Ticket are now available through brown paper tickets including Streaming Show Recording (in case you can’t make it in person). Note: We do not advise using brown paper tickets in the future. A quick web search will indicate why.
Latest
Audition Announcement 9/20/26
Register now and I’ll cover your warm up with free entrance to Liz Sexe’s 6pm class.
Jen is building up to share here work in February 2027 at MyArts and has a few more shows to showcase this work prior in November and February. Learn more by hitting the register link.
New Performance Series
Are you ready for the next generation of choreographers and dance experiences? Yes? Then you are ready to be part of the Madison Experimental Dance Incubator, a new quarterly series that bring Madison Wisconsin-based artists together.
What kind of artist? Any. The small salon allows for artist to engage with art and panel discussion afterward.
The first one is on May 3, 2026 at Ballet U in Verona. Check out the new website for more details.
Achievement Unlocked
Thank you to everyone who attended this weekend. We had some much fun and you impressed us with your cheers and applause.
If you missed the show, we are selling streaming recording tickets through the end of September (See below). We should have the recording available shortly.
To buy a streaming ticket, use our Square sales link. This ensures that the proceeds make it to Cat Machines Dance. Unfortunately our previous ticket sales provider has not paid out for the show (Bad, Brown Paper Tickets, bad!). Please encourage Brown Paper Tickets to pay the non-profits that use them to sell tickets as this is often the only means to defray from the costs of creating the show.
Stream the Show Recording!
Whether you are out of town show weekend or still have COVID 19 concerns, we welcome you to see the show from anywhere, anytime. Simply buy a “Streaming Show Recording” via our Square link below using your Google Account-enabled email address (don’t worry if you don’t have it now, you can email us). A week after the show, we’ll send you an email with the YouTube video link. You have a month to watch it as many times as you want.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
AI Technology & Dance Converge in New Work by Cat Machines Dance
Earth: First Encounters Premieres
May 12-13 at Cubberley Theatre, Palo Alto CA
ChatGPT, Dall-E and interactive wearables merge with innovative dance as Cat Machines Dance takes to the stage in Earth: First Encounters.
Premiering in Palo Alto—the epicenter of digital culture and computing—the new works by choreographer and computer engineer Jen Costillo are a playful sci-fi riff on an alien’s one-night visit to Earth.
Artificial intelligence is an integral part of the performance, beginning with a tongue-in-cheek pre-show spotlighting AI’s capabilities as a dance critic and an authority on proper theatergoing etiquette. An intermission video showcases AI-generated images inspired by the show’s theme.
The first piece, “Searching for Home,” features hand-sewn costumes by Costillo and Kyle Chan, which respond to on-stage motion and light. A later piece, “Survival” – originally conceived as a podcast spot – provocatively explores both the desire to control AI and our growing dependence on it.
“I’m excited to combine the dance and technology that I love with the fun of campy science fiction,” said Costillo of Earth: First Encounters. “Working with AI as a collaborator, so to speak, makes it even more interesting.”
As the story unfolds, the alien visitor experiences contemporary life on Earth, encountering everything from war and oppression to quirky robots and social media. Finding our planet far more chaotic than expected, the extraterrestrial ultimately leaves us to our fate.
In support of the local dance community, ticket revenues for Earth: First Encounters will directly benefit Zohar Dance and DanceVisions, two nonprofit dance studios in Palo Alto.
Cat Machines Dance presents Earth: First Encounters
May 12-13, 2023 (Friday & Saturday) at 8:00 p.m.
Cubberley Theatre 4120 Middlefield Rd | Palo Alto, CA 94306
Tickets (Advance/Door): General ($25/ $30), Student/Youth ($20/ $25),
Special General($45/—) general seating.
Purchase online at https://catmachines.brownpapertickets.com/
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Contact: Jen Costillo
press@catmachinesdance.com
650.383.8620
Open Dance Audition
WHO: Calling modern, contemporary, and ballet dancers for a 10-month long project culminating in a performance.
WHEN: Sunday July 31, 2022 6pm-7:30 PST
WHERE: Dance Visions, 4000 Middlefield Rd L-3, Palo Alto, CA 94303
Format: Quick introduction, brief warm up, short phrases and improvisation. Come early to warm up more.
Bring: phone, good attitude and yourself. Fill out this info form when you arrive.
Have questions? Email [questions]@catmachinesdance.com
Call for collaborators is here.