Performable Posthumanism
PREMIERE
October 2023/The Sanctuary
CHOREOGRAPHY
Raissa Simpson
CAST
Jeremy Brooks, Marc Chappelle, Jasen Fong, Ashley Gayle, Erik Raymond Lee, Patrick Secrease, Ameia Smith, Danielle Smith
CONTRIBUTORS
Ai Yin Adelski, Zoe Barley, Lydia Clinton, Jesse Escalante, De’Jha Scott, Leilani Tian, Karina Ting, Korea Venters
MUSIC
Miles Lassi, jamil nasim
MECHANIZATION
John Eric Henry, Raissa Simpson, Philip Butler, Ryan Yu
SELECTED QUOTES
The encounters Raissa Simpson and her dancers had with technology while making 2023’s Performable Posthumanism influenced both substance and form. – Stav Ziv, Dance Magazine
PUSH Dance Company’s repertoire stands at the cutting edge of contemporary performance, creating bold works that merge dance, technology, and social justice. For over 20 years, this San Francisco-based company has developed an acclaimed body of work that investigates algorithmic fairness, AI bias, and the ways technology reshapes human movement and spatial awareness.
PUSH’s repertoire reflects a commitment to innovation and equity, creating performances that are as intellectually rigorous as they are emotionally powerful—work that asks critical questions about our digital age while celebrating the transformative power of movement.
About
This Afrofuturistic trilogy—Technoculture, 2nd Floor, and Performable Posthumanism—examines artificial intelligence in the judicial system and its impact on people of African descent. Through embodied knowledge in transnational dance rituals and interactive creative technology, the work illuminates AI’s inevitable biases, discriminatory outcomes, and opaque decision-making. “To be in constant posthumanism is to be Black, living within systemic racism and algorithms policing our bodies online and offline,” says founder Raissa Simpson, centering resistance and Black futurology.
TOURS
10 Feb 2024: Cal State East Bay – Technoculture (World Premiere)
11 Jan 2025: Ailey Theater, New York – Technoculture
SYMPOSIUM & RESIDENCY
16 Mar 2024: Ruth Williams Opera House (formerly Bayview Opera House), San Francisco – Technoculture Symposium + Performance
SANCTUARY GRAND OPENING
15 Oct 2023: The SANCTUARY at 447 Minna Street, San Francisco – SANCTUARY Grand Opening (World Premiere)
Note: Performable Posthumanism has been toured in excerpts and was developed as a site-specific, multi-station performance piece specifically for the SANCTUARY space, featuring collaborations with technologists Philip Butler, John Eric Henry (drone operator), Miles Lassi, jamil nasim, and Ryan Yu.