SF/Arts Curator Insight

A mainstay in San Francisco dance, Hope Mohr Dance’s The Bridge Project shifts to digital and virtual platforms this fall, co-curated by Hope Mohr, Cherie Hill and Karla Quintero. “Led by working artists, The Bridge Project is an interdisciplinary performing arts platform that has developed over time in response to changing culture and political contexts,” Mohr explains, “what began as a feminist platform for shared dance programming has evolved into an intersectional project with an explicit cultural and racial equity agenda.” Each year has a thematic center and for this iteration, that theme is the practice and politics of movement improvisation (fittingly titled Power Shift: Improvisation, Activism and Community). “In the early stages of curation, we tossed around the idea of improvisation equaling freedom - many movers responded that when they improvise, they feel free,” adds Hill, “but what is freedom and who experiences it?”

Spanning two months (September 13-November 22), The Bridge Project features streamed workshops, classes, panels and performances designed to facilitate a deep dialogue about movement improvisation and social justice. And in this journey, a wealth of perspectives and experiences is imperative. “Not only does HMD’s 2020 Bridge Project mark the program’s ten-year anniversary, it’s also the first time the program is co-directed,” relays Quintero, “Hope, Cherie and I envision Power Shift as a space where artists can come together to exchange improvisational tools and practices that can enrich artmaking as well as support community organizing and visioning.” And similar to SF Trolley Dances, while moving to digital platforms has meant changes to The Bridge Project’s offerings, Mohr, Hill and Quintero are eager about the possibilities and potential opportunities the new plan affords. “The virtual format opens events up to attendees not currently living in the Bay Area, possibly even a larger audience than venue capacity would allow,” Quintero continues, “though we are still learning and adjusting.”