Kathleen Hermesdorf (January 31, 1967–November 29, 2020) was a dancer, teacher, choreographer, improviser, producer, and curator, born in Wisconsin, USA, and a long-time resident of San Francisco.
From 1998 to 2020, Kathleen co-directed, with musician Albert Mathias, the dance companies ALTERNATIVA and MOTIONLAB,[1] having already worked in a collaborative artistic partnership together since 1995 after meeting as members of Sara Shelton Mann's performance co-op Contraband.
Based in San Francisco since 1991, Hermesdorf performed and taught across the United States and around the world, including in Mexico, Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, Ireland, Czech Republic, Hong Kong, France, and Senegal.
She was widely recognized as a powerful improviser in performance, prompting the Seattle Times to write: “In Hermesdorf’s hands, ordinary movement is distorted into a kind of prowess.
Besides her ongoing classes in the Bay Area, Kathleen and ALTERNATIVA toured widely, including recurring contributions to both Ponderosa (Berlin and Stolzenhagen, Germany) and Bates Dance Festival (Maine, USA).