BANDALOOP

 

Embarcadero, San Francisco. Photo by Jessica Swanson. A Message from Melecio Estrella, BANDALOOP Artistic Director It is with a great sense of renewal and hope that I am writing to you with gratitude as we gather with friends and family in celebration of all that is life-giving. 2021 presented us at BANDALOOP an opportunity to rise up, create and share so much beauty amidst a challenging global climate. Despite setbacks, we found ways to continue creating space while remaining in movement. Our team of dancers, riggers and producers came together to safely and successfully complete a seven city national tour while premiering our new work LOOM:FIELD. We expanded our educational programs and re-imagined our offerings to better serve Oakland youth and adults with extended measures in place to ensure the safety of our community. We grew our BANDALOOP family of brilliant members of company and staff including Stephanie Lowe, our new Director of Development & Innovation, to help steward us into the future. Looking back, we are grateful for what we have accomplished and feel even more revitalized for what’s to come. Most of all, we are reminded to keep in momentum during these dynamic times, and invite all of you to join us in seeking awe in the everyday. ❤️ Make Your #GivingTuesday Donation ❤️ Celebrating 30 Years! As Artistic Director, I often speak of Founding Director Amelia Rudolph’s initial dreams that gave birth to this company 30 years ago. With deep respect for the historic lineage that has created BANDALOOP’s unique legacy, I hope to guide our team to look back as we move forward - to know whose shoulders we dance on, carrying the wisdom of three decades.  30 years of being a wild and nimble band of movement-makers. What an honor to steward this work forward!  And Forward We Go! -Melecio Estrella LOOM:FIELD premiere, Atlanta, GA. Photo by Brooke Anderson The Dance Wall is a Loom Our new full length work LOOM:FIELD looks towards textiles as our teachers and guides. In this piece we honor ancestral hand-makers, heirloom fabrics and the stories they contain. We are placing in question rituals of fast fashion, its culture of waste and its supply chain impacts on our people and planet. How do we weave communities with our words and deeds? What makes a flexible yet durable social fabric as does a FIELD of intersecting threads? Presented by Flux Projects, LOOM:FIELD premiered over three days last month in the Cotton South in Atlanta with audiences numbered in the thousands witnessing our collective stories. We are so excited to be celebrating our 30th anniversary with you as we premiere LOOM:FIELD in our very own home and local community in Oakland, CA, on April 15 & 16, 2022 - Please Save the Date! This event will kickoff our 2022 performance tour along the American textile pathway to Biddeford, Maine, one of the largest historic textile mills. Your presence and support will be deeply felt and appreciated. Sharing the Air in 2022 and Beyond Our form grows as each new dancer brings their own curiosity, sweat and grace to the Bandaloop Studio. Our dance vocabulary at BANDALOOP is not only a legacy to preserve, but a living, evolving language in movement. Our educational programs are critical to our growth as performing artists. They are the growing edges that illustrate who we are becoming. Over the past year like so many other arts and teaching organizations, we have had to review and reinvent our protocols to maintain a safe and healthy community. As we look towards 2022, we hope to continue expanding our programs so more may experience the joy of a shift in perspective. Our work is brought to life when you support and share BANDALOOP love. Thank you for your ongoing support. Your contributions this year will support:  Our beloved home season premiere of LOOM:FIELD in Oakland, outdoors and accessible to the public!  Our Education Scholarship Fund increasing access for our socio-economically diverse student base ❤️ Support Our Education Program & 2022 Home Season ❤️ Would rather donate by check? Click here for more information. BANDALOOP is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. Your donations are tax deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law.