SanSan Kwan: Portals/Two Doors

As part of USAAF 2025, SanSan Kwan curates Portals, a multibill evening of dance showcasing the work of a collective of six Asian American femme dance makers. Centered around the theme of transition, this mixed program highlights their varied stories, each piece probing what it means to be at the crossroads of change. The program is anchored by Kwan’s work Two Doors, a choreographic study of the aftermath of anti-Asian violence, first mounted in 2024 at the Mondavi Center in Davis, CA. Two Doors ushers us on a journey towards relational vulnerability, opening a portal into an array of explorations on liminality and resilience.

The additional Portals choreographers are Iu-Hui Chua, Lily Gee, Frances Sedayao, Stacey Yuen, and Tatianna Steiner. 

Performances of Portals are Friday, April 25 at 8:00pm and Sunday, April 27 at 7:00pm. A performance of just Two Doors plus a panel on Asian American community mobilization with the UC Berkeley Asian American Research Center is on Saturday, April 26 at 8:00 pm.

About the featured artist:

SanSan Kwan (she/her) is chair in the Department of Theater, Dance, and Performance Studies at UC Berkeley. Performance: Lenora Lee Dance, Chingchi Yu, Chen and Dancers, Maura Nguyen Donohue/In Mixed Company, Jen Liu, among others. SanSan is also a dance scholar. Books: Love Dances: Loss and Mourning in Intercultural Collaboration (Oxford, 2021) (winner of a de la Torre Bueno© Award and an Isadora Duncan Dance Award); Kinesthetic City: Dance and Movement in Chinese Urban Spaces (Oxford, 2013) and Mixing It Up: Multiracial Subjects (University of Texas Press, 2004), co-edited with Kenneth Speirs. Journal articles: Dance Research Journal, TDR, Theatre Survey, Choreographic Practices, Performance Research, and more.

More info:

https://sansankwan.wixsite.com/my-site

Tickets:

https://portals2025.eventbrite.com/