Courageous Dance. Rooted in Care.
Air BetWeen Us
Community Reflections
Photo of B Dean suspended via rope and harness equipment, dancing upside-down below a straight staircase leading up to the ceiling grid, with Megan Lowe beneath them at a spiral staircase singing. They are surrounded by audience in close proximity.
All Photos in this article are of Megan Lowe Dances' Air Between Us presented by YBCA, with rigging design by Dave Freitag and lighting design by Ray Oppenheimer. All Photos are by Robbie Sweeny, courtesy of YBCA, 2026.
Community Reflections for
Air Between Us
A Vertical Dance Experience by Megan Lowe Dances
Presented by Yerba Buena Center for the Arts
With Performances May 15-17, 2026
Air Between Us was created in relationship—with the dancers, collaborators, partners, and audiences who gathered around it. In place of a formal review, we chose to gather reflections from the community that experienced the work. Shaped by many voices, Air Between Us is best understood through that same multiplicity of perspectives. This collection of reflections feels deeply aligned with the values at the heart of the project: connection, collaboration, and shared experience.
The responses shared after performances were thoughtful, moving, surprising, and deeply personal. Together, they offer a portrait of the work that no single reviewer could provide. Rather than centering one authoritative voice, this collection honors the many perspectives, emotions, questions, and connections that emerged through the experience. We believe these reflections reveal not only what the performance was, but what it made possible—capturing the ways Air Between Us lived in the bodies, memories, and imaginations of those who encountered it.
Contributers
Collaborator
REfLections
GABRIELE CHRISTIAN
“I don’t think I’ve ever been in a process where desire translated so cleanly into craft from each and every performer. We had a chance to do what we were good at and feel the cohesion of those gusts of desire held and navigated so deftly by Megan. I hope we get to do this again and again, refining more and more as we go.”
- Gabriele Christian | Co-Director of GRAVITY, Founding Member of RUPTURE, OYSTERKNIFE, and BlaQyard, and MLD Collaborator
Photo of Gabriele Christian throwing money into the air, while sitting on a floating chair.
B Dean
"I was affirmed in knowing that great art is made when you just let it happen. There was no forcing here and that is a testament to Megan's trust and this team."
- B Dean | Artistic Director of BODYSTORM, BANDALOOP Company Member, and MLD Collaborator
Photo of B Dean in suspended in the air via a rope and harness counterbalance system.
Rose Huey
"One of Megan’s superpowers is connecting people through art making. Woven through our creative process was time for getting to know each other and building a foundation of trust and open communication across dancers, riggers, and production. Megan uplifts a working culture that prioritizes honest communication, kindness, and care—which makes the art making a joyful, fun experience. We played a lot as we made dances. Rehearsals were full of laughter and sweetness. We cheered each other on. We were awed watching each other rehearse. It’s special to be in a creative process that centers our humanity and relationships.
It’s rare and special to me to perform vertical dance work inside. There is a closeness and intimacy that is sometimes lost on an outdoor building. I love seeing people’s faces, making eye contact, and being in the collective experience of live performance with an audience. We are all in it together, and it’s magic.”
- Rose Huey | BANDALOOP Company Member, Founding Member of Asian Babe Gang, and MLD Collaborator
Photo of Rose Huey suspended by a rope and harness counter balance system.
Roel Seeber
“I would describe the creative process of MLD’s Air Between Us as being highly organized and very creative. Megan organized the time very well, and was clear about balancing the creative process with the need to produce a finished work in a very compressed amount of time. Additionally, the creative collaboration with the rigging team was rich and allowed for creative experimentation outside of what had been done before. In my nearly twenty years experience with vertical and site reactive/specific dance, this was one of the most inspiring; finding a balance between organization, creativity, and respect for the artists and crew alike. This created a unique work, powered by the collective voices of the cast and technical crew, fueled by imagination and grounded in care, respect, and a strong commitment to safety.”
- Roel Seeber | Vertical Dance Teacher at BANDALOOP and MLD Collaborator
Photo Roel Seeber low flying using rope and harness equipment.
