During this season of reflection and generosity, we invite you to continue to celebrate the work and art of Sarah Bush Dance Project. Community is the heart of art. Your audience participation and your donations support us in our mission to promote innovative artistry, community interaction, and feminist ideals through the creation and presentation of multimedia dance.
Here’s some of what we accomplished this year and a glimpse into our exciting season ahead:
2015 HIGHLIGHTS
We received our first city grant—from the City of Oakland’s Cultural Funding Program. That grant, along with a generous gift from the Blum Family Foundation and many individual donors, brought Rocked By Women to Oakland in May 2015. With that show, we enjoyed greater press coverage than ever before, including two radio interviews.
Other highlights:
- Sarah was the recipient of a Bay Area Dance Watch award
- SBDP performed alongside Cris Williamson at her 40th Anniversary of The Changer and The Changed concert at The Freight and Salvage
- SBDP gave the kick-off performance for USF’s Global Women’s Rights Forum
- Sarah & Jeanette taught a workshop at Center Space in Portland, Oregon
- SBDP performed in the opening ceremonies of the UU General Assembly in Portland
- Sarah performed at the 40th (and final) Michigan Womyn’s Music Festival
SBDP presented pieces in several dance festivals:
- The inaugural D.I.R.T. – Dance In Revolt(ing) Times Festival at Dance Mission
- Oakland Dance Festival at Jack London Square
- The 24th West Wave Dance Festival at Z Space Theatre
SBDP performed at these fundraising and community events:
- Bay Area Rising’s performance event in conjunction with V-Day & One Billion Rising
- NCLR’s (National Center for Lesbian Rights) Annual Gala in San Francisco
- Mosaic Project’s annual benefit concert with Brett Dennen
- American Himalayan Foundation’s annual fundraising event with Chairman Richard Blum, actor Richard Gere, author Pico Iyer, and Senator Dianne Feinstein
- The National AIDS Memorial Grove annual fundraising gala, “Light in the Grove”
- Raks Africa’s Resistance and Revolution: Sisters Challenging and Changing the World
LOOKING AHEAD to 2016
New Works
We are so excited about our new project, This Land, exploring art in natural surroundings. Time spent in outside wild places contributes to our physical, mental, and emotional well-being. Most people no longer have the outdoor experiences that previous generations took for granted. This Land is an artistic reminder that opportunities for first-hand experience with nature are nearby and accessible, even within city limits.
We are thrilled to be receiving another grant from the City of Oakland’s Cultural Funding Program, which will go toward the creation and presentation of This Land. We will be holding a series of outdoor performances in Spring 2016, which will be free and open to the public. The grant covers only a portion of the costs, so we still rely on individual donors like you.
Pledge Your Support
Thank you to long-time supporter Erica Stone for giving us a matching gift in honor of Richard Blum, and to all of you who donated on “Giving Tuesday”! We met our challenge for that day, and we are well on the way to our year-end fundraising goals. If you haven’t already, please make a year-end gift to support the work of Sarah Bush Dance Project.
You can donate online via credit card,
or send a check to:
Sarah Bush Dance Project
PO Box 20485, Oakland CA 94620
Thank You
Community is the Heart of Art. We rely on you to help us make it all happen.
Thank you for being a part of our 2015-2016 season!
With gratitude and wishes for a wonder-full new year,
—Sarah and the SBDP Advisory Board
(photo credits: Molly DeCoudreaux, Lisa Harding, Sarah Bush)
