pause to bridge
Dance Generators, an intergenerational dance company housed at the University of San Francisco, brings together artists ranging in age from 18 to 90 for choreographic experimentation at ODC Theater. Collective movement rituals, improvisational scores, collaborative choreographic prompts, reflection, and dialogue guide research of division in the personal and collective body. pause to bridge considers the intangibles between us and moves at a pace that invites spaciousness. Co-directed by Liv Schaffer and Dazaun Soleyn, and with music by Max Judelson - this group of artists will illuminate cogenerated ideas, values, and physicalities emergent to bridging divides.
Featuring the artistry, intellect, choreographic voice, lived experience and generosity of collaborating artists:
Mary Jane Agnew (she/her, 21)
Grace D'Anca (she/her, 78)
Ann DiFruscia (she/her, 74)
Helen Dannenberg (she/her, 80)
Valerie Gutwirth (she/her, 60)
Raychel Hatch (she/her, 21)
Sebastian Le (he/him, 21)
Cecilia London (she/her, 76)
Kathleen Moore (she/her, 63)
Yope Posthumus (he/him, 90)
Zoë Quon (she/her, 21)
David Robinson (he/him, 18)
Grace Shaver (she/her, 21)
Liv Schaffer (she/her, 32)
Dance Generators Director & Pause to Bridge Co-Director
Liv Schaffer is a social practice artist and educator. She has performed with dance companies such as AXIS Dance Company, DanceWorks Chicago, Robert Moses’ Kin, and the Dance Exchange, and is a Community Engagement Artist with Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival. Liv is on faculty at the University of San Francisco’s Performing Arts & Social Justice department, where she directs an on campus intergenerational dance company, Dance Generators. Liv is also the Intergenerational Programs Director with EngAGE, a non-profit catalyzing programming that connects generations within affordable family and senior housing communities across California. Liv was named a 2021 Gen2Gen Innovation Fellow by CoGenerate and serves on the Board of Directors of San Francisco Village.
Dazaun Soleyn (he/him, 32) dazaun.dance Director &
Pause to Bridge
Co-Director
Dazaun Soleyn, dazaun.dance, has taught at Alonzo King LINES Ballet School, University of South Florida, CSUEB, Dance Mission Theater, and ODC. Currently, Dazaun is an Adjunct Professor at the University of San Francisco, a Gyrotonic Instructor, Reiki Master, and candidate for a Master's in Architecture from California College of the Arts. more info at: dazaunsoleyn.org
Max Judelson (he/him, 35) Musician, Composer, & Improviser - aka cello genie
Max Judelson is a graduate of the Boston Conservatory of Music where he studied bass with Benjamin Levy. While in Boston, Max regularly performed at Massachusetts General Hospital where he developed a music program for patients, families and staff. His article, The Economics of the Street Musician, was published in The Wall Street Journal (online) and he was interviewed for NPR’s Talk of the Nation addressing the same topic. Since relocating to California, Max has continued to create, perform, and produce new works for dance and theater. He has collaborated with numerous artists including Christian Burns, Sharp & Fine, Liv Schaffer, and Glass Eye Shadow Pictures. Additionally, he accompanies dance classes, is a member of Rent Romus’ Life’s Blood Ensemble, and has had the pleasure to record and perform as a part of Jordan Glen’s BEAK and Robert Woods-LaDue’s Onkos. When he isn’t playing bass or cello, Max can be found racing bicycles for Rock Lobster Cycles throughout North America and Europe.
Photos by Stephen Texiera and Hillary Goidell, courtesy of Shawl-Anderson Dance Center