Out of an abundance of caution, Epiphany Dance Theater has announced that the 17th annual San Francisco Trolley Dances (SFTD) will move from the street to the screen. The participating artists will be filmed on location at sites throughout the Dogpatch and Bayview Hunters Point District. Online screenings will then take place at 11 a.m., Saturday and Sunday, October 17 to 18. Participants include 13th Floor, Arenas Dance Company, Fog Beast, Post:Ballet, Zaccho Dance Theatre, as well as Epiphany Dance Theater. Each "tour" will run approximately 75 minutes with additional features to explore every site including 360-degree video, historical background and behind the-scenes footage. SFTD is a free event.
Visit epiphanydance.org for more information.

Each year Epiphany Dance Theater matches Bay Area-based artists and ensembles with specific sites, inviting them to create an 8- to 12-minute piece in response to the physical environment, architecture and history of the area. This year’s roster of confirmed artists includes Post:Ballet, which will kick off Trolley Dances outside the Museum of Craft and Design located at 2569 3rd Street in the Dogpatch. Under the artistic direction of Robert Dekkers and Resident Choreographer Vanessa Thiessen, the contemporary ballet company has for more than a decade earned accolades for its inventiveness and sophistication.

Fog Beast was founded in 2010 by Melecio Estrella and Andrew Ward, two veterans of Joe Goode Performance Group. The company is recognized for its blend of “full-bodied dance, original live music and humor.” They will perform in Angel Alley, a refurbished street park in the Dogpatch that pays homage to the historical Tubbs Cordage Company and Factory.

13th Floor will activate the tour’s final site in the Dogpatch at Woods Yard Park adjacent to Muni’s Woods Yard bus facility. The park includes an installation, titled Dogpatch Blockheads, by Dave Warnke. Under the direction of Jenny McAllister, 13th Floor makes “theater that won’t hold still,” with original works inspired by literature, legends and graphic novels.

From the Dogpatch, SFTD will move to the Bayview with a stop at the Delancey Street Foundation, an internationally renowned nonprofit providing residential rehabilitation services and vocational training for substance abusers and convicted criminals. Zaccho Dance Theatre, celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, will perform at this site not far from its home base in the Bayview, the Center for Dance and Aerial Arts, where the company runs a free and discounted arts education program for students ages 7 to 17.

From Delancey Street, tours will move to “Soul Journey” at 1625 Carroll Avenue. “Soul Journey” is a mural created in 2000 with the support of the Precita Eyes Muralists Association. At this site, tour participants will observe Arenas Dance Company, an all-women, Cuban folkloric movement arts organization under the direction of Susana Arenas Pedroso.

The event concludes at Laughing Monk Brewing on Egbert Avenue with a performance by Epiphany Dance Theater directed by Kim Epifano.

ABOUT SAN FRANCISCO TROLLEY DANCES

San Francisco Trolley Dances (SFTD) is produced by Epiphany Dance Theater. An annual event now in its 17th year, SFTD is presented free to the public over one weekend every October. Artistic Director Kim Epifano curates the large-scale, site-specific event, working to sustain a public-private partnership that involves the San Francisco Municipal Transit Authority, multiple professional Bay Area artists and ensembles, and the neighborhoods and community sites where the route is placed each year. SFTD aims to introduce audiences to new neighborhoods and new dance companies that reflect an array of sensibilities, cultures and styles. The unpredictable sounds and sights of San Francisco intermingle with the spontaneity of public response to ensure a dynamic, meaningful experience for audiences and performers. For more information, visit epiphanydance.org.