ROOTS & WINGS opens sjDANCEco’s 15th Anniversary Season

Now celebrating 15 years in Downtown San Jose, sjDANCEco is proud to kick off their anniversary season with "ROOTS & WINGS." The performance will pair contemporary and classic modern dance with live music by the San Jose Chamber Orchestra. The company will do three performances in San Jose at the Hammer Theater, followed by two performances in San Francisco. All of the details and links to ticket sales are in the press release below.

ROOTS & WINGS opens sjDANCEco’s 15th Anniversary Season

Performances to be held in both San Jose and San Francisco

WHO:  sjDANCEco presents

WHAT: ROOTS & WINGS (Season Opening Program shown in two different venues)

WHEN: October 12 and 14 in San Jose.  November 3 and 4 in San Francisco

WHERE:

The Hammer Theatre Center, 101 Paseo de San Antonio in downtown San Jose, CA 95113

Thursday, October 12, 2017 at 8:00pm

Saturday, October 14, 2017 at 2:30pm and 8:00pm

Tickets Available August 1st 

Single Tickets: $25 to $90

$25    Student

$35    Senior

$40    General

$60    VIP Thursday evening & Saturday matinee includes bests seats in the house and reception with the dancers in the lobby following performances.

$90    VIP Saturday evening includes bests seats in the house and Gala Reception with dancers on Theatre Roof Top Garden

ODC Theater, 3153 17th Street, San Francisco, CA 94110

Friday, November 3, 2017 at 8:00pm

Saturday, November 4, 2017 at 8:00pm

Tickets Available August 1st

Single Tickets: $25 to $40

$25    Student

$35    Senior

$40    General

Box Office: 408.520.9854   www.sjDANCEco.org

WHY: sjDANCEco, San José’s contemporary dance company, celebrates its 15th Anniversary Season with multiple world premieres and expanded venues including the Hammer Theatre Center in downtown San Jose (October 12 and 14), and ODC Theater in San Francisco (November 3 and 4.) According to Artistic Director Gary Masters, “this is only the second time in our fifteen years, that we have brought our company to these two marvelous venues. We are so very excited to be back. Our Season-Opening program, entitled Roots & Wings, will explore the diverse inspirations and contributions that have been the foundation…the roots of creativity...for our resident choreographers and which have made and continue to make sjDANCEco’s repertory so distinctive.”

THE PROGRAM:

sjDANCEco’s 2017-2018 season-opening program will feature four World Premieres by; sjDANCEco Artistic Director Maria Basile, sjDANCEco Choreographic Advisor & Professor of Dance at San Jose State University Fred Mathews, Company Choreographer and dancer Hsiang Hsiu Lin, and by former company dancer Nhan Ho. Each new work will explore the choreographer’s Roots and the inspirations that give them Wings to excite and motivate their creativity. Also on the program will be a revival of Journey Through the Labyrinth originally created in 1994 for the Limón West Dance Project/San José and Idance of Independence High, with choreography by Artistic Director Gary Masters and set to a new commissioned score by Michael Touchi, Creative Consultant for the San Jose Chamber Orchestra. The revival will include a new section with choreography by Los Lupeños de San José Artistic Director Sam Cortez. The “Classic Offering” for these performances will be the Company Premiere of Doris Humphrey’s masterpiece, Day on Earth (1947) set to Aaron Copland’s “Sonata for Piano.” 

Collaboration with the San Jose Chamber Orchestra under the direction of Barbara Day Turner continues to highlight the company’s signature brand of contemporary dance and classic works of the American Modern Dance Repertory.

Photo Clockwise from Top Left: Hannah McNany, Frankie Reviera, Kelisha Gardeen and Katherine House, Photo by Thomas Hassing.

Frontier Airlines adds 3 more nonstop flights to San Jose roster

The news about new flights for San Jose keeps on pouring in. Earlier this year, Frontier Airlines announced their return to SJC with four routes:

• Denver (daily service starting Oct. 5th)
• Las Vegas (Mon, Wed, Fri, Sat service starting Nov. 1st)
• Cincinnati (Tue, Thu, Sun service starting Apr 8th)
• San Antonio (Tue, Thu, Sun service starting Apr 8th)

Service has yet to begin on any of the routes, yet the airline has just announced three additional nonstops:

• Atlanta (Mon, Wed, Fri, Sat service starting Apr 9th)
• Austin (Mon, Wed, Sat service starting Apr 9th)
• Colorado Springs (Mon, Wed, Fri, Sat starting Apr 9th)

All three are significant. Atlanta is a highly desirable nonstop that is only serviced by Delta today. Austin flights are critical for tech companies (they call this route the nerd bird). Colorado Springs is a brand new route--I think it might be our first direct flight ever to this destination. It is a smaller city, but there are some neat touristy things to do there like Pike's Peak. Oh, and it also brings the number of San Jose's nonstop destinations to 50, an all-time high.

