Collaborating with San Francisco Architectural Heritage (SF Architectural Heritage), choreographer Joe Goode and the Joe Goode Performance Group will develop and present Time of Change, a multi-site-specific dance theater installation anchored by the Doolan-Larson Residence and Storefronts, which are listed in the National Register of Historic Places and are located at the “crossroads of the counterculture” — the corner of Haight and Ashbury streets in San Francisco.
The work will be grounded in oral histories of people who witnessed the era, with Goode and his company members asking them what came of all of the “liberations” and who was included in them. Did the sexual revolution welcome LGBTQ community members? Why does the history of that time and place seem to foreground whiteness? What happened to the significant African American population that lived in the Haight before the hippie invasion? Among other investigations, guest artists Gabriel Christian and Chibueze Crouch, and company dancer Patricia West, are co-creating work for the piece that probes the African American perspective.
San Francisco Heritage is dedicated to preserving and enhancing San Francisco’s distinctive architectural and cultural identity through advocacy, education programs, and architectural tours. Joe Goode has been at the forefront of experimentation and innovation in dance theater for more than four decades. He has created and produced other large-scale site-specific works, including Still Standing in collaboration with SF Architectural Heritage, which explored the Haas-Lilienthal House (built in 1886). The Doolan-Larson Residence and Storefronts were recently donated to SF Architectural Heritage but are not yet restored or fully accessible. Therefore, Time of Change will be Goode’s first work that will be at multiple sites throughout a neighborhood and take advantage of different spaces to highlight diverse narratives.
SF Architectural Heritage’s collaboration with Joe Goode Performance Group will include researching sites and sharing resources that will enhance the story-gathering and performances. The partners hope to premiere the work in August 2021.