Dance is in every fiber of Megan Lowe’s body. Having started dancing when she was three years old, she now has a career as a professional dancer, choreographer, performer, singer-songwriter, filmmaker, and teacher of Chinese and Irish descent.
With an affinity for dynamic places and partners, her creations through Megan Lowe Dances tackle unusual physical situations and invent solutions to open up the imagination to what’s possible. “My artistic process thrives off of collaboration,” she says, “prioritizing creating relationships of respect, generosity, inspiration, gratitude, trust, and whole-hearted support.”
Amidst a rise in anti-Asian violence and discrimination, Lowe recently shifted her attention to sharing free and accessible outdoor public art in solidarity with API communities. In 2021 she created the dance film Maw Jaw in partnership with Asian Pacific Islander Cultural Center, which was presented as a free outdoor event as part of the 24th annual United States of Asian America Festival.
The rehearsals activated structures in public spaces around San Francisco’s Chinatown. Lowe invited community members, many of whom were elders, to be part of the creative process. “The work fostered intergenerational connections,” she recalls, “and these connections used dance as a tool to engage with the environment.”
Lowe’s dance process is ultimately couched in curiosity and self-discovery. Her practice urges students and collaborators to discover themselves, the people around them and intersections with the world of human experiences.
