Chrysalis 2021
In July 2021, Julia Adam Dance (JAD) emerged from the long hush of the pandemic with Chrysalis, the seventh installment in its renowned series of site-specific, immersive performance experiences. Held once again at Tara Firma Farms in Petaluma, California, Chrysalis offered audiences an evening steeped in transformation, resilience, and reconnection.
COVID safety was a central part of the evening’s design. Mindful of lingering public health concerns, JAD implemented thoughtful protocols to ensure guests could gather comfortably and confidently. The open-air setting allowed for ample distancing, and all dining and performance activities took place outdoors. Food service was carefully managed by a professional team, and guests were encouraged to respect personal space and mask-wearing. The experience was both intimate and expansive—an invitation to reconnect without compromising care.
Guests made their way to the hilltop venue—by foot or by tractor—where a 100-foot-long communal table stretched beneath the open sky. Each evening began with a family-style feast prepared by a stellar culinary team led by chefs Matt Roberts (formerly of the iconic Jardinière in San Francisco) and Matt Elias (formerly of Saltwater Oyster Depot in Inverness and Dillon Beach Coastal Kitchen). The meal featured locally sourced ingredients from Green String Farm, FEED Sonoma, True Grass Farms, Holistic Ag, and Tara Firma Farms—celebrating the regenerative abundance of the land and grounding the gathering in nourishment and community.
As the sun set and the air cooled, guests sipped warm cups of sipping chocolate and bone broth before gathering at the open-air stage. There, Chrysalis unfolded. Julia Adam’s choreography—always rich in narrative and emotional resonance—was brought to life by her ensemble of dancers. This work explored themes of metamorphosis and emergence, mirroring the collective shedding and renewal the world was experiencing. It was a moment suspended in time: a reminder of what it means to shift, survive, and begin again.
With Chrysalis, Julia Adam Dance reaffirmed its mission to create performance as ritual—art rooted in the land, the body, and the bond between them. It was not just a return to dance, but a return to each other.
