Gravity & Levity

 

As we wind down for Christmas, we want to say a huge thank you for being here and for supporting Gravity & Levity this year. It has been a big one, full of wonderful moments - from the Dissecting Aerial symposium and our biggest EADF yet, to inspiring weekend workshops and mentoring along the way. Thank you for being part of our aerial world, and we're wishing you joyful festivities wherever you are. 🎄 Of course, there is plenty to look forward to in the new year, so here's a peek at what's coming up, plus a little of what I have been up to recently. See you soon! Lindsey & the team at Gravity & Levity ❤️ Upcoming Courses   Vertical Dance Technique - South East Dance We've got two fantastic vertical dance workshops taking place in Brighton in February, and bookings are open! The beginners/elementary session is a single point harness workshop where we work in contact with the wall, meaning your usual dance floor is flipped through 90 degrees.  The intermediate session revisits familiar vocabulary to help you re-find your connection and orientation, before moving into sequencing moves through different planes. We then use choreography and creative exploration tasks to find your dance on the wall. Beginners & Elementary Vertical Dance Sat 21 Feb, 10-4.30pm Book here >> Intermediate Vertical Dance Sun 22 Feb, 10-4.30pm Book here >> ⭐ Early Bird is available until 9th January - just £40 for the whole day (rising to £50 full price). So now's the perfect time to save your spot!   Dancing With The Tree 24 - 29 June - Mafra, Portugal We're thrilled to be bringing back this sublime 4-day retreat in Portugal's Mafra national forest, led by Magalie Lanriot and Lindsey Butcher. Bookings won’t open until next year so for now this one is just for the diaries. Do save the date! If you can't wait, take a look at the beautiful video we've just uploaded to our YouTube channel. Four minutes of absolute heaven 💚🌳 And don't forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel while you're there! 📹 📸 Photo: Joanna Cordeiro Ferreira What Lindsey's been up to...   Irish Aerial Creative Intensive   Lindsey has just returned from mentoring on the Irish Aerial Creative Intensive where 14 incredible artists took a deep dive into creating and developing new aerial work. She says: "It’s always a delight to work alongside fellow mentors Chantal McCormick, Carolina Cabanas, Polina Shapkina and Kat Cooley, and this year was no exception. Enormous thanks to Fidget Feet and the Irish Aerial Creation Centre for inviting me along on this adventure again and huge congratulations to all the artists who stepped into that brave space and absolutely nailed it." 🙌 📸 Photos: Jym Daley - Sara (above) and Greta (below) Mentoring with Lindsey While awaiting news of our funding application (keep everything crossed for us), Lindsey will also be off mentoring artists in the UK, Ireland and Finland in the early part of 2026. It really is one of her favourite things to do - so if being a mentee is something you might be interested in, at whatever stage you’re at in your process, please don't hesitate to get in touch. 📧 Find out more about mentoring at info@gravity-levity.net Firetoys 10% Discount Code Whether you're after last-minute Christmas presents or treats to self in the new year, don't forget we have a Firetoys discount code of 10% for you to use.  So you get 10% off your purchase... 🥳 ...and the money raised goes towards offering bursaries for D/deaf and disabled artists, and those identifying as under-represented in the aerial sector, across all of our creative professional development activities (including the EADF and symposium). It's a win-win! Simply scan the QR codes below for the UK (left) or EU (right). Happy shopping!   Wallflowers Perth, Australia In early January Lindsey is jetting off to work with 3 wonderful artists in Perth, Australia, who are choreographing a vertical dance piece called ‘Wallflowers'. More on this to come!  That's all for now - as always, you can keep up to date on all the latest news on Instagramor Facebook. In the meantime, wishing you all a very Happy Christmas and a Happy New Year. 🎄 See you soon, aerial friends! 🤸‍♂️

BANDALOOP

 

We invite you to join us in seeking awe in the everyday. View this email in your browser

