Tapestry: Weaving the Community of Dance
Oakland Temple Hill
4780 Lincoln Ave.
Oakland
April 27, 2024
I had seen the place a hundred times from other parts of the city, an Asian architecture-inspired white and well-lit angular structure with five golden spires protruding towards the heavens. The Oakland Temple, for this sunny early evening in the hills, was home to “Tapestry: Weaving the Community of Dance”. Happy for an excuse to explore the grounds during Bay Area Dance Week, I wandered around and took in the blossoming fragrant flowers blooming along the water features.
In the lobby, a pair of dancers from the Ballet Folklorico Mexicano de Carlos Moreno posed in their starched white garb for pictures, and families of dancers from over ten professional dance companies, studios, and youth dance groups gathered towards the front of the huge hall to see their loved ones prance and bound.
Inside the auditorium, I noticed some of the biggest organ bells I’d ever seen on both sides and heard Ghungroo, Indian ankle bells, jingling from the limbs of excited ensemble members in the balcony.
There was no host or MC; it was more of a showcase with a quick speech from the director and a prayer for the dancers so that “each one of us will feel the spirit.” Without further ado, the performance was underway.
The program was beautifully varied, opening with Sandy Wong performing serenely with a fluttering silk fan to the music of Wan Jiang while images of waterfalls and the Great Wall of China played on the projection screen.
Wong’s performance was a nice contrast to the next number by Dance-A-Vision led by Carla Service, whose eight young dancers came tearing through the aisles and up onto the stage, whirling around doing cartwheels, consecutive back – bends, and Tik Tok moves. The audience cheered loudly as they ripped back down the aisles to their seats.
The Redwood Country Cloggers came to impress, wearing glittery fedora hats and blazers, the four flashing smiles as they clogged along to “Uptown Funk” by Bruno Mars. Clogging is very similar to tap dancing in the steps and the sound the shoes make on the stage. Unfortunately, the track was playing too quietly and the stage microphones were picking up the clicks from the clogs so the noise grated on the audience’s ears, but it was still a great showing.
I didn’t expect to love “Seasons in the Himalayas,” from the Eastern Art Studio Millbrae as much as I did. Despite the distraction of words on the opening projection slide being a bit cut off, the music started with a slow beat and was reminiscent of older times. The dancers wore hats and found many ways to incorporate them in the routine. When the music changed, they placed their hats in front of their heads and did a fun little swaying motion and placed it over their heads, rocking. Suddenly, their red robes slipped off to reveal sleeker black outfits reflected in the audience by the collective, “Ohhhhh” and the hastened beat in the music launched them into a faster, swaggier rhythm. The beginning of the piece seemed to say this is how you see us. By the end it said, this is how we see ourselves.
In essence, the “Tapestry: Weaving the Community of Dance” event at Temple Hill delivered on its promise. I had seen an isolated Indian classical dance performance before, but to witness both the Balasaraswati School of Dance and the Bala Center for South Indian Dance sprinkled among a program which included the talented Black women dancers of Destined 2 Dance and the stunning Mexican folk dancers of Ballet Folklorico Mexicano de Carlos Moreno effectively reflected the indigenous diversity of the Bay Area. And for that, I give praise!
