SF’s 2012 Fresh Meat Festival celebrates 10 years of transgender and queer performance art.
Ever wonder what an all-transgender and queer “America’s Got Talent” would look like? They may not have Howie, Howard and Sharon, but San Francisco’s 2012 Fresh Meat Festival will showcase flavor-filled performances from transgender and queer superstars from across the nation.
After ten years of sold-out shows, the Fresh Meat Fest is moving to an even bigger locale: San Francisco’s art deco Brava Theater. And you won’t want to miss this year’s star-studded celebration: The 2012 Fresh Meat Festival, which runs three evening shows from June 15-17, 2012 and welcomes unique talent from all over America, has every performer bringing their own flavor of entertainment.
This year, headliners will include singer Emily Vasquez (“The Glee Project,” “American Idol”), Dashaun Williams and ‘Prince’ Jor-el Rios from Vogue Evolution (MTV’s “America’s Best Dance Crew”), LA’s drag queen sensation Miss Barbie-Q, and San Francisco’s Taiko Ren, an all-female taiko company. Also on the playbill: U.S. same-sex ballroom champions Willem DeVries and Kumu Keali’i, as well as the dance company Sean Dorsey Dance, which “SF Weekly” called the best dance troupe in the city. Other performers include trapeze artist Cohdi Harrell, comedian Natasha Muse, Trans-Americana’s StormMiguel Florez and roots rock musician Shawna Virago. With so many stars performing across three entertainment-filled nights, there is something for everyone.
The founder of Sean Dorset Dance and the Fresh Meat Festival’s Artistic Director, Sean Dorsey, knows “fresh” talent when he sees it. For 2012, Dorsey has found “best of the fresh” in transgender and queer performance: “We are bringing our audiences the very best of the best – from the East Coast, the West Coast and the high desert. This lineup is absolutely stunning and will literally take our audiences’ breath away! The Fresh Meat Festival is going to be THE place to be this June. A huge move to an historic theater, a star-studded lineup of world-class artists, DJs, parties…We are celebrating First Class all the way!” Dorsey adds that “everyone is welcome! Our audiences are the most amazing mix of people from every community and every walk of life.”
Miss Barbie-Q, who has announced a secret surprise for this year’s event, is also excited about her virginal debut: “I am thrilled to be popping my Fresh Meat Festival cherry this year! This Festival is well-known across the US as being the very best of the best – and a GREAT party. And I am busy preparing a very special treat for Fresh Meat audiences this year.”
Whether it’s trapeze acts, comedy routines, showstopping singing or world-renowned dance performances, the Fresh Meat Festival—the only one of its kind in America—features the best transgender and queer performance art in the nation, and for a price that is less than you would pay for a single act. At this year’s bigger-than-ever show, you’re sure to get your fill.
Advanced tickets for the show are highly recommended. For ticket sales head to brownpapertickets.com.