Date: Wednesday, February 19, 2020 – Sunday, February 23, 2020
Location: Blue Shield of California Theater
Notes: Creating 147 original works over the course of his career, Paul Taylor is remembered for dances that capture life’s joys and tackle some of society’s most complex issues. The San Francisco Chronicle lauds, “The American spirit soars whenever Taylor’s dancers dance.” The Company’s two different programs include Taylor’s final work, Concertiana, and signature dances that defined his artistry—and dance in America.
Program A
Company B, Concertiana (West Coast premiere), Esplanade
Weds, Feb 19 & Sat, Feb 22 | 7:30pm
Sun, Feb 23 | 2:00pm
Program B
Polaris, Last Look, Piazzolla Caldera
Thu, Feb 20 & Fri, Feb 21 | 7:30pm
Family Matinee
Sat, Feb 22 | 2:00pm
This hour long event includes excerpts of the performance and provides an opportunity to learn more about the work directly from the artists.
Admission: Regular admission: $45-90
Link: https://ybca.org/event/san-francisco-performances-paul-taylor-dance-2019/
Location: Contemporary Jewish Museum
Notes: The CJM’s family festival days bring together all ages for art-making, music, activities, dancing, and more! Celebrate Levi Strauss: A History of American Style with the down-home Jewgrass sounds of Isaac Zones, hands-on fun in a denim art lab, gallery games and activities, a family heritage project, an exhibition of youth artwork from The CJM Upstanders Design Challenge, and much more!
Admission: Free admission for two adults when accompanied by a visitor 18 and under, or a transition youth (18-22)
Location: SFMOMA, Phyllis Wattis Theater, Floor 1
Notes: Considered one of Varda’s most transgressive films, and hailed as one of the great films of the 1980s by critics and film juries alike, Vagabond (1985) tells the unflinchingly bleak tale of Mona, a young drifter without a backstory, cause, or much of anything except cigarettes, a backpack, and a tent with a grungy yet distinctly feminine pattern. In this film, Varda works backwards, beginning with the discovery of Mona’s lifeless body in a ditch in rural France, and pieces together the story of her life in a quasi-documentary style, including flashbacks, interviews, and eccentric moments in which characters suddenly pause mid-scene to speak to the camera directly. Vagabond won the Golden Lion at the 1985 Venice Film Festival, and Sandrine Bonnaire won the César Award for her performance as the surly and enigmatic Mona. In this faux documentary, Varda permits her characters to tell us about Mona — and in doing so, tricks them into telling us about themselves. The result is a stark, searing portrait of society, in which Varda implicates us all.
Admission: $5 Members, $12 General
Location: 1009 Market Street @ Sixth Street
Notes: Please come no later than 3:15 because doors will be closed then.
Admission: Free
Link: https://www.hospitalityhouse.org/community-arts-program.html
Location: 1009 Market Street @ Sixth Street
Notes: Please come no later than 10:15 because doors will be closed then.
Location: SFMOMA
Notes: In Cléo from 5 to 7, Agnès Varda explores the zeitgeist of 1960s Paris through the eyes of Cléo, a beautiful but childish pop singer, who is waiting to hear the results of a biopsy. The film tracks Cléo’s languid yet restless routines between the evening hours of five and seven — commonly understood in France to be the time of day for married people to meet their lovers — but during which the protagonist is forced to confront the prospect of illness and death. This visually gorgeous film is said by many to be the heart of the French New Wave; indeed, not only does it conform to many of its trademarks — including existential themes, long takes, and a tight budget — but it also features cameo appearances by Anna Karina and Jean-Luc Godard, two of the movement’s most influential personalities. This film, Varda’s second feature length title, is among the most beloved of her oeuvre.
Admission: $5 Members, $12 General