SpectorDance Company presents multidisciplinary performances using a signature style that blends music, spoken word, and visual media with dance. Fran Spector Atkins, choreographer/lead artist/creative director, collaborates with William Roden, a nationally recognized media artist. Together they create performance works that highlight themes relevant to our local community with global significance such as the environment, our agricultural heritage, ocean health, and those written about by literary masters who lived locally. Collaboration with outstanding non-arts organizations is key to every Company project. Educational Outreach is associated with all our performance projects. Programs are tailored to each venue. Examples include:
- In Real Time is about the Coronavirus experience and thoughts on a post-Covid-19 world. (2020)
- Ocean Trilogy is a collaboration with Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute about the hopeful possibilities that result from cutting-edge ocean science research. Ocean Trilogy (2019)
- When You Were Gone is inspired by military deployment as seen through the eyes of youth. (2019)
- East West is a collaboration with Rancho Cielo about gang violence (2015)
- Ocean is a collaboration with Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) about the state of the world ocean, based on filmed interviews with award-winning scientists. (2013)
- Maize The Golden Thread is inspired by indigenous sustainable agricultural practices regarding corn, celebrating the Solstice, and about respecting knowledge of elders. (2008)
- Common Ground celebrates the poetry and politics of agriculture. This performance was a national finalist for Ovations Television Award for "Excellence in the Performing Arts." (2006)
- Figures In The Dust is inspired by John Steinbeck's novel. (2006)
- Border Crossing is based on interviews with Mexican farm workers in partnership with the United Farm Workers and was the first step toward the creation of Common Ground. (2004)
- Red Pony is based on John Steinbeck’s novel The Red Pony. A poignant and classic story set in the 1930’s on a farm in the Salinas Valley is a timeless tale about a child’s love of his pony and the feelings of loss that are an inevitable part of life experience. (2002)
- Ocean, Bird, Sky is inspired by the poetry of Robinson Jeffers, this dance media work looks at the natural beauty of the Monterey coastline. (1998)
Testimonials
Spector Atkins’s work is intelligent and creative. She is exceptionally successful at blending artistry and scholarship in her work. Often inspired by the landscapes and people of Monterey County, her choreography is beautiful, even as she explores complex issues such as social justice and coming of age in a violent world. Fran’s collaborative work is of the highest caliber.”
Colleen Bailey, Former Executive Director of the National Steinbeck Center
"Fran Spector Atkins is a tour de force in our community and throughout the country. She masterfully weaves her art making with dialogue about the toughest and most complex issues we face. She is an asset to our region and an inspiration for everyone who meets her. Whenever I say that "the arts are the answer", I think of Fran's gorgeous, daring, innovative and powerful work." Paulette Lynch, former Executive Director of the Arts Council for Monterey County
Colleen Bailey, Former Executive Director of the National Steinbeck Center
"Fran Spector Atkins is a tour de force in our community and throughout the country. She masterfully weaves her art making with dialogue about the toughest and most complex issues we face. She is an asset to our region and an inspiration for everyone who meets her. Whenever I say that "the arts are the answer", I think of Fran's gorgeous, daring, innovative and powerful work." Paulette Lynch, former Executive Director of the Arts Council for Monterey County
Thank You to our Major Funders
National Endowment for the Arts, California Arts Council, James Irvine Foundation, Nancy Buck Ransom Foundation, Community Foundation for Monterey County, Harden Foundation, Chapman Foundation, Monterey County Weekly Fund, Arts Council for Monterey Count, Carmel Rotary, Pebble Beach Company Foundation, Barnet Segal Charitable Trust, Richard MacDonald, Hal Eastman, Diana Huang and Ron Chen, Karen and Jay Cook, Catherine and Nick Fanoe, Harriett Mittledorf, Insuk & James Waider