Saharla Vetsch
"Every person in this project in their own right is a phenomenal artist and is badass. So when you bring a stacked group of people together you know it's going to be amazing. And with that, even if we haven't worked together in this specific configuration, I know Caelan, and I trust Caelan. I know B, and I trust B. I know that B trusts Rose, so now I trust Rose. It's kind of a trickle down effect of the people who have deep relationships vs. people who are having first relationships, that I think was really beautiful and is a testament to how Megan holds the space and holds the room, and how everybody showed up everyday, in a supportive way. My biggest lesson and surprise was my uniqueness is enough."
- Saharla Vetsch | SF Bay Area Dancers and MLD Collaborator
Photo of Saharla Vetsch dancing on the side of a building outdoors, suspended via rope and harness.
Audience
Reflections
Ai Yin Adelski
“A moment from the piece that has stayed with me is the use of the mesh ceiling–seeing the perspective of a dancer rolling on their floor, our ceiling, was very intriguing and powerful. It is a perspective of dance that I have never seen before. This work expanded my imagination on what is possible in the world of site specific, vertical, and ground dance!“
- Ai Yin Adelski | SF Bay Area Dancer and Megan Lowe Dances Collaborator
Photo of Megan Lowe, Saharla Vetsch, B Dean, Roel Seeber, Gabriele Christian, and Rose Huey dancing in a tension grid above the audience.
Brenton Cheng
"This piece, for all its scope and vision, felt very personal — a manifestation of so many of the creative aspects of Megan herself. There was so much originality, so much beauty in all its forms, so many breathtaking moments of surprise and revelation.
As an audience member, I enjoyed interacting with the piece in sunlight and darkness, from a distance and inches away.
A fellow artist once told me, “Make the piece that can only be done here.” Megan brought the YBCA space to life by using every inch of it."
- Brenton Cheng | SF Bay Area Artist & Teacher; USF Adjunct Faculty, IMS Laban/Bartenieff Certification Faculty; Internet Archive Staff; MLD Collaborator
Derek Chin
“Watching the aerial dance performance by Megan Lowe and her dancers felt like witnessing gravity briefly lose its authority. The dancers moved through the air with a combination of strength, elegance, and absolute trust, transforming daring choreography and suspended cables into something almost dreamlike. I sometimes would half-close my eyes so that the cables would "disappear"; what was left in my view and imagination was the sight of people literally flying through the air. Every movement carried both precision and emotion, from slow, floating moments that seemed impossibly delicate to powerful drops and spins that made the audience collectively hold its breath. It was athletic and artistic at the same time—part choreography, part poetry—and by the end, the performance left a lingering sense of wonder long after the applause faded.”
- Derek Chin | Realtor, Compass, and Megan Lowe Supporter
Abigail De Kosnik
“I'll never forget the gorgeous mid-air choreography performed by the dancers at the start of the show–the beautiful gestures of the soloist, the moving poses of the pas de deux, the wonderful way they activated the blank side of a building. GENIUS!!!!! I recommend that YBCA keep this company in residence for three years and have them perform at least one weekend per month. It could become a real sensation that YBCA becomes famous for!! Every San Franciscan and tourist would know they have to come check it out!!!!”
- Abigail De Kosnik | Author, Playwright, Scholar, Teacher; UC Berkeley professor of new media and performance studies; San Francisco Resident; @abigaildekosnik on IG, Threads, LinkedIn
Photo of Saharla Vetsch dancing on the side of a building outdoors, suspended in the air via rope and harness, with an audience watching from the courtyard below.
Eric Delgado
Air Between Us brought me through a mesmerizing journey of awe, excitement, joy, humor, and amazement. I was immersed in the most elaborate display of aerial dance that I've ever experienced, both as an observer outdoors, then inside the YBCA space where I felt like a participant.
I am a student of Megan Lowe's in contact improvisation. What she and the whole team (B, Roel, Gabriele, Rose, and Saharla, as well as the rigging crew) brought to bear in Air Between Us is hard to fully put into words and nothing short of breathtaking. Never before have I experienced, nor been moved by such a display of artistry, emotion, somatic movement, vocals and sound, combined with the coordination of elaborate rigging.
