Epiphany Dance Theater

The San Francisco Trolley Dance, produced by Epiphany Sonic Dance Theatre (ESDT), commissions six locally established choreographers to present site specific work along a different Municipal Rail line each year. During the three-day Trolley Dance festival in October 2009 over 3,600 people paid only their $1.50 MUNI fare and took the 90 minute tour to see new flamenco, contemporary, tango and even aquatic work showcased in local parks, street corners and recreation centers in multiple San Francisco neighborhoods. A further 600 school children from 16 public schools attend a Trolley Dance performance each year as well. By literally taking dance to the streets and into residential neighborhoods the Trolley Dance organizers present high quality work to thousands of ‘unintentional’ audience members and thus are able to creatively, and successfully advance a key objective of removing financial, geographic, and cultural barriers to arts experiences. With renewed Hewlett support ESDT will present the 7th annual Trolley Dances over a three day period in the fall of 2010. (Tie-Off $25,000/1; 38% of project budget)

The San Francisco Trolley Dances, produced by Epiphany Sonic Dance Theatre ESDT), commissions five locally established choreographers to present site specific work along a different Municipal Rail line each year. During the three-day Trolley Dance festival in October 2007 over 4,700 people paid only their $1.50 MUNI fare and took the 90 minute tour to see new aerial, tap, Brazilian and contemporary dance work showcased at outdoor street-side venues along the F Line running the length of San Francisco’s Market Street. With Hewlett support ESDT will present the fourth and fifth annual Trolley Dances over three-day periods in 2008 and 2009. In 2008 the Trolley Dance will engage choreographers Joanna Haigood, Scott Wells, and ESDT artistic director Kim Epifano to create work for sites in running along MUNI’s 3rd St. T line which traverses the SOMA District, through the Mission-Bay and Bayview Hunters-Point neighborhoods. The Bayview based Adigun Sipho Capoeira Angoloa will also perform as will one other dance company yet to be named. Support for this project promotes the Performing Arts program objective to increase access and participation to the arts. Seventy percent of the 2007 Trolley Dance audience indicated that they were passers-by who stumbled upon the dancing and decided to take part in the tour. To bolster the numbers of "accidental" audience members at this free festival, ESDT will partner in 2008 with several neighborhood elementary schools to include 300 students in the tours. In the short term The Trolley Dances will increase access and participation to high quality dance performances for residents in a neighborhood (Bayview HP) that does not have many art-performance spaces and provide opportunities for artists working in traditional and contemporary art forms to present work to audiences mostly comprised of people who have never seen their work. In the long term, support will contribute to building audience for specific artists and participating dance groups and increase appreciation for the arts among neighborhood locals, other SF residents and tourists who have a positive low-cost experience with a variety of dance performances.

Each year, Epiphany Dance Theater reaches 8,000 people through a biennial home season; educational activities; and a series of free and site-specific dance performances, including San Francisco Trolley Dances. Its repertory reflects a blend of dance, theater, and vocalization that is strongly influenced by the various communities and neighborhoods with which artistic director Kim Epifano collaborates to create each work.