Review: Bear Graham presents “Dance Lovers 14” February 12 – 14, 2026, Joe Goode Annex, San Francisco, CA

Feats of strength and daring, a 200-pound man flying atop his partner’s shoulders, and dancing dinosaurs, are just some of the treats on offer in Bear Graham’s “Dance Lovers 14” at the Joe Goode Annex this Valentine’s weekend.   I first discovered “Dance Lovers” in 2016 and haven’t missed one since! A heartfelt celebration of love and connection between two people, each year Graham presents a series of duets created and performed by “couples, crushes, and comrades.”

“Dance Lovers 14” is magical from start to finish. An exemplar of the truths we are willing to uncover, and the risks we are willing to take when in partnership with those with whom we feel closest, the openness in each duos’ presentation feels like an offering to the audience, but also to one another.  As a bonus, many of the evening’s creators bring humor to their work. The laughter and smiles we all share feels like a much-needed balm in this time of rising fascism.

Teo and Fosse Lin-Biano lead off the evening with Inherited Gravity, a spell-binding duet incorporating modern dance, acrobatics, and aerial rope. Snippets of audio recordings from their shared childhood come forward periodically, triggering shared embodied memories in the brothers.   An ariel rope beckons.  Hand over hand Fosse climbs it, tethering himself with a wrap of rope around his waist and thigh. With the excess, he creates a loop below himself in which Teo rotates, rolling his horizontal form skyward, toward Fosse.  With a quick change of plane, Teo hangs vertically, supported only by the back of his neck which curves over a loop of rope which his brother holds steadily from above.  Watching them performing gravity defying tricks, balanced on top of one another, supporting each other’s weight in dynamic and dazzling constructions around the rope near the ceiling, one images the daring-do these two have inspired in each other throughout their lives.

There is an ease, a playfulness and quiet beauty in their work. They complete each other in a way no other person could.  Leaving their rope behind, they dance with grace and tumble with athleticism. Their parallel floorwork routine draws skills from gymnastics’ pommel horse apparatus, leaving us gasping, as their human tower leans precariously forward before breaking suddenly into two bodies rolling forward across the floor.

Fosse & Teo Lin-Bianco bow at the conclusion of "Inherited Gravity" part of Dance Lovers 14; Photo Jen Norris

Megan and Shannon Kurashige begin their Mostly Lapsed Dancers as an elderly Japanese couple. With bowed heads and hunched shoulders and sheepish smiles, they shuffle and shamble onstage. Their crotchety characters are lovingly and comically rendered by this adept storytelling pair, best known for their devised dance theater performances (Sharp & Fine). As they assess us assessing them, sheepishly they ask each other, “Do you think they know we haven’t performed anything in six whole years?” Breaking character and the 4^th wall, they take an audience poll to determine who among us identifies with the statement, “dancing makes me feel old,” besides the two of them.

But they came here to dance and so they do to the nostalgic and familiar notes of Claude Debussy’s “Clair de Lune.”  They lift each other, jump, wave, prance, perform flex-footed fankicks, and barrel roll across the floor for several minutes before Shannon calls for a time out. The music stops and both lay panting on the floor.  Megan stands haltingly, a bit of her elderly persona present, as she shares, “Dance is so hard.”  We chortle in agreement but also reflect on how truly difficult it is not only to dance but to make this exhausting activity look painless and perfect.

Dragging her prone sibling across the floor, Megan cues the music to resume.  Their partnering is physical and intense.  Shannon holds Megan’s upside-down taut body at a diagonal across her own chest.  Despite their reservations, they too can make this look easy for several minutes.  Though too soon they are literally waving their white handkerchiefs in surrender and this too-fleeting opportunity to see the Sisters Kurashige dancing together has come to a close.

The strong connection between contemporary dancers Kira Fargas & Hadassah Perry is palpable as they perform Beside.  Lunging outward only to be drawn back toward each other, their faces radiate tenderness and care.  Coupled by a hand on a partner’s shoulder, or the shared gesture of a palm resting on a chest, we witness a depth of connection.  Fargas cradles Perry in their arms, rocking gently. Seated so as to breathily brush cheeks, they dance as if they are alone and contented to be so.