I have such respect, gratitude, and love for everything that MLD stands for and exists for in honoring the Asian Pacific Islander, BIPOC, LGBTQ+ communities. As a mixed race Filipino who often blends into a white dominated world out of convenience, the collaboration with YBCA for Air Between Us holds a special place in my heart, simply because YBCA sits in what was once a thriving Filipino neighborhood of San Francisco. St. Patrick's Catholic Church across Mission Street from Yerba Buena Gardens still periodically holds Mass in Tagalog. Place matters! MLD's motto, "Courageous dance rooted in care!" really means something!
After experiencing the grief and love of Just a Shadow last year, Air Between Us at YBCA took it to another level for me.
I so look forward to the journey ahead and what comes next.”
- Eric Delgado | Student and lover of dance; and Inside Wireman(person), International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local Union 6, San Francisco
Moira Delgado
“The entire performance entranced me with its artistry and each dancer's presence. I felt immersed in a dream and at the same time, it was meditative and restorative. In particular, the one that began with the suitcase resonated with me viscerally—how much baggage we all carry. It represented the weight of what society expects of me as a woman, and women of color in particular. And it made me think as I am aging, the additional layer of what people may think of how someone like me should act, dress, and be in the world. The weightlessness of the dancers expressed a freedom from the gravity of expectations, and what we can do when we remove self-imposed limitations and oppressive expectations. When we can truly be ourselves in all forms of expression, we are all liberated.
I identify as a mestiza (Filipina/White) and am entering what some call "senior years,"—soon to be 65. I am an educator who is also a learner and collaborates with community organizations and schools through a social justice lens in a higher ed setting (UC Davis).
Thank you for creating and sharing such a beautiful and unique form of artistry that is inclusive and honors all our identities and experiences! I can't wait to see the next performance. I would love to take a class some day.”
- Moira Delgado | Educator, Learner, Collaborator with Community Organizations and Schools through a Social Justice Lens in a Higher Education Setting at UC Davis
Photo of Rose Huey hanging upside down, suspended by a rope and harness counter balance system.
Marcel East
“The breathless moments of weightlessness transformed vertical dancing into something immersive and unforgettable. The gravity-defying choreography is next level.”
- Marcel East | MLD Air Between Us Audience Member
Brian Freeman
“I was particularly taken with your [Gabriele Christian] amazing work in the show. Dance/motion/text on a flying chair. I have done some out there moves in my brief time in performance but whoa!“
- Brian Freeman | MLD Air Between Us Audience Member
Che Jones-DeLeon
“The experience was eternal and otherworldly. I felt enveloped in a fantasy of graceful aerial dynamics and transported into a realm of alternate reality."
- Che Jones-DeLeon | MLD Air Between Us Audience Member
Photo of Megan Lowe and Rose Huey dancing together on a metal lung tree aparatus, suspended in the air via a rope and harness.
Jo Kreiter
“I loved how this project invited me to think about air—something so common, daily, and also essential. It got me thinking about how we are so inevitably connected to each other, despite the massive political divisions going on in our country right now.”
- Jo Kreiter | Artistic Director of Flyaway Productions
Photo of B Dean, Megan Lowe, Rose Huey, Saharla Vetsch, and Gabriele Christian low flying in pools of light, hovering in the air via a rope and harness.
Bonnie Lewkowicz
"I’ve seen a number of aerial performances and often find the movement somewhat limiting, but Air Between Us kept me fully engaged. It was the first time I paid as much attention to the counterweight performer as to the aerial dancer—their relationship felt so central that 'The Weight Between Us' could have been an equally fitting title. I also appreciated the use of the entire space and was continually surprised by the variety of ways the dancers became airborne."
- Bonnie Lewkowicz | Director of Access California, Co-Founder of AXIS Dance, and Disability Rights Activist
Indra Mungal
“Megan Lowe amazes once again with her ability to choreograph inspirational site-specific work in under-utilized spaces, even among well-traveled locations. This time at YBCA Air Between Us started the audience outside, on the back side of the Yerba Buena Theater with aerial dancers joyfully moving, using the wall as a taking off pad. The audience then went inside the YBCA Forum where dancers were already suspended from the ceiling in pools of light, and audience members were invited to walk in and around the dancers. From there, the experience just became more delightful and profound. Highlights for me were when dancers were laying down and moving about in the catwalk grid at the top of the forum space; it was a unique way to view dancers from below. Other highlights were Megan singing and vocalizing beautifully, Gabriele Christian in dazzling piece on a suspended chair, and B Dean with a tornado counterbalance. All the dancers were fantastic and carried out Megan’s vision with perfection and brilliance.”
