CONCEPT Series 28 artists. Photo credits: (L to R) by Margo Moritz, Yasmina Mattison, RJ Muna, Robbie Sweeny, Emily Hansel, and Chani Bockwinkel.
An Enduring Idea: 15 Years of RAWdance’s CONCEPT series
By Jill Randall
The other day, I had the pleasure of checking in with RAWdance co-directors Katerina (Katie) Wong, Wendy Rein, and Ryan Smith over Zoom. In addition, co-curator Megan Kurashige has also added ideas here about the series. Congrats to this artistic team for the longevity of the CONCEPT series and for relaunching it post-pandemic.
Please join in this coming weekend (March 26 and 27) in person at the Green Room in San Francisco to experience seven works by RAWdance, The Major S, Corey Michael Brady, Emily Hansel, Sawako Gannon, and Molly Rose-Williams.
Get your tickets here.
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Jill Randall: I wanted to start off with - off the cuff and off the heart - what are three words or phrases to describe the CONCEPT series?
Wendy Rein: I think all of us would say welcoming.
Katie Wong: Celebratory was one of the words that came to mind. Thinking about both our 15th anniversary and being back in the space after not gathering for so long.
Then, familiar, yet different. A familiar space together. Like putting on those cozy pajamas. The things that I know and feel comfortable in. And yet, we have been through so much since we last gathered in the Green Room together.
Ryan Smith: My words were: laid back, close, and community. Laid back - trying to make a space for dance that turned away from some of the formality of proscenium theaters. Close - literally close, in physical proximity. And community - we play host. We engage, we make sure people have what they need, we schmooze. We get to know the people. I like that side of community building.
Jill: What was the seed or initial inspiration 15 years ago to start the CONCEPT series?
Wendy: We had a bunch of pieces we had only been able to perform once. Like one night, at a festival, or one weekend.
We wanted to create an outlet to revisit them, and rework them. And if we were in this boat, there had to be others in this same boat. So we thought we would create a low stakes platform to revisit work or to generate new material, and to get to feel connected to an audience.
Ryan: The name CONCEPT series was more rooted in the desire to free ourselves from having to make a work of a certain caliber. “Have a concept…run with it. That is enough.” A simple idea. Even if you only have two minutes. Something to test in front of an audience. We were trying to find a way to bring live audience into our process more.
To experience being in performance mode, sooner.
Wendy: It was a one off, and went well. So we thought we would do it again.
Jill: What are the venues you have used over the years?
Ryan: It started at the James Howell Studio, which was then sold and renamed 66 Sanchez. At that point, it was a yoga studio. The bonus was, it was a half block from our house. Two dancers lived there and managed the space. It had a dance vibe to it. Back in the day, the owner was affiliated with the Joffrey. It had an amazing dance history many did not know about. It was an intimate space.
Wendy: In the original series, the audience moved their chairs based on each piece. I miss that element. It made it participatory in that way.
Ryan: We then did a handful at the Joe Goode Annex. But we wanted to find a place where dance is not usually found. Creating a way for dancers to have access to a space that usually is associated with weddings and galas and not informal, casual dance shows. So we then started using the Green Room at the SF War Memorial.
It is a bit of a high/low mix. We like doing things like serve cookies and coffee in a fancy, elegant ballroom.
Jill: Can you talk a bit about the curation of it? One - you want to show your own work, and that's a very clear choice. But how are you finding people and giving people a chance? Plus, also considering this call now to make as much as possible a public, open process. Thoughts on the curation of it?
Ryan: I also want to acknowledge that Megan Kurashige is a co-curator and has been the CONCEPT series Coordinator for a few years now too.
Katie: Yes, that's perfect, because that was my first thought in talking about this. Our most recent iteration of how we are going about our curatorial practices, which are ever evolving, is with the lenses and perspectives that you shared, Jill. It's definitely top of mind for us.
This is in conjunction with how we've been managing our fellowship process. Those have felt parallel in many ways, at least from our conversations together as a co-leadership team. It's sort of walking that line between maintaining relationships, relationship-building, and making it feel like the opportunity is not just purely transactional. So, in getting to know one another, how can we help you in this moment, and what can we do moving forward?
We’ve been thinking and reflecting about what alternative models look like. We appreciate the benefits of open application-based opportunities while acknowledging that there is unpaid labor in that general expectation. Personally it’s an ongoing conversation about balancing those different elements, trying, getting feedback, and making improvements for the future. Our primary aim is to maintain the energy and intention of the CONCEPT series and make sure it serves the artists the most and the best it can. Allowing them to focus their energy on the artmaking, and not just on all of the extras. At this moment that might look like a concentric circle design, with RAWdance’s staff (including Megan and our wonderful new Production/Program Manager Twyla Malchow-Hay), company artists, past CONCEPT series guests, and so on. A ripple effect idea.
Wendy: We have always been open to people who just approach us too. Because, we are still finite in number, even with those concentric circles, so just having that chance to be introduced to new folks or some folks that we know but didn’t know were making work. That is always super exciting.
Ryan: We do have a list. But the list is quite long, and that is the biggest challenge. Sometimes it takes a few rounds to ask someone and that it works out.
There are two curatorial viewpoints. One - wanting to make sure we are broadening people’s perspectives of what contemporary dance is and who is participating and making it. There is a desire to broaden a diversity of viewpoints, backgrounds, and styles.
We very explicitly believe in asking an artist and not asking for a work. What feels relevant at that time. And sometimes you don’t get the work you are expecting! That’s the best.
Katie: That’s the point.
Ryan: CONCEPT works best when an artist is in process.
Megan: The thing that stands out to me about the curation of CONCEPT is the deep care that the entire team has for the community. When I first started working on CONCEPT, I was really struck by how Ryan, Wendy, and Katie are all so familiar with so many artists and their work. And they are all curious about artists who they don’t know, especially those who are younger or at earlier stages in their choreographic trajectory. That continual interest and engagement is inspiring to me. Sometimes familiarity can breed jadedness and harden or diminish the circles of people you engage with. The care and curiosity with which the team approaches curation feels like a big statement of belief in dance as an artform and the people—both artists and audience—who are part of it.
Jill: I had one more question. Why live art now, in 2022?
Katie: I love this question. A return to our personhood, our full 3-D selves. I feel that desire intensely. Returning to this basic way of gathering, and remembering the value, truth, and connection that comes from something we’ve been doing for so long as a species. And again, returning to that familiar sense of togetherness, while still acknowledging how different we are.
Wendy: I love that answer, at the crux of it all.
Ryan: The two things for me, returning to the series, are very personal. My connection to community, and the why, are becoming more and more distant with time. I am looking forward to engaging in dialogue and seeing faces instead of little faces on a screen. I am very sensitive to the energy in the room with the CONCEPT series. It is a magical thing. I miss that, and I know that I feed off of that.
Another part of that, is that we have been lucky to continue an artistic practice. But making is weird still, right now. I am hoping that the series will give us some more freedom and fine tune some muscles as we dig in deeper, again.
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Related posts:
RAWdance’s Portal into (Un)familiar Space
Virtual Healing with RAWdance
“Still Dancing”: The Dancers of RAWdance on Working on “The Healer” in the Age of Quarantine
One Good Quote: "The Healer" with RAWdance
With Appreciation and Admiration: A Few Musings on "Utopia"