Emergence: Vertical Dance arising from the BANDALOOP ecosystem
Bandaloop Studios
1601 18th st, Oakland CA
December 14, 2024
On the heels of a tornado warning that left the Bay Area a little unsettled, I made my way to BANDALOOP Studios for their Emergence showcase featuring many of their teachers. A self organized event developed in their Artistic Research meet-ups (which BANDALOOP Studios provided space for) and their own rehearsal processes. The AR team also calls themselves "The Rebel Alliance. on December 14, 2024. Founded in 1991 by Amelia Rudolph, BANDALOOP Dance Studios have long been a cornerstone of the Bay Area dance scene. Known for their unique fusion of rock climbing and aerial dance, Bandaloop's mission under artistic director Melecio Estrella is clear: to "honor nature, community, and the human spirit through perspective-bending dance." The dancers often propel themselves down the sides of buildings, springing from walls in elegant formations. It’s poetry in motion—dancers seemingly suspended in controlled flight.
From Bandaloop’s “SOMEWHERE TO LAND,” performed in Alameda in late September of this year.
Emergence, however, took place entirely indoors, and the studio itself became a dynamic, shifting landscape. Six distinct dances glittered before us like jewels arranged in a gilt box. The choreography took full advantage of the verticality of the space—audiences found themselves constantly shifting their gaze, looking up, down, and across all four corners of the studio. The lighting, reset for each piece, added to the sense of fluid movement, making us, the earthbound audience, feel as though we, too, were shifting through space.
The evening opened with Confluence, a meditative piece performed by Rachel Maxwell, Olivia Sander, Suzanne Gallo, and Faith Elder. Four dancers, frozen in initial positions, moved slowly, their bodies shifting with deliberate slowness, like shadows stretching across the floor over the course of a day. Inverting and rotating with pinpoint precision, their gazes remained fixed and intent.
The quietness of the piece felt almost voyeuristic, as if we’d been granted a rare glimpse into their innermost worlds. The beauty of Confluence lay in the gentle support the women offered one another—"navigating the waters where internal peace and quietness merge with external forces," as described in the program.
Next came Nature Boy by Annalise Ritter, a piece exuding power and vulnerability. Vine wrapped around one leg, Ritter stood before us, grounded and formidable, warrior-like, before scaling the wall to begin a series of rapid leaps and tumbles. She seemed at times to be in a fierce battle with herself; at others, the hero of her own narrative. Ritter's mastery of movement was incredible, leaving the audience breathless with her deft control and striking physicality.
Following Nature Boy was Je Suis le Grand Lézard by Olivia Sander, a charming yet sinister work blending humor with existential unease. Performed in a business suit, the piece was described as “a peek into a 5PM meeting at the Reptile Cafe,” and it lived up to that concept with playful absurdity.
Then, when the suited figure inverted—transforming into a businessman tumbling through space and time—the work took on a darker, more disconcerting tone. A successful mix of levity and tension, Je Suis le Grand Lézard conveyed a deep sense of shyness, loneliness, and unease without losing its wry humor.
The final piece of the evening, Colliding Topographies by Megan Lowe and Roel Seeber, was an electrifying showcase of trust and skill. Flying laterally across the floor, Lowe and Seeber appeared locked in a battle, their bodies entwined in a series of swift, passionate movements. The two dancers circled each other in constant motion, their synchronization remarkable. As Lowe herself remarked, “There is such deep physical trust and listening in this vertical dance partnership between Roel and me—like tendrils, our awareness extends from ourselves, connecting to each other, and radiating out into the space around us.” Their collective experience with vertical dance was evident, their every move flowing seamlessly into the next. Amazing since they have only been working together since May 2023.
Emergence was a compelling evening that demonstrated the versatility and artistry of vertical dancers in the SF Bay Area. If you haven’t yet seen BANDALOOP in action, peruse their website to explore future performances (and classes!).
