Amongst traffic, bustling streets, decrepit apartment buildings and corner stores, the Tenderloin district in San Francisco is home to an unusual oasis- The Tenderloin National Forest. This “Forest” is sandwiched between two multi-story buildings in an alleyway that one could easily pass without noticing. This autumn, the forest is alive with redwood trees, pumpkins ready for harvest and red and golden leaves as shafts of sunlight beam into the space.

The Tenderloin National Forest is also a haven for art. In 1989 Darryl Smith and Laurie Lazar developed the alley as a community commons where people of all ages can gather for public art, performance, and to participate in classes and activities. This garden is a rare haven for the poverty stricken- high-density neighborhood of over 40,000 culturally and ethnically diverse residents, offering a place where community members can come together to engage with nature and art.

The Tenderloin National Forest
Photo by D. Silverman

Anne Bluethenthal and Dancers

This fall Anne Bluethenthal and dancers honored the space with “Skywatchers: Bodies and Voices from the Tenderloin National Forest”, a multi-dimensional performance piece and installation. Beginning in 2012, Bluethenthal introduced her project as a community engagement project, merging the voices and stories of community members with her dance company’s visceral and emotional understanding of the space.

Bluethenthal began developing the piece in June 2012, with a process of relationship building, which lead into a more in-depth process of collecting stories, interviews and movement material to use in the piece. Said Bluethenthal “We were really turning conversations into movement. After getting to know the community, individuals would show up with poems, art, songs, and dances to share”.

Reflecting on the stories and projects of the community members, her company developed improvisational scores and choreography, which they performed with the community members in the space. Bluethenthal said, “The piece addressed the issue of poverty and homelessness in the Tenderloin, something that has affected so many community members directly”.

Anne Bluethenthal and Dancers

Bluethenhal’s “Random Acts of Dance” project inspired her to engage in the more long-term engagement project, “Skywatchers”. Everyday after rehearsal, Bluethenthal and dancers would go to a public location in San Francisco and perform improvisational “Random Act of Dance”. From this project, Bluethenthal realized that she wanted to develop a site-specific project that “was not just appearing in a place but also allowed us to really understand and react to the space”. From this idea she began immersing herself in the community at the Tenderloin National Forest as she developed plans for “Skywatchers”.

The final piece incorporated song, dance, poetry and visual art from the community members and dancers in environment that encouraged the audience to wander and really feel the space.

Anne Bluethenthal and Dancers

Bluethenthal’s commitment to site-specific work has encouraged her to participate in dance anywhere. In 2012 Bluethenthal performed an improvisational piece on the stairway in the lobby of the SFMOMA. Bluethenthal likes that dance anywhere “encourages people to engage in spontaneous acts of dance”. She said, “dance anywhere promotes the idea of art as part of the flow of life”.

View Anne Bluethenthal’s dance anywhere page

For more information on Anne Bluethenthal and Dancers visit- http://bit.ly/1bGxpI7

For more information on the Tenderloin National Forest visit- http://bit.ly/18fef9e