Ki’ Shae Qetlah
The inaugural FACT/SF Winter Dance Salon, created as an opportunity to support early development artists in building networks and sharing visions premiered February 8th at 7 PM, at the Joe Goode Annex. This approximately 60-minute production featured work-in-progress pieces from nine artists including the esteemed hosts, FACT/SF. Prominent artists included Kim Ip, Quinn Dior, Zoemotion Dance Collective, and the Xochipilli Dance Company. Each work stood distinguished; accompanied by seraphic vocalists, inanimate objects, monochromatic costuming, or movement expression that mirrored postmodern works and emphasized variations of on gestures repeated into exhaustion.
The means for which to process grief, lasting love and one’s last will and testament were just a few of the complex themes incorporated in this creative process. As I observed some of the creators during one of their last rehearsals, I noticed precise dialogue concerning lighting cues and sound arrangements. I witnessed what I imagined to be, human vulnerability rushing over a few of their faces in flux. At moments, the emotion escaped in the form of tiny nervous twitches, unruly speaking volumes, or in glimmers of frustration one notch above a whisper across the vacant house seating. In totality, these aspects of the practice were… utterly normal. The production manager, River Bermudez Sanders, in their most polite demeanor tended to the punctuality of the evening while Colin Johnson, technical director and Crystal Liu, lighting designer/board operator did well to work alongside each artist and to note each zeitgeber, respectfully.
As showtime approached, the audience poured into the open space and pillows were laid adjacent the seats, providing room for the over-packed house. As it was a work-in-progress showing, many of the dancers were present onstage warming up or rehearsing, alone or within their respective group. Many took time to greet their friends and loved ones and the audience filed in to take their seats, sometimes using the stairs or finding some manner to contort themselves into fitting through the black, metal railing. Charles Slender-White, FACT/SF Artistic Director, took to the stage to introduce the event and unpack some of the “house-keeping” mandates.
Following, Keanu Forrest Brady and LizAnne Roman Roberts from FACT/SF entered the stage in shades of orange for a duet set with one, cold light fixed downstage left. The dancers moved within the space at times, in tandem, stalled or furiously, mimicking two nuclei within a cell’s membrane. All in all, it was an exhilarating affair of new beginnings, and the room was filled with excitement for what’s to come. Afterwards, we lingered to extend congratulations and exchange perspectives over savory pie and beer.
FEATURED ARTISTS and PERFORMERS:
FACT/SF (Keanu Forrest Brady, LizAnne Roman Roberts), Kim Ip, Zoemotion Dance Collective (Emma Andre, Henry Winslow, Liam Fleming, Risa Ofelia Diaz, Sophia Grimani, Will Loewen), Hannah Westbrook, Quinn Dior (Dasha Yurkevich, Will Loewen, Quinn Dior), Ciarra D’Onofrio (Devon Chen, Derek DiMartini, Olallie Lackler, Kriss Rulifson, Hannah Westbrook), Emily Hansel and Meredith Webster, Xochipilli Dance Company (Hector Jaime, Brandon Graham), KT Nelson (Cauveri Suresh, Kira Fargas).
Ki’ Shae Qetlah is a SF based, multi-disciplinary artist and educator most prominently focused in performance, culinary, and literary arts. Qetlah is particularly driven in non profit and community based work and the emphasis of dance as such a valuable gift to our society.
FACT/SF Invites Audience Into The Process At Winter Dance Salon was originally published in ODC.dance.stories on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.