Artist Bio

Scott Wells & Dancers

A Walk in the Parkour (World Premiere)
Presented by Scott Wells & Dancers.

Parkour is a is a non-competitive, physical discipline of French origin in which participants run along a route, attempting to negotiate obstacles in the most efficient way possible, using only their bodies. A Walk in the Parkour begins with a dazzling display of gymnastic interactions with apparatuses and walls, but eventually yields to the deeper desires of the heart.

The program in the first week (and on the Sunday matinee on May 29) will also feature last year’s hit: Ball-ist-ic, two world-class jugglers and five amazing dancers will ensure a night of great dance theater. The artistry and play of the jugglers has been expanded as all seven dancers take part in the passing of balls in every size imaginable.

In Ball-ist-ic, , the artistry and play of the jugglers has been expanded as all seven dancers take part in the passing of balls every size imaginable. There is something elemental, pure and perfect about balls. Yet they are unpredictable. They create sound and rhythm as they bounce, lines in space when thrown, competition when used in games, beauty when juggled, unpredictability as they succumb to imperfection. Inspired by the flight of the spheres, bodies will be tossed and vaulted, caught and recoiled.

(Wells) approached that postmodern practice known as contact improvisation (a duet form guided by momentum, touch and considerable trust in one's partner) and humanized it, stretching its parameters, finding reserves of comedy and even beauty in these carefully weighted encounters. All these impulses percolate through the new "Ball-is-tic," a droll diversion that pits the team against a barrage of brightly colored balls of disparate shape. The piece wouldn't be half as engaging if these performers were less supple or quick- witted. Perhaps, Wells can explain why everyone wears old-fashioned aviator goggles, or why "Ball-is-tic" is accompanied by a recording of Eastern European folk music. They simply fit.  — Allan Ulrich, SF Chronicle

Sproing! Once you adjust to the notion that dancers are bouncing off walls and flying in your face, you can relax and let them [Scott Wells & Dancers] do their thing, which is an electrifying style of contact improvisation.  — SF Weekly

The last time SW&D was presented in the SFIAF they came away with the Isadora Duncan Award for Outstanding Choreography.

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Scott Wells & Dancers Trailer from 2007.

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Since 1991, Scott Wells & Dancers has created shows every year in San Francisco that is consistently recognized with outstanding reviews and awards. The dances often focus on men, culture and sport. For example, Rocky vs. Baryshnikov used actual boxers and One Fell Swoop brought together the dance company with a group of skateboarders. Equally, there been non-content driven work exploring, for example, the music of Mozart or the site specific nature of a space ("@848"). Wells’ choreography pushes the limits of the body, producing highly physical and rebelliously electrifying dances.

• In January 2010, Scott Wells received San Francisco’s most prestigious dance award: The Isadora Duncan Award for Best Choreography.
• Scott Wells & Dancers is currently nominated for Best Company Performance for the 2010 show Ball-ist-ic.
• In 2008, SW&D was commissioned to choreograph West Side Story, premieres for the St Joseph Ballet, Trolley Dances, and Litquake. Also, Wells was a mentor for CHIME.
• In 2005, Scott Wells received The Isadora Duncan Award for Best Choreography. Also in 2005, Scott Wells & Dancers were selected by Dance Magazine as "One of the 25 To Watch". This is a high praise from the world’s leading dance magazine.
• In 1995, Wells received the Lester Horton Award for Choreography (Los Angeles).
• In SW&D’s first Home Season in 1992, critic David Gere (Oakland Tribune) foresaw a special choreographer, "His control of the viewer's eye is masterly beyond his years."

SW&D has received grants from Zellerbach (17), The Irvine Foundation (2), CA$H (6), GFTA (since 1999), CAC, CEC Artslink, Center for Cultural Innovation, CHIME, Center for Cultural Innovation and Trust for Mutual Understanding among others.