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 (2017)
- 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. (2012)
- 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. (2003)
- 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)
Upcoming Performances and Events
Outdoor Dances at Merrill Gardens on May 1, at Park Lane May 8, and at Carmel Cottages on May 15.
Ocean Trilogy at Monterey Peninsula Unified School District Fall 2021
Monterey Ocean Arts Festival Fall 2021
Virtual or Live Choreographers Showcase Fall 2021
New Work: Moanna in collaboration with the Monterey Peninsula Voices May 2022
New Work: Wildfires about California wildfires Fall 2022
New Work: on the Native American History of California 2023 or 2024
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
Thank you yo our Major Funders:
National Endowment for the Arts, California Arts Council, James Irvine Foundation, Nancy Buck Ransom Foundation, Community Foundation for Monterey County, Monterey Peninsula Foundation, Harden Foundation, Echenique Foundation, Chapman Foundation, Driscoll Strawberries, S.T.A.R Foundation. Tanimura Family Foundation, Monterey County Weekly Fund, Arts Council for Monterey Count, Dunspaugh-Dalton Foundation, Carmel Rotary, Pebble Beach Company Foundation, Barnet J. Segal, Puffin Foundation, Richard Macdonald, Hal Eastman, Rosemary Luke, Diana Huang and Ron Chen, Karen and Jay Cook, Catherineand Nick Fanoe, Hal Eastman, Harriett Mittledorf.
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 yo our Major Funders:
National Endowment for the Arts, California Arts Council, James Irvine Foundation, Nancy Buck Ransom Foundation, Community Foundation for Monterey County, Monterey Peninsula Foundation, Harden Foundation, Echenique Foundation, Chapman Foundation, Driscoll Strawberries, S.T.A.R Foundation. Tanimura Family Foundation, Monterey County Weekly Fund, Arts Council for Monterey Count, Dunspaugh-Dalton Foundation, Carmel Rotary, Pebble Beach Company Foundation, Barnet J. Segal, Puffin Foundation, Richard Macdonald, Hal Eastman, Rosemary Luke, Diana Huang and Ron Chen, Karen and Jay Cook, Catherineand Nick Fanoe, Hal Eastman, Harriett Mittledorf.