Review: Deborah Slater Dance Theater presents SHOUT IN THE DARK: A Guide to Hope & Good Grief, Studio 210, San Francisco, Sept. 19-Oct. 5, 2025
- Jen Norris
- Sep 22
- 4 min read
Updated: Sep 24
Recalling the close proximity, quality, and urgency of the dancers’ movements, my body vibrates with possibility. Revelations rise as I walk home, pondering the attributes which define “HOPE.” It is the rare dance that leaves me so stimulated but such is the experience of attending Deborah Slater Dance Theater’s (DSDT) SHOUT IN THE DARK: A Guide to Hope & Good Grief, playing for three weekends, (September 19 through October 5), at DSDT’s home studio in the Mission.
As we patrons take our seats on three sides, dancers stride around the compact space. Their focus is interior, though on occasion a pair comes face-to-face and pauses to see one another. Amidst their wandering, Director Deborah Slater speaks to us about how the work grew out of conversations with Playwright Eugenie Chan. The creation process included each of the five dancers writing about what hope means to them, and identifying in their bodies where it lives. The locations of these hope-foci are interwoven into a gestural phrase, performed in a line, as a collective nonverbal mantra. Palms held to chests, arms reaching outward, hands wrapping around wrists, fingers pausing to touch foreheads as if to access third-eyes, the sequence continues until one person falls to the ground, in solitary struggle and the dance begins in earnest.
A piece about hope might seem saccharine. Hope is positive, right? Might it be buoyant and light? This is not the truth of hope as revealed by DSDT. Hope may be a universal emotion but it also deeply personal. We are at our lowest, when we are without hope. Others can inspire us to find hope, but our quest to regain it is largely traveled alone. The cast: Emma Andre, Colin Frederick, William Brewton Fowler Jr., Anna Greenberg Gold, and Nol Simonse, represents some of the strongest contemporary dancers in the Bay Area. Deeply connected to the work and each other, they embody the complexity of hope’s loss, pursuit, attainment, and retention. Risk taking lifts, fervent churning, and spell-binding balances play out mere feet from us. Throughout, Slater bears witness from a corner perch. A compassionate observer, she periodically voices aphorisms, gentle reminders of the subject. “When my mind is dark, hope is a light.”
The soundscape (Sound Design: Cliff Caruthers) is atmospheric and soothing with naturalistic sounds, such as rain, overlapping music featuring marimba, xylophone, piano and the occasional vocal line. A video (Video Design: Jacob Marks and Rachel Marks) plays unobtrusively on a diaphanous drape. The muted colors and textures of the organic world create a calm backdrop for the dramatic dance.
Fowler Jr. rises from the floor, his only touch point is the ball of a single foot. Hope is precarious. His other limbs extend slowly. As his body unfolds, he must constantly recalibrate his balance and ascent as he becomes a wide winged bird in flight. Later, having sunk into a pit of despair, he lies his lanky frame curls around itself. Gold lies similarly curled several feet away. Renewed life comes in the form of creeping fingers which wander outward, extending arms. The hands meet and clutch and, in a flash, Gold is drawn atop Fowler Jr. Trembling with the relief of touch, they assume a fierce spooning form.
Exuding nervous energy, Simonse longs to be part of the group. Jumping in circles, spinning on his heel with childlike impatience, he approaches the group about to speak, before turning quickly away, allowing his anxious hesitance to prevail.
Trust of others is essential in this dance. Simonse explores the shape of Frederick’s skull, before cupping his hands over the ears and guiding his mate by the head. Their sinuous duet of deep supported backbends an example of the power and confidence the whole ensemble shares throughout the 45-minute piece.
Fowler Jr. and Frederick’s necks kiss in a dance of interdependence, which concludes with one statuesque man seated atop the others’ strong shoulder. With a view to fresh perspectives, they stand at peace, a totem pole of two.
Careful to avoid becoming part of the problem, Gold approaches a flailing Fowler Jr. on hands and knees. Her warm palm placed on his shoulder eases his distress. The ensemble members are ever present, and watching on the periphery, quick to still another’s quaking crisis. All four come to lift Andre after their tilting-at-windmills solo of backward donkey kicks and thrusting arms leaves them in a puddle of twisted limbs and gnarled digits. As if in a ceremonial procession the quartet carries Andre’s spread-eagle form atop their extended arms.
As the stage illumination fades, a lantern-jar glows center stage. Slater offers a closing thought about how hope’s stubborn light forces us to continue. SHOUT IN THE DARK: A Guide to Hope & Good Grief is worthy of multiple viewings. Take a friend, as it's rich layers and nuanced performances invite discussion and consideration.
Review by Jen Norris, published September 22, 2025
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Production Credits
Deborah Slater Dance Theater presents
SHOUT IN THE DARK: A Guide to Hope & Good Grief
Studio 210
3435 Cesar Chavez #210 San Francisco, CA 94110
September 19 - October 5, 2025
Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30pm; Sundays at 3pm
Concept & Direction: Deborah Slater
Playwright: Eugenie Chan
PERFORMERS Dancers: Emma Andre, Colin Frederick, William Brewton Fowler Jr, Anna Greenberg Gold, Nol Simonse
On Video: Moscelyne ParkeHarrison & Hadassah Perry
COLLABORATORS
Sound Design: Cliff Caruthers
Costume Design: D Calhoun
Lighting Design: Griffin Harwood
Text: Olivia Bratko & Jane Hirshfield
Co-creators/Choreographers Emma Andre, Colin Frederick, William Brewton Fowler Jr, Anna Greenberg Gold, Nol Simonse, (in film) Moscelyne ParkeHarrison & Hadassah Perry
PRODUCTION STAFF
Production Manger: Jes Deville
Stage Manager: Bob Webb
Video Recording & Livestream Director: Jacob Marks
Camera Operators: Jacob Marks, Rachel Marks, Lydia Feuerhelm-Chiu Livestream Moderator: Jessica Judd
PR/Marketing & Graphic Design: : Kirsten Millan
Light Board Operator: Margaret LaVonne Linn
Sound Board Operator: Olivia Vazquez