AXIS Dance Company

AXIS redefines dance & disability.

Alice in Californiland

For over thirty years, AXIS has been headquartered in downtown Oakland, now the epicenter of gentrification, displacement, and homelessness in the Bay Area. To respond to, and create dialogue around these realities, AXIS produced it’s biggest production to date with Arthur Pita’s Alice in Californiland. Bringing his vast experience of entwining storytelling, dance, and theater to life, Pita creatively reacts to the realities of rampant displacement through the lens of Alice in Wonderland. A fearless visual storyteller, Pita’s disturbing, nightmarish story sit in a kaleidoscopic world of harsh reality and psychedelic fantasy in equal measure.

Five disabled and non-disabled dancers are dressed like characters from Alice in Wonderland set in modern day San Francisco. Lani balances on the footrests of DeMarco and Janpi, she holds the hand of Bradford for support as AG leans backwards behind DeMarco. There is a psychedelic palm tree illustration on the ground and a sign in the background reading "Have You Ever Felt."
Photo by Steve Disnehof, Dancers Bradford Chin, JanpiStar, Lani Dickson, DeMarco Sleeper, AJ Guavera

Premier October 2019
Choreographer: Arthur Pita
Dancers: Bradford Chin, Lani Dickinson, AJ Guevara, Yuko Monden Juma, DeMarco Sleeper, and JanpiStar
Music: California Dreaming by Jose Feliciano, La Valse, un Poème Choréographique by ORF Radio Symphony Orchestra
Design: ​Yann Seabra
Lighting Design: ​Allen Willner Sound Design: Ben Juodvalkis Set Construction: Gigantic Factory

Support AXIS

Donate now to help AXIS redefine dance and disability. We thank you for your dedication to the transformative power of dance and inclusion.

Donate    |    Become a Corporate Sponsor