March DanceWatch: More than entertaining

March is rich with dance you can sink your teeth into, from a dance film festival to South Korean and Palestinian performances, a dance take on "Hedda Gabler" and more.
By
February 27, 2025
Dance

March in Oregon brings a wave of performances that do more than entertain: They challenge, disrupt, and give you something juicy to sink your teeth into. In this moment where borders, histories, and identities are fraught, artists this month are using a variety of movement modalities, film, and storytelling to discuss it all.

From the ecstatic whirl of Sufi rituals to dance films from across the globe, to a conversation with a Portland dance legend that examines the history of Black artists and activism in Portland, to reimagining the suffocating constraints of gender and society through contemporary dance.

March will also see Rejoice! Diaspora Dance Theater expand into music publishing with the release of the album The Sounds of Afrolitical Movement on all major streaming platforms starting March 15. Composed by renowned Portland jazz pianist and composer Darrell Grant, with lyrics by actor and director Charles Grant and produced by dance artist and musician Michael Galen, The Sounds of Afrolitical Movement builds on the company’s 2023 production of the same name, offering a sonic journey of resistance, resilience, and liberation. Spring into March with renewed energy and force as it challenges, amplifies, and awakens.

March Dance Performances

Palestinian artist Ashtar Muallem working it out in her piece Awalem, presented by Boom Arts. Photo by Christophe Raynaud de Lage.
Palestinian artist Ashtar Muallem working it out in her piece Awalem, presented by Boom Arts. Photo by Christophe Raynaud de Lage.

Awalem (Palestine/France)
Presented by Boom Arts
February 28-March 2
A-WOL Dance Collective, 513 Northeast Schuyler Street, Portland
2:00 pm March 1 Creative Movement Workshop for All Ages and Abilities taught by Ashtar Muallem
Portland Playhouse. FREE with registration. Trilingual (English, Arabic, French.)
March 2 Post Show talkback with the artist and community members.

Ashtar Muallem, a Palestinian artist born in Jerusalem and currently residing in France, uses yoga, aerial silks, poetry, and humor to explore universal themes of duality, solitude, and togetherness. Her performances, in Arabic with English subtitles, reflect the complexities of her life navigating between two countries, cultures, and languages.

CineVox Dance Fil Festival grahic courtesy of BodyVox.
Photo courtesy of BodyVox.

CineVox: Dance Film Festival
Presented by BodyVox
February 28-March 2
BodyVox Dance Center, 1201 NW 17th Avenue, Portland

Sponsor

Chamber Music Northwest The Old Church Portland Oregon

The CineVox Dance Film Festival, hosted annually by BodyVox Dance and now in its eighth year, will feature three days of innovative new dance films from around the world and two films by local filmmakers Heidi Duckler and Laura Cannon. Alma Luz, by Duckler is inspired Clarice Lispector’s poem, “My Soul Has the Weight of Light”, and explores the intangible weight of the human experience. And Cannon’s “Big Things,” continues her exploration of Portland’s historic Zidell shipyard in a meditation on humanity’s drive to make something bigger than ourselves.The festival includes 23 films and is a different program each night. 

push/FOLD artistic director Samuel Hobbs performing in his work Early. Photo by Jingzi-Zhao.
push/FOLD artistic director Samuel Hobbs performing in his work Early. Photo by Jingzi-Zhao.

Early 
Presented by push/FOLD
March 7-9
AWOL Performance Warehouse, 513 NE Schuyler Street, Portland
Following each performance will be an artist talk 
March 7 and 9: Performances will be performed in their original form, which contains nudity.
March 8: Performance will be performed clothed in all sections.

Early, an intimate reflection on the human condition, explores themes of time, human connection, love, and loss. It features an original score and choreography by Samuel Hobbs, artistic director of push/FOLD. The choreography draws from Hobbs’ diverse background in dance, partnering, martial arts, athletics, and Visceral Movement Theory™, a somatic theory he created rooted in the anatomy and kinesiology of the organs. Developed from a 2014 duet, Early will be performed in the round, with nudity in the March 7 and 9 performances.

Dance and visual artist Bobby Fouther by Portland photographer Intisar Abioto, with graphic re-design by Fouther. Both artists’ work can be seen at Fouther’s newest curated exhibit, Culture+Trauma+Healing, at The Albina Art Center.
Dance and visual artist Bobby Fouther by Portland photographer Intisar Abioto, with graphic re-design by Fouther.

PASTfuture Long-Form Archival Conversation series
With Bobby Fouther 
Hosted by Linda K Johnson
11:00 am March 9
Dekum Street Theater, 814 NE Dekum Street, Portland

The Mycelium Dreams PASTfuture Long-Form Archival Conversation Series, which was conceived and curated by Portland dance artist Linda K. Johnson, is an ongoing project that documents the histories of veteran Portland dancers and dance-adjacent artists. This month the series will continue with a one on one conversation with Portland dance artist Bobby Fouther.

When the history of the performing arts in Portland is written, the chapters from 1980 to the present will include a host of references to Bobby Fouther. Fouther, also affectionately known as Mr. B., is a lifelong creative in the fields of dance, fashion design, and visual art, and his career has touched many of the mainstream arts organizations in the city, including Oregon Ballet Theatre, BodyVox Dance Center, and White Bird dance, and has tracked many of the most influential African American arts groups from that time: His own Herero Dancers, Bruce Smith’s Northwest Afrikan American Ballet, and such theater companies as Portland Black Repertory Theater, Sojourner Truth Theater, and PassinArt: A Theatre Company. 

