Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Mass-Transit Prance

'A wall provides three dimensions. When we're on a stage, we just get the floor. If there's a wall there, you can balance against it, lean on it, run up it, push a dancer against it -- walls provide an architectural opportunity," says Jean Isaacs, artistic director for the San Diego Dance Theater. Isaacs is the originator of Trolley Dances -- choreographed dances performed at a handful of trolley stations. Over the next two weekends (September 24 and 25 and October 1 and 2), Isaacs's production of Trolley Dances will see its seventh year. "You look at the place and you see what the original intention of the site is and what it's like when the light changes throughout the day," Isaacs says.

"Yolande Snaith did a piece in the Mission Valley Library on a balcony that looks out over Mission Valley. The light during the day changed dramatically, with blocks of light which moved throughout the day depending on where the sun was," Isaacs remembers. "The piece looked so different from one showing to the next because the light was moving. [Yolande] knew exactly where [the light] was going to be at every time of the day and utilized it. Dancers used books in an inventive way [linking the square shape of the books with the square spots of sunlight]."

Each year Isaacs works with employees from the Metropolitan Transit System to select which part of the trolley's route will be used. Then she brings the choreographers to view each of the stops. "One year [the trolley employees] wanted us to go out through the new east trolley line through Euclid because ridership was not up on that part of the line," says Isaacs. "We avoided using the line to Mexico until last year because it was used so much, but then we just decided that we had to do it."

Sponsored
Sponsored

For the piece at the border, choreographer Jorge Dominguez had to go through a lot of red tape to gain permission to use the border wall. When the day came to perform, Dominguez was stopped on a technicality -- he had seven dancers, but the paperwork only approved six. "They wouldn't let him do it," Isaacs recalls. "He scrambled around and found a messy warehouse place and made costumes for the dancers out of magazines. He had the dancers hidden amid cartons and papers. I went up and said, 'Where are the dancers?' and then the papers began to move. The space was much more interesting than the border wall."

This was not the first time choreographers were forced to improvise at the last minute. One year, while setting up to perform at Thirteenth Street and Imperial, Isaacs had to move her dancers because "somebody peed on the wall and the ammonia smell was overwhelming to the dancers."

One of the most memorable pieces for Isaacs was choreographed by Kim Epifano from the Bay Area and performed along the San Diego River in Mission Valley. "She assembled a group of people who were good at speaking as well as dancing. A percussionist played on those big yellow drums that sit under the freeway. He hung chimes in the trees and played those." Performers spoke as they danced. "They led people through the traveling site where they saw the river, saw some of the trash, saw the beauty. [Performers] talked about the homeless. They worked for a months on the site and came to know the people [who lived there.] It wasn't just a dance, it was a piece that had a real goal, which was to make people understand the value of the river."

For the first Trolley Dances, seven years ago, there was a mixed ability stage set up at Qualcomm Stadium. "We had two wheelchair dancers, a dancer on a skateboard, and two dancers on bicycles as part of the 'wheel site.' It was a way of acknowledging the trolley itself through symbolism. This year both of my wheelchair dancers have left town. I am looking for more," says Isaacs.

About a third of the audience is families and seniors. Last year 1956 people attended 24 guided tours, or about 80 to 90 people per tour. Dancers perform six times a day.

Choreographer Wendy Rogers is planning a piece without auditory aid. "Wendy is going to do hers in silence in the tunnel at San Diego State. The tunnel is full of different sounds," says Isaacs, adding that when she was there to see the rehearsal, she heard "some little ticking sound" in addition to the echoing noise of the trains. Each of the other sites will have music, which will be pumped through a sound system specially built for each location. Regarding the cost of hiring auditory engineers, Isaacs says, "Let's just say it's pretty expensive." -- Barbarella

Trolley Dances 2005 September 24 and 25; October 1 and 2 Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., performances every hour Sundays, 10 a.m. to 1:45 p.m., performances every 45 minutes Grantville Trolley Station Mission Valley Cost: $20 general admission; $15 seniors; $10 students (free for children in strollers and people in wheelchairs) Info: 858-484-7791 or www.sandiegodancetheater.org

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

San Diego Reader 2024 Music & Arts Issue

Favorite fakers: Baby Bushka, Fleetwood Max, Electric Waste Band, Oceans, Geezer – plus upcoming tribute schedule
Next Article

