Photos: 15 Years of Fresh Meat

This year marks the 15th anniversary of San Francisco’s Fresh Meat Festival, a one-of-a-kind celebration of queer and transgender performance art.  Over the years a wide range of singers, actors, poets, clogging, international group acts, dancers (both modern and street), and Cir de Sole style performers have graced the stage.  Founder and artistic director Sean Dorsey (whose latest dance The Missing, honors those lost to the early days of the AIDS epidemic) shares some of the highlights from each year.

The 2016 Fresh Meat Festival runs Thursday-Saturday June 16-18th, 8pm at Z Space, 450 Florida Street, San Francisco. Tickets $15 sliding scale.

(Pictured: 2016 Fresh Meat performers: The Singing Bois, Saturn Rising, and Jocquese Whitfield. Photo by Kegan Marling.)

In 2002, literally no one was putting transgender artists onstage. No one. So I brought a group of artists and activists together for what we thought would be a one-time-only trans and queer performance event. We held two performances at the 200-seat ODC Theater in San Francisco. It was the first event of its kind in the U.S. Well, the shows were standing-room only and the community response was so huge that we decided to transform into an annual festival and a year-round organization. Fresh Meat Productions was born! And here we are 15 years later, celebrating as the nation’s first and only organization creating, presenting and touring year-round transgender arts programs. As a trans person, I am so proud and blessed to be celebrating this milestone.

(Pictured 2002 performers: L-R: Jesse Bie, Tina D’Elia, Shawna Virago, and me (Sean Dorsey). Photo by Elizabeth Gorelik)

Marcus Van (pictured) takes the stage at the 2003 Fresh Meat Festival.  Van is a trailblazing trans hip hop artist who broke new ground for transgender and queer hip hop artists everywhere. Van is celebrated for his generous performance style and powerful poetry/lyrics.

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​ Sean Dorsey (Fresh Meat Artistic Director) and Shawna Virago (Fresh Meat General Manager) are partners in more than just Fresh Meat. These two trans artist-activists are partners in love and life as well. In 2003, Sean and Shawna celebrated their one year anniversary at the first Fresh Meat Festival. In 2016, as Fresh Meat Productions celebrates its 15th Anniversary, so do Sean and Shawna.

Photo by Lydia Daniller

Julia Serano (pictured) makes waves as a powerful trans-feminist performing her famous poem about “My Penis” at the 2004 Fresh Meat Festival. Serano has since become an acclaimed academic and writer of books like Whipping Girl and Excluded: Making Feminist and Queer Movements More Inclusive.

 Photo by Reverend Michel.

Nafis White, Sean Dorsey, Johnnie Pratt and Shawna Virago (pictured L-R) also performed.

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Nejla Baguio and Taiko Ren (pictured) perform for a packed house at the 2005 Fresh Meat Festival. The Festival is already bursting at the seams — even after expanding the number of shows to 4 and adding a late 10pm show on Saturday night — every show every year since has been completely sold to capacity. 

Photo By Lydia Daniller

To celebrate the Fresh Meat Festival’s 5th Anniversary, Dorsey invites trans-pioneer Kate Bornstein to create a new ‘memoir’ piece, which Bornstein premieres at the Festival. 

 Photo by Lydia Daniller

New York-based theater artist-activist Imani Henry (pictured) brings his one-man theatrical performance, B4T (Before Testosterone), to San Francisco. 

 Photo by Lydia Daniller

Fresh Meat Productions makes history by launching the nation’s first commissioning program supporting the creation of new works by LGBT Master artists working in folkloric traditions (many other presenters and theaters later followed our lead)! The Festival commissions artists working in hula, Afro-Colombian folkloric dance, Appalachian clogging, taiko, and more over the years. Award-winning traditional/contemporary hula ensemble Na Lei Hulu I Ka Wekiu (pictured) makes their Fresh Meat debut and has audiences on their feet. 

Na Lei Hulu I Ka Wekiu also returns to celebrate our 15th anniversary this year.
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Fresh Meat takes to the air with breathtaking aerial dance artist Miguel Chernus-Goldstein at the 2008 Fresh Meat Festival.

Photo by Lydia Daniller

Colombian Soul brings gorgeous Afro-Colombian folkloric dance to the Fresh Meat stage.

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Outstanding trans artist D’Lo makes 2008 Fresh Meat Festival audiences laugh, stomp our feet; and then moves us to tears.

Photo by Lydia Daniller

Award-winning same-sex ballroom champions Zoe Balfour and Citabria Phillips stun audiences with their grace and style.

Photo by Lydia Daniller

The popular Barbary Coast Cloggers (the world’s first all-gay-male Appalachian traditional clogging ensemble) bring the house down! 

 Photoby Rj Muna

It’s the Fresh Meat Festival’s Tenth Annversary! We celebrate with a bang with the Bay Area debut of Vogue Evolution of MTV’s America’s Best Dance Crew fame. 

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The Gay Asian and Pacific Islander Men’s Chorus moves our audiences deeply with their set of both traditional and contemporary songs.

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New Mexico’s Cohdi Harrell defies gravity and leaves audiences breathless with his trapeze performance.

Photo by Kegan Marling

San Francisco’s own folk-heartthrob StormMiguel Florez woos 2012 Fresh Meat Festival audiences with his soul-stirring singing-songwriting.

Florez is also performing this year to celebrate Fresh Meat's 15 years.

Photo By Sarah Deragon

The world’s first all-female bomba ensemble, Las Bomberas de la Bahia wow 2013 Fresh Meat Festival audiences with their exquisite bomba music and dance. Changing the face of dance and disability, AXIS Dance Company also make their Fresh Meat debut with an extraordinary duet that also made waves on So You Think You Can Dance. Fresh Meat Productions makes history as becoming the first transgender organization to be awarded support by the National Endowment for the Arts!

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Maikaze Daiko performs with very special guests RayRay Ebora and Kristy Oshiro and have our audiences screaming for more!

By Kegan Marling

Shawna Virago rocks the house with songs from her Objectified album.

Photo By Lydia Daniller

Ernesto Palma and Robbie Tristan are world same-sex ballroom champions; and Fresh Meat audience favorites.

Photo By Kegan Marling

Our Fresh Meat performers for the 15th anniversary celebration include Jahaira Fajardo and Angelica Medina, who are queer bachata dancers; and world champions carving out new space for queer bachata and ballroom dancers. 

Photo By Lydia Daniller

The Fresh Meat Festival is as celebrated for its after-parties as it is for its world-class artists! There are DJs, go-go dancers, drinks, and dancing; plus pictures from the popular annual Fresh Meat photo booth.