch that is ballet. But that container could have easily been something equally consuming: medicine, sports, film, academics. And I think those in similarly intense fields will relate deeply to Maya & Natasha.

Third, Maya & Natasha is an entertaining journey! Aside from a few predictable plot points and it being a tad too long, it’s a perfect summer read. So many dance books, while interesting, are packed with heady, dense material that takes time and energy to comb through. It’s refreshing to come across something so accessible and engaging. This reader was particularly pleased to get to chapter seventeen with all its references to San Francisco and the War Memorial Opera House!

Mark Morris Dance Group - "Pepperland"

Mark Morris Dance Group in
Morris' Pepperland
Photo Frank Wing

Cal Performances presents
Mark Morris Dance Group
Pepperland
Zellerbach Hall, Berkeley

May 9th, 2025

It was a Sgt. Pepper weekend. I listened to The Beatles’ 1967 recording; I watched the 1978 movie and I saw Mark Morris Dance Group’s Pepperland (2017). The original Sgt. Pepper’s record is commonly known as a concept album, meaning that the tracks have some meaningful throughline or connection. Commonalities definitely come through: there’s the notion that the songs are performed by a ‘fictional’ group of musicians, there’s mysticism and there’s plenty of drug culture lyrics and references. The movie features a surprisingly star-studded cast and who’s who of the 1970s music industry - The Bee Gees, Alice Cooper, Aerosmith, Earth, Wind & Fire, Peter Frampton, Steve Martin, George Burns – and that’s about all it had going for it. Created during a very different era in filmmaking, it’s dated, strange and I’m going to leave it there.

That brings me to Friday evening and the return of MMDG to Cal Performances with Pepperland, Artistic Director Mark Morris’ homage to the Beatles and Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. I first saw the evening-length work back in 2018. Some seven years later, many of my initial observations held true, while others changed, and significantly so. Perhaps it was the different cast (from the bios, many of the dancers joined the company post-2018). Maybe the fact that, at that time, Pepperland was still fairly new to MMDG’s repertory. Or simply a reflection of how tastes change.

Let’s start with the consistencies. First, Elizabeth Kurtzman’s costume design. 1960s and 1970s esthetics bounded through the space. Jeweled hues and geometrics. Houndstooth, wide-headbands and aviator sunglasses. Babydoll dresses, short vests and turtlenecks. Not only were the clothes a perfect match to the piece, they were also a dream for anyone who loves that era in fashion. Second, the music, and not just the beloved Beatles’ hits. Original elements, composed by Ethan Iverson, were layered with those familiar tunes in a fresh, current and innovative way. Clinton Curtis’ live vocals - another incredible sonic element. Last, some winning Morris comedy. At the beginning, each individual character was introduced to the audience, like an old-school 80s sitcom opening. And there were plenty of humorous gestures, glances and interactions, adding additional light-heartedness to an already entertaining work.

Now to the differences. Back in 2018, I remember feeling that Pepperland’s mood, tone and physical syntax were fairly similar throughout. Kind of chill, laid-back and somewhat understated with lots and lots of walking. At this viewing, I instead noticed a great deal of dynamic range and breadth. Flying and soaring in partnered lifts. Joyful step, kick, jump sequences across the stage. Whirling locomotive phrases. Intense Graham-inspired falls with cupped hands. And of course, the raucous, twisty and deliciously creepy kick line, set to “When I’m Sixty-Four.” The mash-up of time signatures, rhythmical structures and cannoning was so inventively weird, making it impossible to look away. Pepperland still was awash in pedestrianism, but marching, prancing, running and army crawling provided variety and atmosphere. I do still think the middle section, with its mystic, hazy quality, while interesting, lasts much too long.

Mark Morris Dance Group in Morris' Pepperland
Photo Frank Wing

Let’s return to the term ‘concept album,’ where connective tissue binds parts of a whole together. That notion is definitely mirrored in Morris’ choreographic vocabulary. The sagittal tilt is everywhere in Pepperland, acting as almost a home base. We saw it in cabriole, in extension, in leaning, in slides. And that was not the only physical phrase that was ‘peppered’ throughout. Hand/arm sequences wove familiar postures and gestures through the dance’s many different chapters. Goal-post positions, flexed biceps, wave-drawing hands and airplane arms.

So, here are my takeaways from my Sgt. Pepper weekend. Reacquaint yourself with The Beatles’ album. Go and see Mark Morris Dance Group’s Pepperland if it tours through your city. Skip the movie.