TeacHer
bear graham
Bear Graham is a San Francisco–based educator, choreographer, performer, and drama therapist whose work explores movement as a vehicle for connection, healing, and transformation. He is the creator of DANCE LOVERS…duets by couples, crushes, and comrades, an annual San Francisco event celebrating intimacy, love, and community through dance. During the pandemic, he created Movement Rituals for Earth, Air, Fire, and Water, a series of site-responsive performances throughout San Francisco that invited audiences into embodied rituals with the natural world.
As a drama therapist, Graham supports individuals and groups in expanded states of consciousness, viewing this work as a natural extension of his lifelong commitment to healing through the body and through dance. He holds an M.A. in Psychology / Drama Therapy from the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS), an M.F.A. in Dance from The Ohio State University, and a B.A. in Theater, Dance, and Performance Studies from the University of California, Berkeley.
A Certified Gaga Instructor selected by Ohad Naharin’s international pilot teacher-training program, Graham has taught Gaga throughout the United States as well as in France, Canada, South Korea, Germany, Sweden, Thailand, Greece, Mexico, Taiwan, and Israel. Graham sees Gaga as a revolutionary act of reclaiming our bodies and (re)awakening to our sacredness, our sensual and animal nature, and our courage to be vulnerably witnessed. He believes practices that deepen empathy and embodiment belong to the people who practice them. movement and dance are part of the solution to disconnection, inviting us back into relationship with ourselves, one another, and the living world.
MUSICIAN
kevin lo
Kevin CK Lo is a composer, choreographer, writer and artist living on Chochenyo Ohlone land (Oakland). In his compositions for live performance and installation, he utilizes instruments, digital sound processing and generative programming environments to examine spatial and auditory sensitivities, topological structure and audience kinesthetic response while seeking to corrupt conventional compositional/performative/installative rationale. He has danced and made sound for dance with artists including Abby Crain, mayfield brooks, ainsley e. tharp, Keith Hennessy/Circo Zero, Sara Shelton Mann, gizeh muniz, Caroline Meaden, Gabriele Christian, Styles Alexander, Audrey Johnson, Rose & Zoe Huey, Kriss Rulifson, Nica Portavia, and more.
organizer
merrick jacob
Merrick Jacob is a lover of movement, continuously in awe of the body and its potential for delightful expression, wild creativity, & authentic connection. Influenced by her practices of contact improvisation, figure skating, acroyoga, and hand-balancing, she guides playful movement experiences as an opportunity for deep listening, research, and co-creation. Merrick teaches & hosts contact across the SF Bay Area and beyond.
