It was a chilly morning in San Francisco, but Rena Butler radiated warmth as she strode through the marble lobby of the War Memorial Opera House dressed in a black tank top, combat-style trousers and black boots. Tall and long limbed, with a long, stately face, Butler still looked every inch the powerful dancer who once commanded the stage performing for New York choreographers Kyle Abraham and Bill T. Jones, even though for the last decade she has spent her days directing others from the front of the studio, as one of the United States’ most in-demand dancemakers.
A Little Thrashy
On this day off from choreographing a massive new production of Wagner’s Parsifal for San Francisco Opera, Butler was relaxed and eager to make connections, her bright green fingernails tracing gestures in the ...
