Sean Dorsey Dance: Dreaming Trans and Queer Futures

As a modern dance choreographer and as a transgender person, Sean Dorsey felt irresistibly drawn to San Francisco with its history of trans and queer resistance and culture. But the city he moved to in the early 2000s was not the city he had envisioned. He discovered he was the only openly trans modern dancer and no one was putting trans artists on stage. Dorsey spent the next two decades championing trans and queer performing arts in the city, hand in hand with his life partner, the musician, filmmaker and transgender activist Shawna Virago. Their Fresh Meat Festival is in its 21st season of showcasing trans and queer performance; Sean Dorsey Dance has toured innovative modern dance to more than 30 cities in the U.S. and abroad; and accolades have arrived in the form of prestigious national awards, commissions and grants.