Join us for free performances throughout September!
Thu, Sep 8, 2:30pm, Larkin Street Youth Services, Engagement and Community Center, 134 Golden Gate Ave, SF
Wed-Sat, Sep 14-17, 8pm, Tenderloin National Forest and surrounding area, Ellis St near Leavenworth St, SF
Learn more about the show:
From the Super Bowl in San Francisco to the upcoming Olympics in Brazil, massive sporting events mean a good time for everyone - except the poor people that governments say get in the way. Providing arti...
Join us for free performances throughout September!
Thu, Sep 8, 2:30pm, Larkin Street Youth Services, Engagement and Community Center, 134 Golden Gate Ave, SF
Wed-Sat, Sep 14-17, 8pm, Tenderloin National Forest and surrounding area, Ellis St near Leavenworth St, SF
Learn more about the show:
From the Super Bowl in San Francisco to the upcoming Olympics in Brazil, massive sporting events mean a good time for everyone - except the poor people that governments say get in the way. Providing artistic commentary on the disturbing trend of pushing poor and homeless people out of their cities in the name of entertainment and profit, NAKA Dance Theater has been commissioned by San Francisco-based Dancers' Group, and are working with ABD Productions/Skywatchers to produce RACE: Stories from the Tenderloin. RACE is a multidisciplinary artistic work inspired by stories of the Skywatchers Ensemble, a group of residents of SRO hotels in the Tenderloin, and explores the violent impact massive sporting events, technology and gentrification has on poor people across the world.
RACE will feature choreography, storytelling, live music, mobile video and sculptural sets in a series of performances in and around the Tenderloin National Forest (TNF) in August and September 2016.
RACE is a tribute to the Olympic Games and civil disobedience, set against the backdrop of the upcoming 2016 Olympic Games in Rio and the tumultuous 1968 Mexico City Olympics and is part of NAKA Dance Theater’s ongoing investigation into racial inequity. The show explores the concept of running for your life to fit into a society that ignores the wellbeing of most of its people.
The work is historically contextualized by the tumultuous social movements of 1968 and focuses on: (1) The Tlatelolco Massacre - a Mexico City student protest against the government's violent oppression where hundreds were killed and a thousand more arrested by military police just before the start of the Olympics and (2) The Black Power Salute by runners Tommie Smith and John Carlos, a symbol of solidarity and resistance against oppression around the world.
“The issue of displacement of poor people, swept aside to make way for massive and costly Olympic stadiums, is relevant to conflicts now playing out in San Francisco,” said Debby Kajiyama, co-founder of NAKA. “The tech boom is ousting the city's most vulnerable residents.”
The creative team of RACE includes NAKA Dance Theater with Shakiri and Kevin O’Connor. Original music by David Molina. Video and technology by Jason O’Hara, Ian Winters, Steven Sanchez and Carla Orendorff. Performer-collaborators include Samantha Kuykendall, Hector Torres, Michael Turner, Jr., Simone Nalls, Kim Mays, Rita Whittaker, Leroy Staples, Sonic, Warren Chatman, Rennon Mahriano, Wanda Edwards, Duane Sears, Steve Tanksley, and Jerry Tubis. Set construction by Mirah Moriarty and NAKA.
“The pattern of ousting the poor for profit, whether it be for massive sporting events or in the name of progress and technology is incredibly disturbing,” said Jose Navarrete, co-founder of NAKA. “Where are people supposed to go? What happens to them once the ‘games’ are over? RACE explores the true cost of our culture that values profit over people.”