Mission and History

Mission Statement

We bring together artists and audiences, teachers and students, other organizations and
communities in creative practices dedicated to opportunity, inclusion and collaboration in dance.

DEI statement (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion)

MFDP|SF is committed to cultivating an organization that is inclusive in artistic expression and
embraces diversity on stage and off.

List of Works

1996

Passion
Music by Peter Gabriel
A woman reflects on her life as she lies dying. 9 dancers perform this 7 part dance.

Here to There
Music by Michael Nyman
Dance in 4 parts for 8 dancers who are trying to find their place in the world.

In Memoriam
Music by Heitor Villa-Lobos
Solo for male dancer mourning loss of the rain forests

1997

Jammies
Music by Mamas and the Papas, Bette Midler, Cyndi Lauper, Doris Day and David Hirschfelder and The Bogo Pogo Orchestra
Situations while wearing pajamas are performed by nine dancers.

After a Dream
Music by Gabriel Faure
Inspired by the paintings of the gardens of Giverny by Claude Monet

1998

Children’s Corner
Music by Claude Debussy
Five dancers perform dances about the lessons learned from the fairy tales

Bach Cello Suite no. 1
Music by Johann Sebastian Bach
Dance for three dancers in 3 parts

1999

Rhapsodia
Music by Sergei Rachmaninov
A murder mystery spoof for 7 dancers

2000

Concerto Grosso
Music by Ernest Bloc
9A dynamic 5 part work for 8 Dancers

Romeo and Juliet
Music by Sergei Prokofiev
Full length ballet of the classic love story

2001

Nuages
Music by Claude Debussy
A trio of two females and one male dancer

The Lark
Music by Mikhail Glinka
A duet exploring letting go of loss.

Four Seasons
Music by Antonio Vivaldi
A 12 part dance follows the seasons of life as seen through a child’s eyes.

2002

String Quartet
Music by Sergei Prokofiev
8 dancers perform a dynamic 3 part dance inspired by the music of Prokofiev

2003

Las Vicissitudes
Music by Egberto Gismonti and Edgardo Cambon
12 dancers explore the rhythms of South America through lyrical contemporary ballet

2004

Loose Translation
Music by Gaetano Donizetti
Inspired by the Rastellis, Italian clowns from the 1930s, two dancers try to communicate.

Portrait in Black and White (Part 1)
Music by Frederick Chopin
Pas de deux inspired by photos of a married couple of 1800s America

2005

Diadorim
Music by Antonio Carlos Jobim, Heitor Villa-Lobos,Egberto Gismonti, Fagner
Bases on the Brazilian folk tale Grande Sertao Veredas by Guimaraes Rosa-Full evening work with 14 dancers

2006

Duettos
Music by Heitor Villa-Lobos
A 50 duet that tells the story of a master and student as the circumstances change for both.

The Devil Made Me Do It
Music by Igor Stravinsky
Based on L’Histoire Du Soldat written by C.F. Ramuz and inspired by characters from Faust

2007

In Fugue
Music by Jack Perla
8 dancers wait for a boat to arrive bringing an unknown hero.

Bitter Fruit
Music by John Adams, Steven Reich
Inspired by the 5 phases of grief and performed by 8 dancers

Muse
Music by Francis Poulenc, Steven Reich
This work is a response to the dancers of Peru who were fired for protesting for unfair work practices. It was performed by 12 dancers.

Hush Now
Music by Billie Holiday
5 women wait for their customers after a death in their brothel

Alegoria
Music by John Adams
Inspired by Plato’s Allegory of the Cave performed by 8 dancers

Peter and the Wolf
Music by Prokofiev
Danced storytelling of the classical story performed 10 dancers

2008

Entrelazo
Music by Arvo Paart
Cultures are bound together by common experiences as 8 dancers perform this 6 part dance.

2009

Mark Foehringer’s Nutcracker Sweets
Music by PytorTchaikovsk, arranged by Michael Morgan
50 minute danced storytelling for children of all ages.

2010

Another Time
Music by Franz Lisz
A woman and man meet to reconcile

2011

Sunken Cathedral
Music by Claude Debussy
A fisherman rescues a statue of a saint who comes alive

2012

Daphnis et Chloe
Music by Maurice Ravel
Based on the mythological tale of two lovers

O Sol e lua e outras estrelas
Music by Tom Jobim and Vinicius Moraes
Star gazers dance as they determine their future path

O Boi sobre o Telhado
Music by Darius Milhaud
Romp with 12 dancers performing a dance to the rhythms of Brazil

2013

Et In Arcadia Ego
Music by Heitor Villa Lobos
Pas de deux exploring the final moments of a man’s life

2014

Dances of the Sacred and Profane
Music by Claude Debussy, Gabriel Faure and Maurice Ravel
Collaboration with visual artist Camille Utterback, physicist Dr. David Glowacki, sound engineer Michael St Sinclair and projection designer Frederic O, Boulay.
This work is inspired by the artists of the impressionist period

2015

Realm
Music by Frederick Chopin)
5 dancers perform this poetic work exploring movement from renaissance dance and paintings

Long since thou has lost me
Music by Gustav Mahler
A pas de deux and part of the Ruckert Lieder. This section explores the rekindling of a lost love.

Song to the Moon
Music by Anton Dvorak
A water nymph falls in love with a human and chooses to lose her magic skills in this pas de deux inspired by the opera Rusalka

Brahms Sextet
Music by Johannes Brahms
6 dancers perform a brief dynamic dance inspired by the Brahms score.

2016

Um Mittenacht
Music by Gustav Mahler
A part of Ruckert Lieder performed by 3 male dancers.

In Brevis
Music by Ernest Bloch
Two dancers find each other while lost in the world

2017

Seven Deadly Sins
Music by Kurt Weill
A collaboration with Festival Opera. This work is danced version of the operetta by Kurt Weills about the trip of the two Annas get back home.

Rushlight Burn
Music by Felix Mendelssohn
Dynamic dance for 11 dancers reflects on the fleeting moments of life.

Suite Holberg
Music by Edvard Grieg
Group dance with 7 dancers celebrating the Grieg score

2018

Mark Foehringer’s Alice in Wonderland
Music by Camille Saint Saens
50 minute danced storytelling inspired by Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventure in Wonderland.

2019

Like an OX on the Roof
Music by Darius Milhaud
A danced telling of two unlikely people finding each other in a café in a painting.

Simple Symphony
Music by Benjamin Britten
3 part contemporary ballet inspired the Britten score performed by 5 dancers