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2026 · Dance – stage work

Meandering Urbanite

Megan Lowe and Roel Seeber (Megan Lowe Dances)

Meandering Urbanite is a vertical dance duet by Megan Lowe and Roel Seeber, made in an art-making intensive for the 2026 SF Aerial Arts Festival. Ben co-devised the sound during rehearsal week and performed the music live.

Recollections

“It happened real fast: one meeting and three days onsite for a 30 minute score. I got to play my Mason Jar! I thought the whole thing turned out great and it felt like we all trusted each other always. Couldn't have made this with anyone else.”

Ben

“Working with Ben is so much fun! He brings a lot of skillful experimentation to the creative process and is great at hearing what a choreographer is imagining and bringing it to life, while also being self-motivated and contributing plenty of great ideas of his own.

Creating with him goes beyond simply making music for dance—he really immerses himself in the entire creative process. He is generous, respectful, intuitive, and a very clear communicator. He often seems to have already done the thing you needed him to do before you even had a chance to ask!

And it was especially fun getting to sing all together on the parapet. I love working with Ben!”

Megan Lowe, choreographer and performer
Premiere
2026-08-08
Venue
SF Aerial Arts Festival (Zaccho Dance Theatre), Fort Mason Gateway Pavilion
Where
San Francisco
Performances
Four shows: 2026-08-08 at 3pm and 5pm; 2026-08-09 at 2pm and 4pm.
Credits
Choreographers/performers: Megan Lowe, Roel Seeber; music composed and performed live by Ben Juodvalkis (including foley); rigging design: David Freitag; foam blocks sourced from Kristin Damrow & Company's Boundary Layer (2024).

Photographs

Festival poster for the 2026 San Francisco Aerial Arts Festival: Roel Seeber hangs upside down from rigging, holding Megan Lowe by the hands as she stretches out horizontally, against a colorful nebula backdrop. Text reads "San Francisco Aerial Arts Festival, Seventh Biennial, Aug 7 > Aug 9 2026," with Fort Mason Center and Zaccho Dance Theatre logos below.

Austin Forbord

Roel, Megan, and a third performer sit in a row on a high wall ledge, laughing together, legs dangling over the edge.

Jarrel Phillips

Roel, Megan, and Ben sit on a high wall ledge with a fourth person visible at the edge; Ben plays guitar mid-song.

Jarrel Phillips

Two performers extend horizontally from ropes against a plain wall, reaching toward each other, fingertips almost touching.

Jarrel Phillips

A dancer in a red top hangs upside down from a horizontal white beam, dark hair falling, glass windows behind her.

Jarrel Phillips

A dancer hangs from rigging high above the floor, clutching an armful of painted wooden cubes, hair flying.

Jarrel Phillips

A dancer falls backward on a rope harness against a tall white wall; another performer is visible on a mezzanine railing above, with the audience seated below.

Jarrel Phillips

A performer swings out on a rope harness over the crowd, while another performer climbs a lighting truss nearby.

Jarrel Phillips

A performer inside a cardboard car costume, mouth open mid-performance, stands amid scattered painted cubes with a seated audience beyond.

Jarrel Phillips

One performer pushes another riding inside a cardboard car prop across the floor, painted cubes scattered nearby under blue stage lighting.

Jarrel Phillips

A performer wearing a cardboard truck-cab costume rides a skateboard past a seated indoor audience.

Jarrel Phillips

A performer falls backward into a wall of painted cubes in front of a seated indoor audience, arms outstretched, the cardboard car prop visible behind her.

Jarrel Phillips

A performer lies amid toppling painted cubes as another performer reaches in to help, the audience seated close by.

Jarrel Phillips

Ephemera

A hand holding a chrome bicycle-style bulb horn over a dark wood table.

The bulb horn I sampled live in every show

A wide view of a performance at Fort Mason's Gateway Pavilion: Ben on guitar with Megan and Roel seated on a high wall ledge, painted wooden cubes scattered across the floor below, and an audience seated on both levels.

