Negotiating the Divide: January 2010

Headway Dance will premier their latest work, Negotiating the Divide, in cooperation with Heidi McBride Gallery & Art Consultancy, SWF Community Relations & Atwater Place, and artist Fae Young-Scherling. Negotiating the Divide is a movement study created in response to the installations by Fae Young-Scherling, currently on display in Atwater Place as part of McBride’s site-based installation showcase “about space”. Negotiating the Divide explores engaging movement, the development and deconstruction of intricate patterns, and environment. Set to sound by Los Angeles-based artists String Theory, with costumes by artist Alicia Marvan, Negotiating the Divide promises to be an intriguing piece.

Headway Dance is a newly formed, local dance company headed by artistic director, Heidi Diaz. For more than a decade Diaz has worked with independent artists, throughout the United States and Mexico, to create and perform in projects investigating the intersection of life, performance, and environment. She currently serves on the faculty at Portland Community College where she teaches a variety of dance technique and theory courses.

Please dress warmly and join us for warm drinks, the premier, and a question and answer session with the artists.

Sunday, January 31st at 5pm

Atwater Place in the South Waterfront

Portland, Oregon

Let's Stay Together Project: August 2009

Get involved in an ongoing community project!  Let's Stay Together is a website designed to promote playfulness, love, and romance among couples.  If these are things that you value, please consider participating.  For more information visit www.staytogetherproject.com.  

Peninsula Park Picnic: August 2009

On August 3rd Marc Dyer and I hosted what I hope will be our first of many community suppers. 22 people gathered at Peninsula Park in North Portland for food, drinks, games, and friendship. We played Bocce, blew bubbles, finger painted, drew on the sidewalk with chalk, and got to know our friends and neighbors a little better in an environment shaped by play, sharing, and a willingness to connect with others.  Stay tuned for opportunities to participate in future events/gatherings!

Coatepec, Veracruz, Mexico: June 2009

I recently spent two weeks in Coatepec, Veracruz, Mexico working with artists, teachers, and community members to create and perform in an informal concert at La Nave art space.  During the two week period I collaborated with fellow artists Alicia Marvan (MX) and Jason Gaspar (US) in leading a performance workshop that included creative research through Authentic Movement, writing, sculpture, drawing, the creation and manipulation of dance phrases, community observation, photography, etc.     

Spring Dance Concert: June 2009

In June, 6 choreographers and over 100 students participated in PCC's annual Spring Dance Concert in Portland.  I acted as both a choreographer and producer of the evening-length concert held in the Performing Arts Center on the Sylvania campus.  The concert provided the opportunity for students to perform onstage, for lighting design and technical theater students to collaborate with choreographers, and for participants to come together from each of the campuses to perform for the more than 400 attendees who came to watch the concert.