Throughout his trailblazing career, Sean Dorsey has consistently let community lead the way. In the 1990s, the choreographer, dancer, writer, educator, and activist recognized an urgent need for support among his fellow transgender and gender-nonconforming artists, whose work was continuously passed over for funding and institutional support. In response, Dorsey and a group of Bay Area–based artists founded Fresh Meat Productions in 2002 to create a platform for trans, gender-nonconforming, and allied artists. The organization’s inaugural event, Fresh Meat Festival, took place that June. Bringing together performers working across a wide range of disciplines, the festival has since become a pillar of the community. Now, Dorsey is preparing for the festival’s 25th anniversary June 19–21, as well as working on a new work for his eponymous company that will premiere in full next April.
Has the Fresh Meat Festival’s mission evolved over the years?
It’s always been about removing barriers to access, investing in trans and gender-nonconforming and queer artists, and creating joyful cultural spaces where our communities are seen, valued, and connected. We build and sustain belonging by pairing structural change with free programs, paying artists well, and prioritizing access-centered design and unapologetic joy.
As a deaf/hard-of-hearing and disabled artist, access plus joy is a magical combination to experience. Because our festival is by, of, and for our communities, we continue to be responsive to the moments we find ourselves in. The festival is a sacred, beloved space that is brimming with love.
What are some of the benefits of a festival structure?
I love a festival structure! It’s like a yummy meal with lots of small plates. Audiences get treated to a huge range of genres and energies, and get to enjoy appetizers (new or emerging talent) along with dessert (returning artists who audiences love, premiering new work). In any given year, you might get to experience taiko, voguing, bachata, bomba, live music, modern dance, hip hop, theater, solo storytelling, and then a 40-member trans choir, all back to back. It also makes for a fantastic mix of audiences—a gorgeous blend of generations and communities, sitting shoulder to shoulder.
What encourages you to keep the festival—and your broader practice—going every year, especially in the face of such a relentless news cycle?
It’s really important for the dance community to understand that trans people are experiencing a literal state of emergency all over the country. In many states now, I could be put in jail for simply using a men’s bathroom. Keeping trans people out of public bathrooms is really about keeping us out of public spaces. I cannot express the level of fear, terror, and anxiety we are experiencing. So, this drives me onward: In these terrifying times, communities need Fresh Meat Productions’ programs and spaces more than ever before.
I am also inspired to keep going in my own artistic practice every time an audience member comes up to me in tears, every time a trans youth thanks me and says they never saw themselves in dance before they saw Sean Dorsey Dance, every time I experience barriers in the dance field—I am driven to keep being part of the change I want to see in the world.
Do you have any new works in development?
I’m in the studio right now building a new work with my company. We Choose Each Other is a real-time response to this moment of emergency. From day one, transgender communities have been named as a number-one target for legal, physical, and social persecution. Trans and queer people—my people—are experiencing unimaginable violence, erasure, harm, and fear. The project asks: How do we activate collective care while living through harm, loss, and trauma?
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