Artists of SAMĀ, a new work by Third Angle New Music guest creative director Fahad Siadat. Photo courtesy of Third Angle New Music.
Artists of SAMĀ, a new work by Third Angle New Music guest creative director Fahad Siadat. Photo courtesy of Third Angle New Music.

SAMĀ (World Premiere)
Presented by Third Angle New Music
March 14-15
A-WOL Dance Collective, 513 NE Schuyler St, Portland

Sponsor

The Greenhouse Cabaret Bend Oregon

SAMĀ, a new work by Third Angle New Music guest creative director Fahad Siadat, uses music and movement to achieve an ecstatic, trance-like state. Inspired by the Sufi practice of Sama, a Sufi ceremony that involves listening to music and chanting to induce a mystical trance, the work incorporates voice, percussion, live-electronic processing, dance, and projections to create a transformative experience.

Artist of South Korean dance company ChangMu Dance Company. Photo by Kim Jung Man.
Artist of South Korean dance company ChangMu Dance Company. Photo by Kim Jung Man.

<HERE>
ChangMu Dance Company, artistic director and founder Kim MaeJa
Presented by White Bird/WE ARE ONE Festival
7:30 p.m. March 19
Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, 1037 SW Broadway, Portland
6:30 p.m. March 20, Contemporary Korean Dance Workshop
Steps PDX, 1734 S.E. 12th Avenue, Portland
Pay-what-you-can. Advance signup is suggested at whitebird.org.

Set to O Fortuna from Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana, <HERE>, merges traditional Korean dance forms like shamanic rituals, Buddhist movements, folk and court dances, and contemporary dance choreography, creating a visually evocative experience. 

To further enhance the ChangMu Dance Company experience, the company will offer a dance class that introduces traditional and contemporary Korean dance to students in a style that exemplifies ChangMu Dance Company’s.

"Dancing with the Stars" poster courtesy of Live Nation.
Photo courtesy of Live Nation.

Dancing with the Stars Live! 2025
Presented by Live Nation
7:30 pm March 21
Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, 1037 SW Broadway, Portland

Experience the glitz and glamour of ballroom dancing up close in this new production, featuring popular professionals from “Dancing with the Stars” alongside special guest stars. The show highlights fan-favorite pros, including Emma Slater, Alan Bersten, Brandon Armstrong, Britt Stewart, Daniella Karagach, Gleb Savchenko, Pasha Pashkov, and Rylee Arnold, with additional special guests to be announced. This memorable night promises a captivating experience, showcasing performances in a variety of dance styles, exceptional talent, TV magic, and nonstop entertainment.

Choreographer Emma Lutz-Higgins and dancers in their upcoming work, FLOOR. Photo by Emma Rogers.
Choreographer Emma Lutz-Higgins and dancers in their upcoming work, FLOOR. Photo by Emma Rogers.

FLOOR
Choreographed by Emma Lutz-Higgins 
March 21-23
Performance Works NW, 4625 S.E. 67th Ave., Portland
No one is turned away for lack of funds. Contact emmalutzhiggins@gmail.com to inquire further.

Sponsor

Portland Area Theatre Alliance Fertile Ground Portland Oregon

Choreographed by Performance Works NorthWest Alembic Resident Emma Lutz-Higgins (2023-24), FLOOR explores the nature of desire and poses a multitude of questions. How do we know what we want? How close can we get to achieving everything we want, and how does that pursuit change us? Who will be left out, and who will find what they’re looking for? Performed by dancers Allie Hankins, Emily Jones, and John Niekrasz, these questions unfold under the life’s constant pressure of time’s passage.

Dancers Andrea Parson and William Couture performing in Sarah Slipper's Hedda at NW Dance Project. Photo by Blaine Truitt Covert.
Dancers Andrea Parson and William Couture performing in Sarah Slipper’s Hedda at NW Dance Project. Photo by Blaine Truitt Covert.

Hedda
Choreographed by Sarah Slipper and performed by NW Dance Project
March 28-29
Newmark Theatre,1111 SW Broadway, Portland 

Inspired by Henrik Ibsen’s groundbreaking 1890 play “Hedda Gabler,” Sarah Slipper’s “Hedda” offers a contemporary perspective on the iconic character and her struggles. The full-evening (70 minutes, no intermission), full-company work delves into the psyche of a Victorian housewife trapped in a stifling marriage, exploring themes of boredom, manipulation, and societal constraint through dance, music, and theater.

A deeper look into Slipper’s creative process, her background in dance and theater, and her insights on the role of a choreographer today can be found in an interview I did with Slipper in 2018, which you can read here.

Jamuna Chiarini is a dance artist, producer, curator, and writer, who produces DanceWatch Weekly for Oregon ArtsWatch. Originally from Berkeley, Calif., she studied dance at The School of The Hartford Ballet and Florida State University. She has also trained in Bharatanatyam and is currently studying Odissi. She has performed professionally throughout the United States as a dancer, singer, and actor for dance companies, operas, and in musical theatre productions. Choreography credits include ballets for operas and Kalamandir Dance Company. She received a Regional Arts & Culture Council project grant to create a 30-minute trio called “The Kitchen Sink,” which was performed in November 2017, and was invited to be part of Shawl-Anderson’s Dance Up Close/East Bay in Berkeley, Calif. Jamuna was a scholarship recipient to the Urban Bush Women’s Summer Leadership Institute, “Undoing Racism,” and was a two-year member of CORPUS, a mentoring program directed by Linda K. Johnson. As a producer, she is the co-founder of Co/Mission in Portland, Ore., with Suzanne Chi, a performance project that shifts the paradigm of who initiates the creation process of new choreography by bringing the artistic vision into the hands of the dance performer. She is also the founder of The Outlet Dance Project in Hamilton, N.J.

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