I asked Robert Moses five questions for this Sunday’s Chronicle:
“San Francisco dance company Robert Moses’ Kin has rocketed in national reputation recently, gaining notice for Moses’ fast and furious, streetwise yet eloquent style and his bold way of exposing the hypocrisies of race and gender in America. A faculty member at Stanford University, Moses grew up in Philadelphia and Long Beach, and danced in the companies of Twyla Tharp and ODC/Dance before founding his troupe in 1995. His latest work premieres this week as part of the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts’ Bay Area Now series.
Q: How did you absorb all the influences that go into your movement style?
A: It’s a combination of all the stuff I’ve studied, including some Afro-Haitian. Then just watching people, you see what they do, going to clubs. I used to watch people on breaks in high school, too. You’d get a room that the teachers stayed out of. Somebody brings a radio, and the next thing you know, people are up dancing.
Q: For your new dance, “Toward September,” you use music you created, something you’ve been doing a lot. Is this a new phase?
A: There’s a weird cult of collaboration happening right now. I think it’s also important to find your individual voice. I love to collaborate, but at the same time you have to go back and mine yourself.”
Click here for the full interview.
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