The Straw Dogs, aka Manuelito Biag, Kara Davis, Tristan Ching Hartmann, Nol Simonse and Victor Talledos, are a group of friends bound by decades of making dance in the Bay Area. Their work is as diverse as their personalities—sweeping, intricate, expressive, joyful, humorous, sharp. They are particularly drawn to non-conventional performance spaces as a way of inviting audiences to view art—and the life portrayed within it—in a way that feels both fresh and familiar. Their most recent work “The Stories of the People Next to Us” was nominated for an Izzie for Outstanding Choreography/Direction.

Photos: Austin Forbord