After intermission, before How Am I Not You?, his engaging improvisation dance with Miles Millikan, Bear Graham leads the room in a guided embodiment practice. He helps us ground ourselves in the safety and solace of our own bodies. We end with our eyes closed and are encouraged to delay opening them, and entering the piece, for as long as we wish.

My eyes are still closed when Millikan welcomes us into the piece with a song. A cappella, clear and strong he sings “I see you before the dawn, you look so peaceful.” When Graham reaches for Millikan’s hand their touching is familiar and one sense a calming comfort for both.

They lie one their backs in a row, knees bent, the soles of Graham’s bare feet resting upon Millikan’s upper chest, in what we will later learn is Millikan’s “safety pose.” Graham reads to Millikan about loneliness and the failures of speech to connect us.

In darkness, with our hearing attuned, we listen to a complete stanza of “Know Who You Are,” from the Moana soundtrack, whose lyrics alternate between Hawaiian and English. Stage lights find the duo standing shoulder to shoulder inspecting and grooming each other. Competing for dominance in a friendly rolling game, they seem like river otters at play.

Male vulnerability is something we don’t often see on stage, so it is especially powerful to see Millikan, bouncing anxiously on his toes as he answers Graham’s query, “Is there something you are afraid of doing, but also would still like to do?”  with a series of hopes and fears which include: “I want to be lifted. I’m very big, thick, dense. I weigh 200 pounds.” More physical and verbal sparring ensues before in a satisfying culmination, Graham balances Millikan solidly across his shoulder.  As Millikan extends his limbs starfish-style, his face beams with joy, a wish has been granted and a fear defied.

Bear Graham and Miles Millikan bow at conclusion of their "How Am I Not You? part of Dance Lovers 14; Photo Jen Norris

Weirdos in Love, performed and choreographed by Ryan Rouland Smith and Theresa Knudson is delightful from start to finish.  These two, married just a year, clearly found a kindred spirit in each other.  They begin their dance in oversized inflatable dinosaur costumes. Strutting and flirting with one another to KISS’s “I Was Made for Lovin’ You,” their giant heads bop. Working in unison they soft shoe and sashay, as we giggle.   

A debonair Smith, having shed his giant green skin, gallantly unzips Knudson’s suit. She emerges dressed in a black velvet slip dress and ballet flats. They kiss passionately before grinning their way through a ballet and jazz infused pas de deux worthy of a Hollywood musical-comedy romance.

Dancing dinosaurs part of Ryan Rouland Smith & Theresa Knudson's "Weirdos in Love" at Dance Lover 14; Photo: Jen Norris

Graham is a wonderful host, a magnetic performer, and an excellent curator. It is no wonder that the theater is full to the brim with dance lovers for “Dance Lovers 14.”

Review by Jen Norris, published February 15, 2026

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BEAR GRAHAM PRESENTS: 

DANCE LOVERS 14

...DUETS BY COUPLES, CRUSHES, & COMRADES    

February 12, 13, & 14, 2026

Joe Goode Annex

Inherited Gravity

Choreographed & Performed by: Teo & Fosse Lin-Bianco

Music: “Come Silence” Dag Rosenqvist, “Cozy” Beyonce (Instrumental)

Mostly Lapsed Dancers

Choreography & Performance: Megan & Shannon Kurashige 

Music: “Clair de Lune” Composed by Claude Debussy, Arranged by Les Baxter

Beside

Kira Fargas & Hadassah Perry

Music: Connie Converse, Chopin

How Am I Not You?

Performance & Choreography: Miles Millikan & Bear Graham

Music: Lin-Manuel Miranada & Opetaia Foa’i, Luiz Bonfá, oskar med k, Vincent Peirani & Michael Wollny & Michel Benita

Weirdos in Love

Performance & Choreography: Ryan Rouland Smith & Theresa Knudson

Music: Kiss, Frederick Loewe

Costumes assembled by: Ryan & Theresa