Winner of the Isadora Duncan Awards (2017) in the categories of
Outstanding Achievement in Choreography
Outstanding Achievement in Restaging / Revival / Reconstruction
Dance Theatre of San Francisco (DTSF) was established as a 501(c)3 non-profit in 2013. The company existed without an Artistic Director until 2015 when Dexandro Montalvo was hired to fill the position. Montalvo narrowed the artistic vision for the company, his goal to present works from the most innovative and critically acclaimed artists, with himself as lead choreographer. The result was a cohesive collection of work that encompassed some of the best dance the Bay Area has to offer.
After Montalvo’s debut in 2015 audience members and critics alike responded with resounding enthusiasm to DTSF’s new and focused direction; an award winning innovative dance company that focused on creating dance media to be consumed live on stage and on film.
Montalvo’s debut season was nominated for 4 Isadora Duncan Awards and winner of two; Outstanding Achievement in Choreography for Montalvo’s Ballet, Pent and Outstanding Achievement in Restaging/Revival/Reconstruction for Robert Moses’ Toward September.
UNSPOKEN (trailer) -
A dance film in collaboration with RJ Muna. Music by Daniel Berkman
Montalvo’s unique style of choreography blends ballet line and technique with elements of modern dance and the intricacies of hip-hop isolations. With his use of intense music, symbolic floor patterns, and dramatic lifts, Montalvo can transport audiences into other worlds; and his expressive solo and partnering work lets a viewer fully understand each persona he creates. Montalvo is versed in a variety of dance disciplines and has worked in San Francisco for nearly a decade as a dancer, choreographer, and dance educator. According to SF Weekly, “that experience under his belt has done nothing more than create a voice that is very much his own.”
PRESS
“Nothing short of virtuosic” - Huffington Post (2014)
Critical Dance - 2017
"If there’s one thing that stays with you after a performance by Dance Theatre of San Francisco, it’s the company’s extraordinary artistic rigor – rigorous choreographic innovation, rigorous communication and interpretation of that choreography, rigorous technique, rigorous phrase material... DTSF confirms that the buzz in the dance community about their work is spot on. This is a company you need to see. "
- Heather Desaulniers
Photo by Nick Korkos
Photo by RJ Muna
SF Weekley - 2015
"And so does Montalvo, who somehow manages to bring equal parts quirky theatricality and thoughtful structure. In all of its athletic, exaggerated, and technical glory, “Pent” shows exactly what Montalvo excels at: Making movement that is exciting. This is the kind of dance that would make San Francisco proud."
-Laura Jaye Cramer
SF Examiner - 2016
“...the film’s a series of beautiful, moody vignettes, which showcase the dancers’ amazing movement, faces and bodies in changing settings. Sometimes the performers are draped on chairs, sometimes they’re bunched up, sometimes in a chase scene, sometimes against a wall... Close up versus far shots, shifting light, and varied camera angles (most interestingly from above, not used often enough in photographing dance) emphasize how film brings out elements of dance that live performance cannot."
-Leslie Katz
Photo by RJ Muna
Photo by Matt Haber
SF Gate - 2014
"Modern technique is extended and augmented with thrilling results.... Montalvo’s eclectic choreography, and the carefully rehearsed dancers, have acquired a sleek company profile. They simply look professional"