It looks like the fastest growing airport in the country is still picking up speed!

Source: SVBJ

SoFA Street Fair this Sunday

The bi-annual SoFA Street Fair goes down in just a few days and will bring tons of live music and good times to Downtown San Jose. 12 stages spanning three city blocks will host 100+ bands! Almost every music genre you can think of will perform--there is something for everyone. There will also be food trucks, craft beers, and lawn chairs.

The event is free, family friendly, and starts on Sunday at 2pm. All of the details are below (click images to enlarge).

Fountain Alley Fridays

Fountain Alley is part of Downtown San Jose's historic district near 1st and Santa Clara Streets. It is a central location that has not gotten a lot of love over the past decade, but a series of events and initiatives may change that. Fountain Alley Fridays will activate the area with live music, ping pong (8 tables!), stand up performances, and plenty of art on display. Stand up and live music begins at 6:30-8pm with headline acts from 8:30-10pm.

The event is brought to you by the Knight Foundation, Local Color, Mighty Mike McGree, Alan Chen, the Public Space Authority, and Tangerine. Speaking of Local Color, if you haven't checked it out at the old Ross site--it is pretty amazing.

Fountain Alley Fridays will take place on September 22nd and 29th from 6-10pm, and hopefully they continue this event into the future.

September 2017 Downtown Dimension Highlights

Here are my notes from the latest edition of Downtown Dimension:

• California High Speed Rail is trying to cut costs by using an aerial alignment through San Jose, which would result in potentially unsightly aerial tracks with support towers every 100 feet. This is despite the fact that they are planning to run at-grade down the Peninsula and underground in San Francisco.
• The three-story former Plaza Hotel is now interim housing for up to 47 homeless people.
• SoFA businesses are launching a new Farmer's Market on Sundays from 10am-2pm in the parking lot across from the California Theater.
• Four pieces of Burning Man will make their way to Downtown as a new "Playa to Paseo" initiative.
• The "My San Jose" app allows residents to report potholes, graffiti, abandoned cars, and illegal dumping.
• Labyrinth Bar & Kitchen is now open at 45 Post st. in the former Peking House space.
• Los San Patricios Cantina is now open at 81 W. San Fernando with an Irish-Latin theme.
• Orangetheory Fitness will open this month at 111 W. St. John St.

To read the newsletter, click here!

San Pedro Square Market - 6 Year Anniversary

Tomorrow after Viva Calle 2017, you can swing by the SPSM for live music, games, and food/drink specials! Six bands will play on six rotating stages throughout the day. The San Pedro Square Market in my mind was the true turning point for Downtown San Jose and I'm thrilled to see it continue to thrive.

What will the next six years bring? Expect an expansion of the market across the street to the left of the Fallon House along with 30,000 SQFT of new retail on the ground floor of Silvery Towers (the two new high-rises). The Market will only get more popular going forward.

New Proposal in West San Jose

A Preliminary Review Application (File No. PRE17-143) was recently submitted at 375 S. Baywood Avenue for a 12-story, 65 unit multifamily building with underground parking on a 0.3 acre site. Currently the site has two existing single-family homes and could be developed with up to 75 units under the Urban Village land use designation. This property falls within the newly adopted Valley Fair/Santana Row Urban Village Plan. The VFSR Plan sets a capacity for 8,500 new jobs and 2,635 new dwelling units.

The applicant submitted several design concepts to gain an understanding of what staff would support. The conceptual designs can be found here. The concepts are all of a similar design but different enough to be able to have a preference for one over the other. I will say it is very exciting to see interest in architecture that is different from the typical boxy industrial look we have seen all too much in the Bay Area (think Mission Bay in San Francisco).

-Kimberly Vacca

Location:

Bark in the Park this Saturday

The largest dog festival in the United States takes place this weekend at William Street Park. Over 15,000 dog lovers and 3,900 dogs are expected to be in attendance. The festival stretches across 10 acres of grass, trees, and water.

Events include a variety of workshops, shows, and contests (dog costumes, pet owner look-a-like, tail and tail wagging. There will also be a kids entertainment zone, low-cost vaccines, microchiping, and vendor booths.

Bark in the Park runs from 10am-5pm this Saturday at S. 16th Street and William Street. The event is free but a $5 donation is encouraged for each dog.

For more information, head over to the Bark in the Park website.