projectLIMB was co-Founded in 2004 by Gabriel Forestieri in San Francisco with a mission of creating dance that reveals the underlying relationships with the world - which are everywhere but often overlooked. This focus constantly led Gabriel into the world, out of the studio and theater and helped him develop the practice of Worlding - defined as “fully inhabiting body and space while continuously refreshing all relationships without naming any aspect of experience as a means to share identity.” A bulk of projectLIMB’s early work took place in parks, streets, sidewalks, beaches, lakes, forests, rooftops, hallways, subway stations, underpasses, rivers, or trails. These accessible public spaces allowed the practice of Worlding to travel the globe as Gabriel created site-specific pieces in 12 countries and 25 cities. While Gabriel is the artistic director of projectLIMB, the organization has shared its vision with countless humans around the world and continues to seek connection through movement.

In 2011, after experiencing the Dolphin Dance Project, the idea of Underwater Dance seeded itself deeply in projectLIMB. A new practice emerged for Gabriel, which took Worlding and added freediving. His passion for freediving lead him to become a certified AIDA freediving instructor in 2017. Since 2014, projectLIMB has created many water specific films, live performances, and Breathe, a multidisciplinary water opera. All of these creations have contributed to the development of the unique art form of Underwater Dance, projectLIMB’s current artistic focus.

In one of projectLIMB’s most challenging adventures to date, Gabriel and his partner, Meredith, have purchased and restored an old farmhouse nestled in the sun-drenched hills of Sicily. As they integrate into their Sicilian community and grow their family, Gabriel and Meredith continue to slowly cultivate their dreams for projectLIMB to open an artist space known as the Estuary. Please join projectLIMB’s email list if you’d like to stay up to date with current events and offerings by projectLIMB.

Sign up with your email address to receive news and updates.

 

  • artistic director/choreographer/aida instructor

    As the Choreographer/Director of projectLIMB, Gabriel Forestieri is intent on connecting communities with their landscape, resources, and each other. projectLIMB has created outdoor public works in Buenos Aires, Dublin, Finland, Brussels, Madrid, Rio de Janeiro, Barcelona, Ibiza, Salt Lake City, Montreal, Seattle, Miami, Hawaii, Pittsburgh, Massachusetts, Dallas, Washington D.C., Paris, Rome, San Francisco, Thailand, and New York City. Gabriel has taught dance at Middlebury College, Lawrence University, the Juilliard School, Rutgers University, New York University, Marymount Manhattan University, 100 Grand, Movement Research, Carnegie Mellon University, Hollins University, Joffrey Ballet School and at Movement Invention Project. Internationally he has taught at dance festivals in Argentina, Sweden, Canada, Brazil, Italy, Spain and Germany. Gabriel is an alumni of the MFA (2006) dance program at NYU and was nominated for a total of four Isadora Duncan awards (San Francisco’s highest dance achievement) in 2004 and 2005. He has had the pleasure of working with choreographers: Punchdrunk, Daria Fain, Wili Dorner, Foofwa D’immobliite, Davis Freeman, Risa Jaroslaw, Keith Thompson, Tomi Pasoneen, Scott Wells, and Erika Shuch. He was a founding company member in 2011 of the NYC mounting of Sleep No More, the Off Broadway sensation.

  • co-director/dancer/dance educator

    Meredith has explored her world through the medium of dance since the age of 3. She grew up in a small town in Southwest Georgia and then relocated to Maine for four years for her collegiate studies. It was during this time Meredith discovered the playful and healing qualities of somatic movement and redirected her studies to primarily focus on Dance.

    Meredith joins projectLIMB after 10 years in Seattle as a professional dancer, dance educator, and studio manager. She worked with many Pacific Northwest choreographers while anchored as a performer and manager in a Seattle based international dance company. She has toured and taught throughout the US and also in India, Brazil, Mexico, Canada, Lithuania, and Romania. Meredith’s focus as a movement educator centers on Modern dance technique for individuals of all ages.

    Freediving/underwater dance is a new skill for Meredith and is a perfect balance for her tenacious mindset and journey in somatic self-reflection. The water is a steady partner revealing her mental and physical ability to be present - which shifts just as regularly as the sea. She received a BFA from Bates College (Lewiston, ME), is AIDA 2 certified, and is trained in Brain-Compatible Dance Education. In addition to teaching private dance instruction, Meredith assists as Safety during filming + workshops with Gabriel.

Underwater image of Meredith self-captured in Sicily

Post lockdown pizza joy captured by Gabriel and Meredith

Underwater image of Gabriel with sheet self-captured in Sicily