Push Dance Company and Union Square Live Present World Premiere May 25, 2012

Friday, May 25, 2012 at 8 p.m.or at sundown; Saturday, May 26, 2012 at 8 p.m.or at sundown; Sunday, May 27, 2012 at 8 p.m. or sundown and Monday, May 28, 2012 at 8 p.m. or sundown

Push Dance Company and Union Square Live present the world premiere of choreographer/director Raissa Simpson's "Bitter Melon" in four performances May 25-28, 2012 at the historic Dewey Monument in Union Square, downtown San Francisco. Steeped in the cultural histories of San Francisco's African American and Filipino communities, the site-specific performances will take place throughout the square's central plaza with large scale projection onto the monument itself, intermingling performers and public.

The free performances will be given Friday, May 25, at 8 pm or at sundown; Saturday, May 26, at 8 pm or at sundown; Sunday, May 27, at 8 pm or at sundown; and Memorial Day, Monday, May 28, at 8 pm or at sundown. Union Square Park is bordered by Geary, Powell, Post and Stockton Streets in San Francisco. For more information about "Bitter Melon," visit www.pushdance.org or www.deweylive.net.

The site-specific work features choreography and direction by Raissa Simpson, and 3D video projection by Ben Wood and his collaborator David Mark. Performed by Push dancers, the collaborative piece highlights interactions with vibrant video and sound. Uncovering the hidden realities of the parallels in the African American and Filipino cultures, this new performance cracks open questions to the contradictions of life: national and cultural identity, natural disaster and war - the power of loss and redemption.

Official Website: http://www.pushdance.org