2017 San Francisco Trolley Dances
Each year, Epiphany Productions transforms the city’s streets into stages through San Francisco Trolley Dances, a series of free contemporary dance performances along a Muni line.
For the price of a Muni ticket, you’ll get a “hop-on, hop-off” Muni tour to experience an extraordinary lineup of Bay Area dance luminaries performing 8- to 15-minute pieces in response to the physical environment, architecture and history of the area.
2017 Route: N-Judah – From SoMa to Kezar Triangle in Golden Gate Park
San Francisco Trolley Dances is an annual, admission-free festival that has been dubbed “art for citizens” and “a gift to the City” by past attendees.
WHERE: Start Point: California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS), 1453 Mission Street (between 10th and 11th), SF
WHEN:
October 21 – 22, 2017
– Saturday @ 11am, 11:45am, 12:30pm, 1:15pm, 2pm, 2:45pm
– Sunday @ 11am, 11:45am, 12:30pm, 1:15pm, 2pm, 2:45pm
Each tour runs approximately two hours.Please note the dates for 2017 are October 21-22, not October 14-15 as was previously listed.
TICKETS:
Admission is FREE with the cost of Muni fare: $2.75 for adults, $1.35 for seniors and youth, and free for children 4 and under. Line up for wristbands typically begins around 10am.2017 ROUTE & PERFORMANCES:
Stop 1 – The tours begin in South of Market at CIIS, with a performance by Chaksam-Pa, a Tibetan traditional performing arts organization based in the Bay Area. For almost 30 years Chaksam-Pa has presented concerts of Tibetan music, dance and drama to audiences around Northern California.
Stop 2 – The tour moves to a performance by Embodiment Project at the corner of Washburn and Mission Streets, the site of a three-story building with a trompe l’oeil facade by Los Angeles artist Shrine. Embodiment Project, celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, will showcase its trademark blend of high-energy street dance, live song and theater.
Stop 3 – Next is Stevenson Alley behind Market Square. Katie Faulkner’s little seismic dance company, now in its 11th year, will occupy the space. Faulkner is a modern dancer and choreographer praised for the “economy” and “rigor” of her “formal values…that never preclude emotional candor” (San Francisco Chronicle).
Stop 4 – Board the N-Judah Muni line at Van Ness Metro Station en route to the Circus Center near Golden Gate Park. Two alumni of the Circus Center will perform on the grounds of the school: Kelly “Texas” Holly, with specialties in clowning and stilt walking, and Oscar Velarde, a master juggler. In a separate performance at the Circus Center will be members of Hope Mohr Dance which has earned a reputation for “boundary-pushing” art-making that lies at the intersection of dance, theater and community organizing.
Stop 5 – From the Circus Center, audiences will cross Frederick Street and enter Golden Gate Park where the final event of the tour will take place in Kezar Triangle. There, Maze Daiko and Epiphany Dance Theater will join forces in a performance blending live music and dance. Maze Daiko, under the direction of Janet Koike, is a world music ensemble that mixes Japanese taiko with elements from West Africa and Western Europe.
FAQ
- Line up for wristbands begins at 10 am. Show up early as they often have given out all of the wrist bands hours in advance. Wristbands are given out on a first come, first serve basis.
- Typically 80 wristbands are available per tour – there are 6 tours on Saturday and 6 tours on Sunday
- Tours start at 11am, 11:45am, 12:30pm, 1:15pm, 2pm & 2:45pm.
- Each tour lasts 2 to 2.5 hours if you take Muni
- If you want to go by bike, they have a handy Bike Map for you to use.
