Mission

SD’s mission is “To Create and Present Dance that Makes a Difference!”
Everything we do—whether creative, pedagogical, community-oriented, or even managerial—serves this greater purpose. This mission uniquely defines all our work.
Our vision is “A world where everyone is connected, informed, and inspired through the power of dance."

The Big Idea

In recent years, wildfires have blackened our skies, damaged our forests and iconic trees, affected our air quality and destroyed our homes. Driven by climate change, the expansion of urban boundaries and misguided policies of fire suppression, wildfires have become more prevalent and more severe. This increase in wildfires is closely related to broader climate changes. As with every natural disaster, wildfires disproportionately affect low-income communities and people of color – the same communities who have been hit hardest by COVID-19.
"Wildfires" will heighten awareness of these issues and make clear that improvement will require changes in the way we live. “Wildfires” will highlight Indigenous knowledge and the Native American approach to managing fire and living in harmony with nature, the land and the environment. “Wildfires” will also demonstrate how dance can build bridges among diverse parts of our community, celebrate the past and help us to heal.

Fran is a gifted and impressive a choreographer Her work possesses not only aesthetic sophistication, but pushes boundaries with its relentless curiosity and social conscience. When most of us attend a dance performance, we expect to feel something, and if we’re lucky, have our thoughts provoked. But seldom do we experience, let alone anticipate, what dance can make us feel, think and do. Fran utilizes the emotion her innovative creations inspire alongside important underlying messages, to galvanize the minds and motivate the actions of her audiences. In other words, she fuses art and facts, fuses movement, artistry and music with topical information and serious real-world issues, to capitalize upon and offer a symbiotic relationship that could advance and revive dance itself as an artform. Because SpectorDance tends to transcend the art medium’s traditions, to produce and present work that actualizes the potential of dance to make a difference.

- Alexis Han Holdren