Emily Rose Phillips
Emily first started dancing micro in Portland in 2008. It rocked her world, and she's been savoring each micro dance ever since. To her, micro is like turning down the volume on the rest of the world and in that space, can make you feel like you’re a part of the music. She loves it so much that she eventually started leading, only so she could micro more often. Emily started the BAmF monthly event on 2nd Saturdays, and is delighted to have a bigger team. She is over the moon excited about BAmF and can’t wait to micro with you!
Telind Bench
If it weren’t for micro, I wouldn’t be dancing today. Between 2012 and 2014, I had a series of knee and shoulder injuries that left me barely able to walk, and a series of heartbreaks that left me starved for connection. I dragged my butt to events up and down the coast and danced almost exclusively micro for a full year, because I couldn’t do anything else. It was a really dark time for me, and micro was the thing that got me through it. I love the subtlety, the connection, and the focus, and I want to share that with all of you.
Jae Starfox
Micro is my home dance. It's the place I go when I feel the least guarded, and the place I seek when I need to soften my heart
Micro feels like community, as natural and ephemeral as breathing
Yoga, flow arts, and contact improv were my main movement practices before I reconnected with fusion dance in late 2019 (rough time to start getting back into a dance, but we made it). Micro, with its focus on breath, presence, and embodiment, is the partner dance that feels most natural to me
I’m delighted to help organize BAmF because I love bringing people together to share micro. I'm passionate about supporting people to drop into their own bodies, their connection with others, and restorative states of being
Nicole Piechowski
I first discovered micro at a fusion event in 2013, before I truly even knew what micro was. Since then, I’ve danced (and taught) nearly every partner dance out there, but the connection and nuance of micro dancing kept calling me back. The more I learned about other styles of dance, the more I appreciated the awareness and presence of micro.
I’m so excited to be part of the organizing team for BAmF! I’ve love working to build communities where people can feel safe, connected, and nurtured.
SPECIAL THANKS
BAmF 2016 was the first EVER (that we know of) all micro weekend event. That original founding team was Steven Yang, Emily Rose, Telind Bench, and Adrian Cousens.
We have endless gratitude to Steven Yang (2016 & 2017) for bringing the founding momentum. Thanks also to Adrian Cousens (2016), and Matthew Matsunami (2018 & 2019) for all that they have done historically to make this event a reality.
Also Tyler Hunsaker for bringing us the Micro Thoughts videos (2019).
2020 was a rough year for us all, but thanks to Shastine Keeney for their involvement that year, to Chinarut Ruangchotvit for hosting Icebreaker virtual gatherings, and Telind for starting the Listening Hour.
We also want to send some praise and love out to our venue, the Athletic Playground. Check out their classes to level up your movement practice: acrobatics, parkour, aerial, handstands, conditioning, flexibility, and dance (tango, hip hop, contemporary, contact improv, air ballet).
We will always hold a deep appreciation for all the bay area fusion event organizers. And last but not least, we would not be here without our dance community continually showing up with open hearts.
Language Clarifying the Mu