BANDALOOP Live & In Process. Rotunda Building/Kahn's Alley, Oakland, CA 2023 Photo by Brooke Anderson Build Belonging with BANDALOOP Over July 2025, BANDALOOP transformed Oakland's City Center into a soaring stage with Somewhere to Oakland. Families, artists, and passersby - more than 3000 people total -  stopped in awe to watch. Strangers connected over the beauty, struggle, and lasting resonance of the migration experiences shared throughout the project. This is the magic your support creates. By becoming a $35+/month sustainer, you join the circle of people who build belonging with BANDALOOP. Your gift powers every performance, workshop, and community event we produce. Your gift ensures that BANDALOOP can continue to surprise and inspire artists and audiences from Oakland, CA to the world. Join the 35th Anniversary Circle From Damara Vita Ganley, Associate Artistic Director: As a first-generation daughter of immigrant refugees, it is profoundly meaningful for me to work with Melecio and the artists of BANDALOOP as we ask how our public art form can inspire belonging—belonging to our bodies, to one another, to those we have yet to meet in our cities, and to those across the world we may never meet. Birds build their nests with the materials at hand—branch by branch, effort by effort. They instinctively know how to create sanctuary for the future, and they learn from the other birds around them. I believe we each carry that same intuition: the capacity to build belonging, to weave wider and wider nests. And, like the birds, we must also look around, listen, and learn from one another. Thank you for your heartfelt presence, your togetherness, and your care in this tender world. We invite you to help us keep the sky road open for BANDALOOP. With your support, we can continue bringing people together in wonder, imagination, and the shared practice of building belonging through public art across the globe. Clockwise From Top Left: Chibueze Crouch and Damara Vita Ganley perform Bird Strike at Festival a Mil, Santiago, Chile 2023 (Ramiro Contreras); Wailana Simcock performs in Somewhere to Land, Alameda, CA 2024 (Brooke Anderson); FLOCK in Hungary 2025 (Daniel Alfoldi); Audience at FLOCK: Somewhere to Oakland, Oakland, CA 2025 (Nino Fernandez); FLOCK world premiere at The Momentary, Bentonville, AR 2025 (Brooke Anderson) Give Now 2025 - Reaching New Heights 28,730 people saw our work live - 6,200 local Bay Area + 22,530 global 3,000+ hours of affordable space provided for artists & nonprofits at BANDALOOP Studios 1,000+ people practiced and experienced dance at BANDALOOP Studios 60% of our budget paid to artists and technicians National media coverage in the NY Times International Tours to Hungary, Istanbul, and Dubai Artist Residency with Fairmont SF & The Momentary (AR)  Vertical Choreographer premiere in REDWOOD starring Idina Menzel  Music video collaboration with TIME Next Gen Leader Pattie Gonia and Grammy Award winning singer/songwriter Imogen Heap World Premieres of Somewhere to Oakland and FLOCK, engaging 104 artists and 26,000 global attendees A Gift for Giving! The first 35 to join our Anniversary Sustainer Circle will get their choice of gift from the BANDALOOP Merchandise Archive. Our extra thank you for our fast acting sustainers. Don't miss your chance for your free gift! More Ways to Give Consider making BANDALOOP a recipient of your Donor Advised Fund, Qualified Charitable Distribution, or beneficiary in your living will. Be it stocks, crypto, real estate, or other non-cash assets, we are here to help you exercise your balance sheet for impactful giving. Visit our Support page or contact jeanne@bandaloop.org to learn more. Thank You to our Funding Partners: The City of Oakland, New England Foundation for the Arts, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Kenneth Rainin Foundation, Margaret E. Haas Family Fund, Fleishhacker Foundation, Zellerbach Family Foundation, CA Arts in Parks Grants, SF Foundation, NEA Grants for Arts Projects, Rubicon Point Partners, Morrison Foerster, Radium Presents, Prescott Properties/srmERNST, TMG Partners, Commercial Bank of CA, Lapine Group, and generous individuals.

Our mailing address is: BANDALOOP 1601 18th Street Oakland, CA 94607 View this email in your browser Update your subscription info Unsubscribe from this list Copyright © 2025 BANDALOOP, All rights reserved.

Helen Wicks Works

Welcome to  Wicks Works Wednesday Wicks Works is a performance platform that is committed to compelling choreography created to inspire connection, critical thinking, and community.  We are raising $20k for a 2026 tour A gift of any kind supports costs like:  $5000 - Theater Rentals  $1000 - Insurance  $500 - Videography for accessibility and grant applications  $250 - Piano tuning  $100 - 2 hours of rehearsal pay one performer $50 - 2 hours rehearsal space rental $10 - Jello for the part in the piece that is about the time when Quincy Jones ate at least 4 jellos over the course of a conversation in 2018 Make a Tax Deductible Gift Any amount of support pays artists and stage technicians to bring spellbinding performance to multigenerational audiences.  Thanks for tuning in to Wicks Works Wednesday! - Helen and the Wicks Works team  Celebrate Wicks Works Wednesday! Photo by Robbie Sweeny Helen Wicks (in red) and Ami Nashimoto (cello) Keisuke Nakagoshi (piano)

The Flock Project

 The Flock Project: Eco Flight - International Dance Tour 2025 Recap

Eco Flight, the interdisciplinary vertical dance production of The Flock Project, completed a successful international tour across Czechia, Hungary, France and Spain in 2025, bringing vertical dance, live music, poetry, light design and large-scale puppetry to thousands of spectators.

Tour Highlights

Prague – Opening the Season

Following the Budapest premiere, the tour began in May in Prague with two performances on the walls of the Mama Shelter Hotel. The energetic start set the tone for the entire tour, supported by the city’s openness and enthusiastic audiences.
In October, Eco Flight returned to Budapest for two shows at the Flock Aerial Theatre. The signature fusion of vertical dance, live music, projections and spoken word once again filled the courtyard with a unique atmosphere that could only be experienced live.
Performing on the medieval walls of Fort Gibron created some of the tour’s most memorable visual moments. The natural surroundings and the welcoming local community contributed to a deeply atmospheric experience that brought together residents and visitors from across the region.
In Spain, more than 15 drummers from the feminist Batucada group Samba da Rúa added powerful rhythmic energy to the performance. Their presence highlighted the importance of collective artistic experiences and strengthened the communal pulse of the show.

Budapest – Home Performances

France – Fort Gibron, Correns

Spain – Rhythm and Community

Audience & Media Response

Across all locations, Eco Flight received remarkable audience support and widespread attention from national and international media outlets. Viewers frequently described the performance as “deeply moving,” “soul-touching,” and even “like learning to fly.”

A Truly International Collaboration

The tour was made possible by a 20-member core international team, expanded with local artists, technicians and volunteers at each stop. The close cooperation of dancers, musicians, designers and technical crews shaped each performance into a shared creation.

Eco Flight continues to explore how vertical dance can connect communities, spark reflection, and transform public spaces into collective artistic experiences.

The Flock Project: Eco Flight Trailer

“Co-financed by the European Union. However, the views and opinions expressed are those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union or Creative Europe. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.“– Creative Europe.

The Flock Project, Simorág TánCirkusz

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