2024 continues to impress with yellowfin much closer to San Diego than they should be

New rockfish regulations coming this week as opener approaches

'A wall provides three dimensions. When we're on a stage, we just get the floor. If there's a wall there, you can balance against it, lean on it, run up it, push a dancer against it -- walls provide an architectural opportunity," says Jean Isaacs, artistic director for the San Diego Dance Theater. Isaacs is the originator of Trolley Dances -- choreographed dances performed at a handful of trolley stations. Over the next two weekends (September 24 and 25 and October 1 and 2), Isaacs's production of Trolley Dances will see its seventh year. "You look at the place and you see what the original intention of the site is and what it's like when the light changes throughout the day," Isaacs says.

"Yolande Snaith did a piece in the Mission Valley Library on a balcony that looks out over Mission Valley. The light during the day changed dramatically, with blocks of light which moved throughout the day depending on where the sun was," Isaacs remembers. "The piece looked so different from one showing to the next because the light was moving. [Yolande] knew exactly where [the light] was going to be at every time of the day and utilized it. Dancers used books in an inventive way [linking the square shape of the books with the square spots of sunlight]."

Each year Isaacs works with employees from the Metropolitan Transit System to select which part of the trolley's route will be used. Then she brings the choreographers to view each of the stops. "One year [the trolley employees] wanted us to go out through the new east trolley line through Euclid because ridership was not up on that part of the line," says Isaacs. "We avoided using the line to Mexico until last year because it was used so much, but then we just decided that we had to do it."

Sponsored
Sponsored

For the piece at the border, choreographer Jorge Dominguez had to go through a lot of red tape to gain permission to use the border wall. When the day came to perform, Dominguez was stopped on a technicality -- he had seven dancers, but the paperwork only approved six. "They wouldn't let him do it," Isaacs recalls. "He scrambled around and found a messy warehouse place and made costumes for the dancers out of magazines. He had the dancers hidden amid cartons and papers. I went up and said, 'Where are the dancers?' and then the papers began to move. The space was much more interesting than the border wall."

This was not the first time choreographers were forced to improvise at the last minute. One year, while setting up to perform at Thirteenth Street and Imperial, Isaacs had to move her dancers because "somebody peed on the wall and the ammonia smell was overwhelming to the dancers."

One of the most memorable pieces for Isaacs was choreographed by Kim Epifano from the Bay Area and performed along the San Diego River in Mission Valley. "She assembled a group of people who were good at speaking as well as dancing. A percussionist played on those big yellow drums that sit under the freeway. He hung chimes in the trees and played those." Performers spoke as they danced. "They led people through the traveling site where they saw the river, saw some of the trash, saw the beauty. [Performers] talked about the homeless. They worked for a months on the site and came to know the people [who lived there.] It wasn't just a dance, it was a piece that had a real goal, which was to make people understand the value of the river."

For the first Trolley Dances, seven years ago, there was a mixed ability stage set up at Qualcomm Stadium. "We had two wheelchair dancers, a dancer on a skateboard, and two dancers on bicycles as part of the 'wheel site.' It was a way of acknowledging the trolley itself through symbolism. This year both of my wheelchair dancers have left town. I am looking for more," says Isaacs.

About a third of the audience is families and seniors. Last year 1956 people attended 24 guided tours, or about 80 to 90 people per tour. Dancers perform six times a day.

Choreographer Wendy Rogers is planning a piece without auditory aid. "Wendy is going to do hers in silence in the tunnel at San Diego State. The tunnel is full of different sounds," says Isaacs, adding that when she was there to see the rehearsal, she heard "some little ticking sound" in addition to the echoing noise of the trains. Each of the other sites will have music, which will be pumped through a sound system specially built for each location. Regarding the cost of hiring auditory engineers, Isaacs says, "Let's just say it's pretty expensive." -- Barbarella

Trolley Dances 2005 September 24 and 25; October 1 and 2 Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., performances every hour Sundays, 10 a.m. to 1:45 p.m., performances every 45 minutes Grantville Trolley Station Mission Valley Cost: $20 general admission; $15 seniors; $10 students (free for children in strollers and people in wheelchairs) Info: 858-484-7791 or www.sandiegodancetheater.org

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Reader 1st place writing contest winner gets kudos

2nd place winner not so much
Next Article

How to Get Legal Assistance When Your Car Accident Insurance Claim is Denied?

Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.