Written by Charles Slender-White
Katherine Neumann in FACT/SF’s For a (2022)
Photo by Robbie Sweeny
2023 is almost here, and I am so excited to kick off FACT/SF’s 15th anniversary season! I am feeling particularly elated to share with you that, in our upcoming season, FACT/SF employees will earn a $30/hour living wage, and receive commuter benefits alongside a 401k match.
I’m proud that we are able to center arts workers and acknowledge their labor in this way, honored to lead FACT/SF, and appreciative of the many, many people who have invested in our vision. This is a major accomplishment, especially for a dance company of our size, and it’s the result of years of persistent work. Enormous gratitude for the many people who have helped make this happen!
Alongside these exciting organizational developments, FACT/SF is launching an enormous, multi-modal dance project called QAF (Queer Athletic Futurity). QAF is about LGBTQ+ athletes in sports, and it’s produced in partnership with the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy, Presidio Trust, CHEER SF, SF Fog Rugby, and ODC Theater. QAF will begin with a series of interviews with retired LGTBQ+ athletes, released as a podcast in the spring.
Tunnel Tops in the Presidio
Site of FACT/SF’s QAF (Queer Athletic Futurity)
In June 2023, we will premiere site-specific work at the Tunnel Tops park in the Presidio, alongside a Fantastic Field Day of all-ages and all-abilities sports activities. In August, we’ll premiere the indoor version of QAF at ODC Theater. Later in the fall, QAF will tour to San Diego, CA and Portland, OR.
QAF Set Design
Preliminary Sketch by Glen Lakin
The California Arts Council has provided lead funding for the project, alongside community co-producers and supporting partners. If you’d like to become a QAF Co-Producer, check out this page and shoot me an email at cslender@factsf.org. Co-Producers are central to making this project happen.
Just as FACT/SF creates our own art and wants all of our artists to thrive, we also want our peers to thrive. We believe that our well-being is directly tied to the health and vitality of the larger arts ecology, so we use our Fieldwork programs to provide money, resources, and opportunity to our colleagues. Since 2018, our Fieldwork programs have directly supported more than 60 Bay Area artists, who in turn have engaged hundreds of collaborators and thousands of audience members.
Chinchin Hsu in her premiere, Time Eater
2022 FACT/SF Summer Dance Festival
Photo by Robbie Sweeny
In 2023, our Summer Dance Festival will feature works by local artists Emily Hansel, Mia J. Chong, Brianna Torres, and Héctor Jaime, alongside visiting artists Alfonso Cervera (Urbana-Champaign, IL), Taylor Donofrio (Los Angeles, CA), and Shaun Keylock (Portland, OR). Our Production Support Grants will help fund Megan Lowe’s premiere of Piece of Peace: Gathering. And, Gwen Benitez, Rafi Darrow, Elle Hong, and Conni McKenzie have each received a scholarship to attend our annual Summer Dance Lab for free.
In addition to dozens of FACT/SF performances and classes in the Bay, I’ll also be traveling to British Columbia, North Carolina, Oregon, and throughout California to teach Countertechnique workshops and master classes.
Slender-White teaching Countertechnique
Photo by Robbie Sweeny
Dates and details for all of our 2023 events can be found here.
And, as our end of year fundraising campaign wraps up, I hope you’ll consider making a tax-deductible donation as an investment in our shared vision for the future. Please visit our donation page here.
Yours,
~Charles Slender-White
Artistic Director, FACT/SF