port

PORT (Peer Organized Reciprocal Touring) is a touring model that supports increased performance and engagement opportunities for contemporary dance companies from the West Coast and beyond. The model was initially developed by Genevieve Carson and Charlie Slender-White in response to the lack of touring opportunities for small and mid-sized dance companies. PORT helps make it possible for dance artists to connect with one another, and to connect with communities and regions that might be otherwise inaccessible.

In the third round of PORT, FACT/SF, Shaun Keylock Company, and ODC Theater partnered together to support engagements in San Francisco, CA (August 2023) and Portland, OR (October 2024).

In the second round of PORT, FACT/SF, DISCO RIOT, ODC Theater, and the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego partnered together to support engagements in San Francisco, CA (August 2022) and San Diego, CA (November 2023).

In its pilot year (2017), FACT/SF, the Los Angeles Contemporary Dance Company, ODC Theater, and the LA Theatre Center worked together to present a shared-evening of new works in San Francisco and Los Angeles. 

how it works

Each host company is responsible for local production costs, and each visiting company is responsible for their own touring costs. By sharing the evenings together, both companies can increase their regional reach and impact without taking on significant financial risk. By partnering with local artists, the visiting artists have direct ties to the local community and can engage a larger audience for their work.

Ultimately, our goal is for PORT to function as a digital meeting place for interested artists to get to know each other, and as a model that other artists can use to engage in their own peer organized reciprocal touring activities. We anticipate making the model available for broad use by late 2025.