The rooftop scene, from Megan the morning after

A three-panel photo collage of four performers perched on a high wall ledge, singing together, one playing guitar.

A fan's collage, passed on by Megan

Photo by an audience member / Megan Lowe Dances supporter

The 2026 San Francisco Aerial Arts Festival schedule flyer, a three-column grid for Friday to Sunday, August 7–9. Megan Lowe Dances is listed in the Gateway Pavilion's New Site Works on Saturday at 3 and 5pm and Sunday at 2 and 4pm, and in New Experiments on Sunday at 7pm.

Zaccho Dance Theatre

Building the opening beat from household sounds
Roel and a pencil sharpener, from his texts

  • Roel's voicemails, with my rings and beeps added

  • The car-crash sample, reused from an older score of mine

The rooftop scene's script, which we spoke live in the show.

Megan: Hey Roel?

Roel: Hey Megan!

Megan: Thanks for helping me get out of my slump. The view really is amazing up here. What a beautiful mess this city is.

Roel: I knew you would like it.

Megan: Ben! This is what you've been lookin at this whole time?

Ben: Yeah! Isn't it incredible?

Megan: It really is. I want to get another view from over there. Ro, let's meet on the parapet of the rooftop!

Roel: On my way up!

Ben: Hey, did you see that crash the other day?

Megan: Yeah, I was there. It was intense. We're lucky no one was hurt.

Ben: Life can be crazy sometimes.

Megan: Totally. A roller coaster of highs and lows. Grateful to be here with all of you.

Roel: Look at all the people down there! They look like little ants. The lights are twinkling, the breeze is sweet…and the sky is so huge! Wow, the moon is incredible tonight!

Megan: Thanks again for this idea to come here tonight Roel. [Meg and Ro hug, and sit down]

Ben: Alright guys, I'm coming up.

Roel: Yeah Ben! Join us!

Megan: Slow. Careful. Take your time.

Ben: Oh boy…

Roel: You got it Ben! [Celebrate Ben's arrival]

Megan: You made it at the perfect time, because I was thinking it would be nice to sing that song we started learning at Roel's place.

Ben: Yeah, I'm down.

Roel: Great idea! Ben, did you bring your guitar?

Ben: (pats his pockets) No I forgot it!

Spencer: I have a guitar! (Song: "Hard Times Come Again No More", sung as a round) [Celebrate the singing together]

Megan: I love singing with friends.

Roel: Yeah, that was sweet!

Ben: It was fun, but I don't know about these heights. I'm gonna head out. Spencer can you grab this guitar?

Spencer: Sure thing!

Megan: Thanks for joining us up here! Appreciate you both.

Roel: Bye Ben! Bye Spencer! [Breath]

Roel: Ben's a good friend, it's so important to have good people in your life.

Megan: Totally. We are so lucky we could all be together! Making dances with friends, it really my favorite thing.

Roel: Remember that dance we made on the lighthouse?

Megan: I could never forget that. You, me, Dave, on an island in the middle of nowhere.

Roel: And everyone high on drugs except us. It was bananas!

Megan: Can you believe that was the first dance we made together!

Roel: What a wild project, but I'm so glad it brought us together. Now here we are, performing this dance we made in 4 days. What a life!

Megan: Thanks for joining me on this journey Roel. [Roel falls into Megan's arms]

A question I texted Megan and Roel while we were making it.

Ben: Have y'all ever done a three person counterbalance, where person a is balanced to person b who is In turn balanced to person c?

Roel: Haha, hilarious. Nope never done that.

Megan: That would be sooo cool! I'm putting that on the wish list!

Press

“premiere Meandering Urbanite, a vertical dance duet inspired by the wilderness of the urban landscape.”

“Inspired by the wilderness of the urban landscape, we contrast the scramble of modern life with a meditation on the ghosts of the wild land beneath Fort Mason, listening for what still echoes there. Ben Juodvalkis will be joining us with an original live music score.”

Elsewhere

Ben Juodvalkis © 2026