- Indra Mungal | Non-Profit Arts Administrator, Former the Director of Programs and Exhibitions of Oakland Asian Cultural Center, and Former Senior Educator for Public Programs Asian Art Museum
Photo of Megan Lowe and Roel Seeber dancing together on the side of a building outdoors, suspended in the air via a rope and harness.
Sam Nelson
"Air Between Us was unlike anything I’ve seen before, not just for the sheer magnitude of the artistry and technical experience required for success, but also for the inclusion of the audience in the spectacle. To sit amongst the performers was to be part of the performance, to crane my neck for a better view and to lie flat 30 feet below the cast was an invitation into a performance space that I haven’t experienced before as an audience member. Thank you Megan and the talented performers for illustrating that movement as a suspension of the ego and a practice of trust, and for including me in that thesis!"
- Sam Nelson | MLD Air Between Us Audience Member
Johnny Huy Nguyen
“The immense amount of physical spectacle and aerial innovation was matched with equal measures of emotional depth and thematic richness. This is so hard to do with dance and Megan Lowe Dances delivered. I was so deeply moved and in tears by the end of it.”
- Johnny Huy Nguyen | SF Bay Area Dance Maker and MLD Collaborator
Jennifer Perfilio
“What a pure pleasure and delight to be an audience participant of Air Between Us. The work, indeed, allowed its audience to experience space, or air, as interstitial; connecting or holding us together like invisible threads of shared place making—sometimes as a collective lying on the floor, sometimes as a constellation seeing between ourselves, sometimes as a wanderer surrounded by story and light and flight.
One of the aspects of the performance that I particularly loved (there were many) was the way in which much of the flying was supported by the other dancers’ weight or momentum. They literally manipulated the ropes for one another, using their own bodies as pulleys to determine the flight or descent of their dance partners; through the suspension or release of their own weight. It was beautiful to witness this dynamic, yet delicate, balance of support, which reflected quite possibly, a broader sense of interdependence and collective care—that we thrive (or maybe even fly) when our neighbors thrive; we thrive (or maybe even fly) when our community thrives; we thrive (or maybe even fly) when the earth thrives. Indeed, maybe when we support one another, we all take flight in this air that we share, between us.”
- Jennifer Perfilio | Artistic Director, JPMW
Photo of Saharla Vetsch suspended in the air via rope and harness, being supported by Rose Huey.
Monica Pressley
“Awe inspiring. Even though the movement was deep and the connections between dancers was intense, the joy and the exhilaration of the whole piece left me light and happy. Unbelievable technical skill translated into flight and feeling.”
- Monica Pressley | MLD Air Between Us Audience Member
Piper Cruze Prolago
“I really loved the satirical number with the CEO character being supported by several workers pulling them through the air. I thought that the commentary in this piece about exploiting workers and the way that the peoples' creative work is also co-opted into larger power structures was so poignant and timely. Vertical dance was a perfect medium to explore these power differentials, displaying hierarchies in such a clear and impactful way.”
- Piper Cruze Prolago | Programs Manager, Asian Pacific Islander Cultural Center and PhD Student, History of Art Department, UC Berkeley
Special Thanks
Photo of Gabriele Christian throwing money into the air, while standing on a floating chair that is being pulled up a diagonal cable by Megan Lowe, Roel Seeber, Saharla Vetsch, B Dean, and Rose Huey
Louis Smith
“Air Between Us was stunning. A virtuosic composite of flight, movement, and theater that left me somewhere between a trapeze dream and the feeling of floating in water. Childhood dreams of flight bubble beneath the surface through the peace and were teased out of memory. The suspended dances convey a paradoxical sense of caged freedom: swinging free and flying as they are harnessed, tied, or bound within their ropes’ limit. The power exchange between limitation and weightlessness creating a dramatic drive as the dancers struggle, swing, flip, and frolic.”
- Louis Smith | MLD Air Between Us Audience Member
Alice Yeh
“Beautiful performance that was engaging and made great use of the space. One of the coolest things I've seen in SF!”
