the CONCEPT series: 14

Named the Best Way to Sample S.F.’s Contemporary Dance Scene by SF Weekly in 2012, the biannual CONCEPT series focuses on intimacy and innovation. Come see some of the top talent of Bay Area dance in a cozy community space complete with coffee and snacks.

The CONCEPT series: 14 shares the choreographic voices of some of the area’s most seasoned dance performers. Fog Beast, self-described as “casual formal twisted dance theater” is the collaborative brainchild of Andrew Ward and Melecio Estrella, performers with the Joe Goode Performance Group. Nina Haft & Company embodies the thoughtful work of 29-year veteran East Bay choreographer, Nina Haft. Stranger Lover Dreamer, comprised of San Francisco stage alums: Rogelio Lopez, Andrew Merrell, Elizebeth Randall, and Shaunna Vella, make it their motto to “say yes to everything” in the studio. Robert Dekkers brings his newest risk-taking twist on contemporary ballet with Post:Ballet. And Claudia Anata Hubiak’s The Anata Project offers 659 Days of Ruby and Mr. S, a window into the world of ordinary relationships where the mundane holds moments of magic. RAWdance, taking breaks from hosting duties of delivering coffee and cookies, will round out the program with two works-in-progress, offering a taste of Mine, set to premiere in December 2013, and the earliest glimpse of Turing’s Apple, slated for July 2014.

SF Weekly summed up the salon: “Dance aficionados and newbies find plenty to like in this semi-regular series at the historic James Howell Studio, hosted and curated by choreographers Ryan T. Smith and Wendy Rein. Because the venue is awkwardly shaped, you’re bound to meet new people — there’s really no option to keep quiet. You pay what you can to enter. There’s food. And the work is really good. Smith and Rein sometimes perform with their entrancing group RAWdance, bolstering this already-strong argument for mixed-bill style performances. And there’s this running joke they have with popcorn. Just go.”

The CONCEPT series is all about making dance accessible without sacrificing the art. Choreographers are encouraged to share work at any point along the creation process, from revisiting repertory to testing out a work-in-progress fresh from the studio. The series began in 2007 and has shared the work of 54 guest artists to date, in addition to RAWdance.