Alluring Fierce-ASL Dance Class: Fresh Meat Festival 2025 Community Class

ABOUT THE DANCE WORKSHOP

A bold new dance experience where your body signs, your spirit shines, and your truth takes center stage. This workshop is fierce, flirtatious, and full of fire. Whether you’re rocking long shorts, too-short shorts, imaginary heels, no heels—however you show up, show up ready to express.

Because this class celebrates freedom of movement, identity, and desire through the rich, visual poetry of American Sign Language fused with dance. You’ll learn hot, expressive ASL vocabulary and bring it to life through fierce choreography that welcomes every body and every soul.

Think: Beyoncé through your hands, hips, and heart.

Taught by award-winning Deaf dancer Antoine Hunter (Purple Fire Crow) and assisted by Zahna Simon, this class invites Deaf, hearing, gay, trans, drag, straight, all shape and every fabulous identity into a space that’s never existed quite like this.

No experience needed. Just bring your boldest self.
Because here, your movement speaks. And it’s glorious.

ABOUT ANTOINE HUNTER

Oakland native, Antoine Hunter aka PurpleFireCrow is an award-winning internationally known African-American, Indigenous, Deaf, Disabled, choreographer, dancer, actor, instructor, speaker, producer and Deaf advocate. PurpleFireCrow creates opportunities for Disabled, Deaf and hearing artists, produces Deaf-friendly events, and founded the Urban Jazz Dance Company in 2007 and Bay Area International Deaf Dance Festival in 2013. Awards include the 2024 Rainin Fellowship, 2023 Dance Magazine Award, 2022 Disability Futures Fellowship, 2021 Dance Teacher Award, 2019 Disability Changemaker, 2019 National Dance/USA fellowship recognized by the Mayor of Oakland, 2018 inaugural Jeanette Lomujo Bremond Humanity Arts Award and 2017 Isadora Duncan (Izzie) for BAIDDF.

Hunter’s work has been performed globally and has lectured across the U.S. including at Kennedy Center’s VSA, Harvard and Duke University, and the National Assembly of State Arts as an ambassador for social change. Hunter utilizes their company’s artistic talents to engage with audiences, empower Deaf and disabled communities, and advocate for human rights and access, working to end discrimination and prejudice.

Hunter curated 2021 Bay Area Deaf Arts at SOMArts, is a 2021 YBCA 100 honoree, is on the production team of Signing Animation actively working on inclusive films and serves on the boards of Dance/USA, BABDA, Museum of Dance and councils for CalArts Alumnx and Intrinsic Arts. In response to Covid-19 in July 2020, Hunter founded #DeafWoke, an online talk show that amplifies BIPOC Deaf and Disabled stories as a force for cultural change. Www.realurbanjazzdance.com

VENUE ACCESSIBILITY

• Joe Goode Annex entrance, lobby, bathrooms and studio space are wheelchair accessible.
• Joe Goode Annex bathrooms are all-gender.
• This workshop will feature ASL Interpretation: please let us know when you’re coming (email melissa@freshmeatproductions.org)
• KN95 masks will be provided and required for this event.
• Participants are required to be KN95 masked for the entirety of their time inside the building. Our staff will provide KN95 masks to everyone before they enter the building (unless someone’s disability, chronic illness or health condition means they cannot wear a mask).
• By attending the Fresh Meat Festival class, you agree to the following: 1) You do not have any signs of contagious illness (COVID or otherwise), including pink eye, that aren’t fully explained by a non-contagious health condition that you have; and 2) If you have had COVID, it’s been at least 10 days since your first symptoms or positive test if you were asymptomatic.

Be sure to check out our other workshop and performance offerings as part of the 2025 FFRESH MEAT FESTIVAL of trans and queer performance!