Dates

Workshop: Poetics of action

Shinichi & Cass

Feb 14, 2026 - 11am-1pm

$30 - $60

This workshop in improvisation is based in the radical theatre and movement innovations of Ruth Zaporah. We ignite our awakened physical body to express heightened experiences of imagination (with depth, precision, and delight). We work intimately with physicality, sound, and language. Deep play structures expand awareness, our dreamtime, our openness, our ability to move with the unknown. We explore solo and ensemble scores that reveal relationships between being and action, form and feeling, power and humor.

Bios

Cass Tunick is a performer, teacher, dancer, and writer. A Senior Teacher of Ruth Zaporah's Action Theater Improvisation, she performs solo and collaborative improvisations and creates original physical theater work, primarily presenting in New York, Boston, and Estonia.  She has devoted herself to the practice and development of improvisation for the last 40 years, alongside the embodied structures of Qi Gong, dance, and poetry. Cass first worked with InkBoat in the late 90's and since then she and Shinichi have performed duets in venues across the globe. She holds an MFA in Poetics, has published several chapbooks and has a new manuscript coming out in 2027. 

Shinichi Iova-Koga serves as the Artistic Director of the dance theater company inkBoat, founded by Iova-Koga in 1998.  He has toured North America, Europe, South Korea and Japan, often collaborating with local artists in museums, theaters, studios and site-specific locations. 

As a performer, Iova-Koga’s long history with Butoh lurks within his presence, while his years of commitment to the art of improvisation unearth actions not beholden to a particular tradition. A lifetime in the martial arts and his deep investigation into the Daoist internal arts deeply inform his concepts of body, energy and motion. Iova-Koga is  the editor of the book “95 Rituals,” a tribute to Anna Halprin, and a contributing writer to “The Routledge Companion to Butoh Performance.” He is featured in the book “Butoh America.” He works primarily in San Francisco, New York and Luzern, Switzerland.

Shahzad Ismaily is an American multi-instrumentalist, known mainly as a bass guitar player, and record producer. He is a member of Marc Ribot's trio Ceramic Dog since its formation in 2006. He also plays with Secret Chiefs 3 and Cosa Brava. He is featured in the 2021 Bob Dylan concert film Shadow Kingdom: The Early Songs of Bob Dylan. His 2023 album Love in Exile, made in collaboration with Arooj Aftab and Vijay Iyer, was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Alternative Jazz Album.[5] He also contributed to Aftab's albums Vulture Prince and Night Reign, released in 2021 and 2024 respectively.

RAWdance is an award-winning, bicoastal, contemporary dance company that transforms theaters and public spaces through a mix of performance, collaboration, production, and film. Since its founding in 2004, the company has been led by Co-Artistic Directors Ryan T. Smith and Wendy Rein, who have been described by Fjord Review as “dance partners with a wonderfully extroverted impulse to weave dance into civic and social life.” Working in both San Francisco and in New York’s Hudson Valley, the company’s activities include both the creation and performance of original work as well as community-focused programming, production, a fellowship program, and teaching.

SF Chronicle has described RAWdance as ”witty, whip-smart, and beautiful to watch.” Critical Dance called it a “rare treasure” that “combines choreographic excellence, innovative structures, groundbreaking concepts and impeccable performances.” RAWdance held the title of “Best Dance Company” in the SF Bay Guardian/48 Hills “Best of the Bay” from 2019 through 2024. In 2025, RAWdance was honored with a Sustained Achievement “Izzie” (Isadora Duncan Dance Award) for outstanding and sustained performance.

A Home Company of San Francisco’s ODC Theater, RAWdance’s innovative, original works for the stage have been presented across the U.S. and in Asia by The Joyce Theater, Jacob’s Pillow, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, 62’ Center for Theatre and Dance, Dance St. Louis, Redflag Theater (China), Singapore Fringe Festival, and more. Site specific and alternative works have been presented by Art Omi, the Clark Institute, ACLU of Northern California, Yerba Buena Gardens Festival, and others. The company’s short dance films have been screened in festivals on four continents. Development of the company’s artistic process has been supported by national residencies at institutions such as Djerassi, Marble House Project, National Center for Choreography in Akron, and Ucross, as well as local spaces such as Zaccho Dance Theatre, 836M Gallery, DZINE, and CounterPulse.

RAWdance prioritizes nontraditional venues as well as the theater, placing dance in the public sphere to bring different communities together and weave dance into everyday life. The company has created free, accessible, performances for parks, libraries, restaurants, civic spaces, galleries, retail storefronts, the top of San Francisco’s Salesforce Tower, and more.

In addition to creating and performing original work, RAWdance focuses many of its resources on producing platforms for the dance community, including the ever popular CONCEPT series salon (ongoing) and its curation of Yerba Buena Gardens ChoreoFest (2017-2022). In 2021, RAWdance launched its Radiate Fellowship program. RAWdance’s Co-Directors have been commissioned to teach and set work in schools across the country, as well as professional companies including MADCO, Ziru Dance, and Sacramento Opera.

About the Artists