With support from the California Arts Council, choreographer Risa Jaroslow will facilitate East Bay elders (ages 60–77) in The Elders Project, creating dance/theater reflections on COVID-19. Through collaboration with the Destiny Arts Youth Performance Company, performances will illuminate how COVID-19 has amplified marginalization based on race and age.
Risa Jaroslow & Dancers creates and performs original dance works created in collaboration with trained and untrained dancers as well as composers, musicians, designers, visual artists, and other creatives.
Risa Jaroslow & Dancers also facilitates two hours of dance technique, choreography and storytelling sessions for elders (ages 60+) each week for The Elders Project, a year-round program housed at Destiny Arts Center. Elders build meaningful peer relationships, co-create movement based on their own lives, and collaborate with teens from the Destiny Arts Youth Performance Company (DAYPC). Annually, elders and teens co-create an evening-length production that foregrounds community issues while challenging notions of growing older.
Risa Jaroslow & Dancers is committed to reaching a wide audience with performances, workshops and classes that are socially relevant and accessible, both physically and financially.