- Alice Yeh | MLD Air Between Us Audience Member
Add Your Reflection
Did you see Megan Lowe Dances presents Air Between at YBCA, May 15-17? Would you like to contribute to our community reflection? We would love to hear from you!
You can respond to our Audience Survey, or if you would like to share your responses in a more free form way, you can also send an email over to megan@meganlowedances.com.
Thanks for your time and consideration!
About MLD
With an affinity for dynamic places and partners, Megan Lowe Dances (MLD) shifts your perspective. Directed by a choreographer of Chinese and Irish descent, MLD explores complex identities and experiences by tackling unusual physical situations and inventing compelling solutions, opening up the imagination to what is possible. Since 2013, MLD has been creating dances that demonstrate the "intensely-physical, curiously-playful, delightfully-weighty rigor of physicality” (Life as a Modern Dancer) in the San Francisco Bay Area, situated on unceded Ramaytush Ohlone land. MLD’s recent choreographic works and commissions have been seen at de Young Museum, Legion of Honor Museum, Fort Mason, ODC, 500 Capp Street Foundation, and Joe Goode Annex, as well as in SF Aerial Arts Festival, SF Trolley Dances, CAAMFest, United States of Asian America Festival, and on KQED Live. MLD deepens connections with their Asian American Pacific Islander communities through relationships with organizations such as API Cultural Center; the creation of public art in SF/Oakland Chinatown as part of efforts to revitalize these communities during the pandemic; and choreographic commissions celebrating Asian influences on American culture/s.
Led by a choreographer of color, MLD empowers movers of color, and we’re committed to making creative spaces with a BIPOC majority, in both our hiring practices and the participants of movement classes we lead. With specific outreach, discounts, and scholarships to our workshops, we create a space of dance study where BIPOC aren’t the minority, de-centering normative white/eurocentric experiences and cultivating diversity in Bay Area dance. A previous workshop participant wrote, “The safe container empowered me to try new things and go beyond my usual notions of what I can and can't do. I appreciated the presence of many POC helping me feel less like an outlier.” Our artistic process thrives via collaboration, prioritizing creating relationships of respect, generosity, and gratitude. This culture of magnanimity is harnessed in the dance classes/workshops MLD leads for movers of all different ages, experience levels, body types, races, cultures, and socio-economic statuses—building community and connection.
About MLD
With an affinity for dynamic places and partners, Megan Lowe Dances (MLD) shifts your perspective. Directed by a choreographer of Chinese and Irish descent, MLD explores complex identities and experiences by tackling unusual physical situations and inventing compelling solutions, opening up the imagination to what is possible. Since 2013, MLD has been creating dances that demonstrate the "intensely-physical, curiously-playful, delightfully-weighty rigor of physicality” (Life as a Modern Dancer) in the San Francisco Bay Area, situated on unceded Ramaytush Ohlone land. MLD’s recent choreographic works and commissions have been seen at de Young Museum, Legion of Honor Museum, Fort Mason, ODC, 500 Capp Street Foundation, and Joe Goode Annex, as well as in SF Aerial Arts Festival, SF Trolley Dances, CAAMFest, United States of Asian America Festival, and on KQED Live. MLD deepens connections with their Asian American Pacific Islander communities through relationships with organizations such as API Cultural Center; the creation of public art in SF/Oakland Chinatown as part of efforts to revitalize these communities during the pandemic; and choreographic commissions celebrating Asian influences on American culture/s.
Led by a choreographer of color, MLD empowers movers of color, and we’re committed to making creative spaces with a BIPOC majority, in both our hiring practices and the participants of movement classes we lead. With specific outreach, discounts, and scholarships to our workshops, we create a space of dance study where BIPOC aren’t the minority, de-centering normative white/eurocentric experiences and cultivating diversity in Bay Area dance. A previous workshop participant wrote, “The safe container empowered me to try new things and go beyond my usual notions of what I can and can't do. I appreciated the presence of many POC helping me feel less like an outlier.” Our artistic process thrives via collaboration, prioritizing creating relationships of respect, generosity, and gratitude. This culture of magnanimity is harnessed in the dance classes/workshops MLD leads for movers of all different ages, experience levels, body types, races, cultures, and socio-economic statuses—building community and connection.
