A 7-year-old falls in love with dance—40 years later, she works everyday to stay in the game. Created by Monica Bill Barnes and Robbie Saenz de Viteri, co-leaders of New York-based dance company Monica Bill Barnes & Company, this piece is both live documentary and performance. It features a large cast of San Diego dancers from 12-80 years of age who have learned their parts over the week leading up to the WOW Festival. Interviews incorporate their voices and stories into the show, giving the audience an unprecedented look into the life of a dancer as a new kind of sports hero: one who keeps moving against all odds.
Artist
Created by Monica Bill Barnes & Robbie Saenz de Viteri
Choreographed by Monica Bill Barnes
Written by Robbie Saenz de Viteri
Associate Producer: Elizabeth Furman
Rehearsal Director: Flannery Gregg
Lighting Designer: Tess James
Costume Designer: Kelly Hanson
Performed by Monica Bill Barnes, Robbie Saenz de Viteri, and Flannery Gregg with a local cast of San Diego dancers.
Monica Bill Barnes & Company was founded in 1997 as a New York based dance company. Since then Barnes has worked with many artists and performers, including long time collaborators/designers Jane Cox and Kelly Hanson and performer Anna Bass in developing relatable work with a subversive sense of humor. Since 2013, MBB&CO has been co-led by Monica in partnership with Robbie Saenz de Viteri where the mission evolved to “bringing dance where it doesn’t belong.” They cross genres between dance, theater, storytelling, creative nonfiction, feminist treatises, and comedy. Their work has been honored by the Bessie Awards, the Lilly Awards, and the Chita Rivera Awards, as well as numerous foundations.