Portal

RAWdance, in partnership with TJPA’s Salesforce Park, premieres Portal, a free, public, site-specific live performance, which transforms the elevated garden into a multimedia ecosystem animated by evocative movement and physical storytelling. Envisioned by Co-Artistic Director Katerina Wong with mixed media artist Ephraim Colbert, Portal investigates the intersections of skyscrapers and gardens, migration and stagnation, and belonging and isolation after an unprecedented year of collective challenge. The park’s landscape will come alive through dynamic contemporary dance, text, lighting installation, video, and a layered soundscore to generate a dreamlike sensorial experience.

The first site-specific dance performance at Salesforce Park since its inception, Portal will take audiences on a journey from one end of the public park to the other, illuminating the landscaping and architecture with movement by six stellar Bay Area dance artists. Rooted in our shared recent experiences during the pandemic, Portal strives to offer a space to process and reflect as a community, reimagine our collective hopes and dreams, and recommit ourselves to a future of progress through imagination.

Salesforce Park’s unique location brings together the city’s vibrant and diverse communities, from technologists to artists, from locals to visitors, in a shared artistic gathering space. Audiences of all ages are welcomed and encouraged to attend. Please note, seating will be limited, and audiences will be asked to stand and mobilize throughout the Park for the majority of the one-hour long performance. City-mandated Covid protocols will be in place to ensure the safety of audiences and performers.

Portal is supported by the San Francisco Arts Commission.

CREATIVE TEAM:
Concept and Choreography: Katerina Wong / Mixed Media Designer: Ephraim Colbert / Dancers: Claire Fisher, Jhia Jackson, ArVejon Jones, Nick Wagner, Juliann Witt, Erin Yen / Costume Designer: Jhia Jackson / Technical Director: Thomas Bowersox, Production and Stage Manager: Jes DeVille

About Salesforce Park

Seventy feet above the Grand Hall, Salesforce Park runs the entire length of the Salesforce Transit Center, which is owned and operated by the Transbay Joint Powers Authority. TJPA is an historic collaboration between San Francisco Bay Area government and transportation agencies that delivers the Transbay program and manages the daily operations of the Transit Center and Park. Nearly four-blocks long and home to 600 trees and 16,000 plants arranged in 13 different botanical feature areas, Salesforce Park is an iconic garden oasis that is open daily and offers free public activities. Everyone’s welcome to enjoy this public park, a living roof where a curved walking trail lined with benches surrounds grassy lawns, dancing fountains, a children’s play area, and an amphitheater. More info at salesforcetransitcenter.com

Getting there:
Salesforce Park is located on the 4th floor of the Salesforce Transit Center. Performances will begin at the Main Plaza. The closest entrances are elevators and escalators located at 1st St., between Mission St. and Howard St. (on Minna St). Escalators are located indoors through the Transit Center, and elevators are located outside.

Suggested Public Transportation:
– Take BART to Montgomery St. or Embarcadero Station and walk to 1st St. and Minna St.
– Take the 14 or 14R Muni bus to the 1st St. stop. Take the F Muni line to Market and Battery and walk to 1st and Minna St. Take the M, N, or KT Muni lines to Montgomery St. Station and walk to 1st and Minna St. There are many additional routes depending on where you are coming from. If you need additional assistance, please email raw@rawdance.org.
– Use a ride-sharing app, and have them drop you off at 1st St. and Minna St.

Image by Kyle Adler Photography