If you love birds, you’ll love MURMUR. If you’ve ever stopped dead in your tracks to catch the flicker of wings and the way a bird’s call can anchor you to the present moment, this show is for you.

Experience a wild, immersive journey where dance merges with flight – blurring the lines between bodies and birds, movement and wind, stage and sky. Our dancers don’t imitate birds. They become them—channeling the wild, the threatened, and the fierce, including:

The American Crow, wise and loyal prophet

The Cardinal Crow, death doula and spirit guide

The Western Meadowlark, singer of primal need

The Dark-eyed Junco, informant darting between worlds

The Red-Shouldered Hawk, hunter and guardian of generations

The Snowy Egret, protector poised at the threshold

The Cedar Waxwing, socialite imbibing on collective joy

The Black-Necked Stilt, delicate dancer between earth and sky

The Nuttall’s Woodpecker, destroyer of what needs to die

To embody a bird is to defy gravity. We dance for the vanishing. We dance for the thriving. We dance for those still searching for their flock, where survival is a radical act of belonging.

In this visceral exploration, intersectional themes of kinship, Blackness, gender, white supremacy, queerness, bird language, bodily autonomy, human rights, climate collapse, grief, resilience, and joy take flight—interwoven into a breathtaking flight path towards liberation.

ABOUT MURMUR

Murmur is a mesmerizing journey into our multifaceted relationships with birds. Through the captivating artistry of dance, we extend an invitation to connect with birds, fostering a sense of care for one another, the vast more-than-human world, and the intricate tapestry of life on our planet. Exploring the intricate language of birds, the symphony of the senses, and the profound interconnection of all living beings, Murmur is a testament to the beauty and complexity of our natural world.

This transformative project blossomed from an enriching Artist Residency jointly held by the Sarah Bush Dance Project and Audubon California spanning 2020-2022. Grounded in mindful, place-based practices, we embarked on a journey of relationship-building with local birds and ecosystems. Over two years, nine dedicated dancers immersed themselves in the study of a beloved bird species, deepening their awareness and forging a profound connection to the avian and terrestrial landscapes they inhabit. A special thank you to the Meriama Fund for their longstanding and generous support of SBDP during this production.

2025 TOUR

We are proud to announce that MURMUR was the recipient of the Arts in California Parks grants program, administered by Parks California, which revitalizes local parks with diverse experiences that foster creativity, community connection, and transform them into vibrant hubs of art, culture, and nature.

The inaugural cycle of Arts in California Parks grants program launched in 2024 with a $2.8 million investment to support 31 grant recipients across California. These innovative programs bring art and cultural programming to local parks, transforming them into dynamic spaces that celebrate California’s cultural heritage and provide memorable experiences for visitors and residents alike. Partners of the program include California State Parks, Parks California, and the California Arts Council. This program supports Governor Gavin Newsom’s “Outdoor Access for All” initiative, the Natural Resources Agency’s “Outdoors for All” initiative, and California State Parks’ Reexamining Our Past initiative.

MURMUR soared into a spring tour in parks across Northern California with the support of the Arts in California Parks grant. Through the artistry of dance, we invited tuning into birds with care for each other, the more-than-human world, and all life on this planet. We explored the language of birds, the symphony of the senses, and the interconnection of life as birds migrate across the flyways. It was a fabulous and sensory “bird-watching” experience.

All shows were free and open to the public

March 30 – Lake Merritt, Oakland, CA
April 13 – Wildcat Canyon, Richmond, CA
April 20 – Coulterville Park, Coulterville, CA
April 27 – Ragle Regional Park, Sebastopol, CA
May 4 – Charlie Byrd Park, Weed, CA

We are grateful to our partners at Weaving Earth for the free Bird Language Practice they offered prior to each show. The workshop invited us to slow down, settle our nervous system, and build a reciprocal relationship with birds by tuning into their vocalizations, movements, and behaviors. By cultivating deep listening and presence, we can better understand the real-time story of the ecosystem that birds are telling, while also reflecting on how our own actions impact their well-being. Through this co-liberatory and somatic approach, participants deepened their “wild fluency” and learn how bird language can foster empathy, connection, and collective awareness in both natural and human communities.

Dance Films

Black Crow

Richelle Donigan explores her kinship with the crow.

Egretta

Becoming the graceful Snowy Egret along the shores of Richardson Bay Audubon Center.

Fire. Wood. Space. Air. Earth.

The elemental force of wildfire at Bobcat Ranch where regenerative grazing seeks to protect grassland bird species.

This is the moment.
Can you hear it? A brush of feathers stirring the air.
Can you feel it? The energy gathering like a storm.

Bird Couture

Colleen Quen, fashion designer and couturier, created nine masterpiece costumes for Six Foot Wingspan.

Joan Lazarus, egret, couture, Collen Quen, Richardson Bay

In an interview, Quen shared her creative process as a fashion designer:

“I make creations that are extensions of the dancers, almost like qi energy and an extra shield for them, so they can become the character of the bird they want to be. The costume is like a superpower for them. I’m like the mother bird and the dancers were like my baby birds in the nest. I’m dressing you so you can fly, dance, and give your message to the world.” – Colleen Quen

See fashion photos and read the full interview with Colleen Quen.

Creative Process

Each dancer spent years studying the movement and essence of a beloved bird. In the first year of study, the dancers gathered on ZOOM each week to practice mindful bird sits, explore bird ecology with the seasons, and develop bird-inspired movement. The dancers explored ecological themes around migration, nesting, cracking open, juveniles, taking flight, murmurations, and finding stillness.

In the second year, an incredible cadre of 20 artists joined this flock, including fashion designers, sound composers, animators, film producers, and drag makeup artists. Together, we created spectacular bird dance films, art, and nature-based performances. Learn more about our creative PROCESS and PROMPTS and COMMUNITY RESPONSES.

Flock of Artists

There are 30 gifted artists who flocked together to create this experience. Dancers include Frances Teves Sedayao, Joan Lazarus, Sue Li Jue, Richelle Donigan, Risa Ofelia Diaz, KJ Dahlaw, Julianna Cressman, Sarah Bush, Sarah Cabigas, Hannah Westbrook, Olivia Eng, courtney hope, mindful birding guide Molly Tsongas, filmmakers Lindsay Gauthier, Clare Schweitzer, Aleksey Bochkovsky, sound composer Miles Lassi, video effects and photography Olivia Ting, couture designer Colleen Quen, writer Jessica Zhou, video artist Zegan Doyle, visual artist Sabina Kariat, sculpture artist Kasia Krzykawska, makeup artists Lyle Mackston, Tamiko, Ché, photographer Alex Matt, stage and production managers Raphael Buenaventura and Jeanie Walsh.