With support from the California Arts Council, Jess Curtis/Gravity, will present “Duetrospective,” a month-long festival to celebrate the legacy and memory of the late American choreographer, Jess Curtis (1962-2024). From May-June 2026, “Duetrospective” will feature interdisciplinary, multicultural, and intergenerational artists who interacted with Curtis during his lifetime to present six revisioned works and two weeks of classes and workshops hosted in partnership with ROT (formerly the Kathleen Hermesdorf FRESH Festival). The activities will take place across San Francisco, including at CounterPulse, and will feature at least ten teachers including Miguel Gutierrez, Sherwood Chen, Maria Scaroni, Stephanie Maher, Rachael Dichter, Gabriele Christian, and more. “Duetrospective” will close with the remounted “Ice/Car/Cage” reimagined by the local, queer, Black artist collective RUPTURE in partnership with Fort Mason Center for Arts & Culture.
Jess Curtis/Gravity: creates, produces, and tours original works of body-based performance that physically explore and address issues and ideas of substance and relevance to anyone with a body; educates professionals, students, and members of the public with physically accessible workshops presented in cities throughout the US and Europe; nurtures emerging artists through our BEYOND GRAVITY incubation program that provides artistic mentorship, professional guidance, and fiscal sponsorship; fosters international exchange through co-productions that mobilize our international network to bring international artists to San Francisco and help San Francisco artists present work abroad; supports the presentation of free performances in public spaces through our POP UP PERFORMANCES PROJECT program, which commissions Bay Area artists to present site-specific work on city streets; and provides access services and consultations to make performing arts more inclusive of people with disabilities through the GRAVITY ACCESS SERVICES program.

