Doors was created in collaboration with three choreographers who designed scenes of movement with three very different, unique doors. This piece explores moving in outdoor spaces where doors appear in both nature and as brick n mortar. The camera was a witness to what was revealed.
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Alisa Rasera (she/her) began a dance career in the San Francisco Bay Area in 1996. Throughout the last two and a half decades she has collected many diverse experiences as a dance artist, educator, choreographer, arts administrator and now filmmaker. For 8 years she was a Dancer and the Education Director for Oakland based AXIS Dance Company. She was a teaching artist with Luna Dance Institute for 7 years leading inquiry-based learning on making dance more accessible and inclusive. Alisa produces her own repertory of choreography including her latest dance film “Doors.” Her early inspirations for collaboration come from her training roots at the California Institute of the Arts. Alisa is a trained Audio Describer with Gravity Access for live performances. Alisa believes dance belongs to everyone tries to convey that through her work on stage and on screen.
Director Statement
This project began before the pandemic. The idea of what we (especially women) allow to be seen when the door is open and what we isolate from when it is closed ,was never related to what the world actually ended up experiencing. My perspective of the piece naturally shifted but in ways that brought me closer to seeing my relationship to the different doors & passages as both restrictive and liberating. Creating the work with more than one choreographer , introduced multiple perspectives of representation for each door , as well as space to play with the eye behind the camera. Doors was filmed in the lush settings of the Oakland Hills, the vastness of San Francisco’s Ocean Beach and in the uniqueness of Alameda’s quirky architecture.
Alisa holds a BFA in Dance from the California Institute of the Arts and an MFA in Dance from New York University. She is an Adjunct Professor in the dance department at Mills College in Oakland, Ca.
*I believe strongly in making dance accessible for all. An audio described version of the film is available upon request.*
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