Tangram
Megan Lowe Dances
Presents
Tangram
December 9th-12th, 2021
Thursday/Sunday at 7pm, Friday/Saturday at 8pm,
+ Saturday matinee at 5pm
The Joe Goode Annex
401 Alabama Street
San Francisco, CA 94110
Choreographed and Performed by:
Megan Lowe with Brenton Cheng
Photography by:
RJ Muna
Music by:
Megan Lowe, Brenton Cheng, Zachary Abelson, Andrea Wang, and The Shanghai Restoration Project
Excerpts Shared as part of :
James Graham Dance Theater's Dance Lovers on May 5th-7th, 2022
CounterPulses' Innerspace: Homecoming on May 7th, 2022
EastSide Community Art Festival: Que Vivan los Muertos on November 12th, 2022
Megan Lowe Dances presents Tangram, an evening of dynamic partnering featuring Megan Lowe and Brenton Cheng that uses physical puzzles to explore relationship, geometry, and their shared Chinese heritage. Propelled by momentum, Brenton and Megan lift and are lifted by each other in ever-changing roles of mover and moved, pushing the boundaries of what is possible. Tangram performances have grown from the seeds of Finger Trap and Maw Jaw and continue the mission of deepening roots to heritage, deconstructing familiar tropes, and offering the fruits of those efforts back as thought-provoking dance performance.
To start off the evening, MLD will be sharing our film Maw Jaw created in partnership with Asian Pacific Islander Cultural Center, which was presented as part of the 24th annual United States of Asian America Festival in free outdoor events at Portsmouth Square and Kapwa Gardens, May/June, 2021. Maw Jaw rehearsals occurred outside in public spaces—activating benches, railings, poles, stairs, and play structures around San Francisco Chinatown—inviting passersby to witness and be a part of the creative process, enhancing cross-generational community engagement, and inspiring interest in dance as a tool to engage with the environment/people around us.
In a time with particularly strong anti-Asian sentiment due to the COVID-19 pandemic, making work that contributes to the visibility of Asian American artists feels especially urgent.
"The whole evening holds together with a well-hewn emotional arc, a strong sense of form and meaningful variation, and terrific organic use of the whole theater space...Lowe also has a delightful penchant for surprise."
Rachel Howard for San Francisco Chronicle
Megan Lowe Dances is fiscally sponsored by Dancers' Group, and the Tangram project is honored to be supported by Kenneth Rainin Foundation NEW Program, Dancers' Group's CA$H Dance, FACT/SF Production Support Grant, and generous individual donors.
