Kathy Mata’s shows redefine the ballet experience

Tyree Leslie is something of a cultural ambassador for local events. When Angela Davis was due to give a talk at GLIDE, Tyree went out to people who hung out near the church and offered them a chance to attend. When an immersive performance, “The Compton’s Cafeteria Riot,” began playing at a venue near the shelter where he was staying, Tyree spread the word about free and discounted community tickets. And after he got his first taste of Kathy Mata Ballet — which I’ll tell you more about in a moment — he started bringing an entourage. 

I’m pleased that the Tenderloin Voice is bringing you another conversation with Tyree, a social justice organizer and activist and former special education teacher, so you too can be part of the circle that gets his local insider knowledge of low-cost cultural events. (Go here to read my first conversation with him.)

Today, we’re talking about Kathy Mata Ballet, a company that performs in an accessible rehearsal space and offers tickets for free. Mata is a veteran choreographer and dance teacher who has managed to keep the price of entry to her classes and shows low or free to put them within reach for people who might not otherwise see live dance performances, which can be expensive. And as Tyree will tell you, the performances themselves are unorthodox in important and norm-defying ways. 

Mata’s next show is coming up on April 19. Please note that the in-person tickets for the performance have sold out, but Mata, a seasoned virtual instructor, offers her show in hybrid format, and online tickets are still available by contacting: kathy [dot] mata [at] yahoo [dot] com. 

This conversation has been edited for clarity and brevity.

Laura: Help our readers understand what the deal is with you and tickets. How did you become this TL culture ambassador? How do you hear about these things?

Tyree: It’s all word of mouth. Everything in the TL is like that. My GLIDE auntie introduced me to Kathy.

Building these relationships with all these people, from the “Compton’s” show to Kathy with the ballet … I’m just bringing my own energy to it, I’m cheering on the arts no matter what.

I was up there staying at the homeless shelter when I first saw the Compton’s play. But living in a shelter or SRO doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy art. You don’t have to sit in your room and be depressed all the time. 

When I first went to the ballet, I was experimenting a bit more with fashion. Wearing a tunic and great glasses. I always wear something that will stand out. I’m becoming the André Leon Talley (a fashion icon and Vogue editor) of the Tenderloin. And I’m a cheerleader, I have a really loud voice so people remember me. Kathy loved my upbeat energy. The first time I came she’s like, “Make sure you come next time, and bring people.” So I started bringing people who live in the community to this ballet. 

I love bringing my entourage. We bringin’ the energy! We’re up there yelling, 

cheering — at the ballet! My entourage, we don’t hold back. We not tryin’ to be bougie. If we go see you, we’re gonna stand up and cheer for you, because you deserve it. And we have the freedom to do that there. 

Writer’s note: If you’ve seen Tyree around the neighborhood you may have noticed that he’s often got these flowy, colorful bands of fabric with him. That’s because he’s big into color guard, which is an artistic team sport where participants perform formation dances with banners, flags, and other props. Tyree used to coach student guards and is hoping to bring color guard, also called winter guard, to the Tenderloin in a low-cost, low-barrier form. 

When I asked him what drew him to a ballet performance, he traced that interest back to color guard.

Tyree: Years ago I did take a group of students to compete at the Winter Guard International Olympics. It’s a big deal. You’re having to haul kids and their equipment around, and get all this music. It’s done in a gym. You gotta change that into a stage. Realizing that I did all that … I do miss it a lot. 

I appreciate dance as a foundation for what we do in color guard. The basis of so much of dance is ballet, which I never had a chance to have my kids do. I just wish not only kids, but people in general, had more exposure to the arts, because it’s important to their lives. 

Laura: Alright, the Compton’s immersive play was one thing. Angela Davis is another. I get the political, activist aspect of those events. But the content of this show isn’t necessarily social or political commentary. What draws you to this?

Tyree: What’s so unique about Kathy’s ballet is that it’s like a recital, it’s not a bougie place. It’s all flat — people with mobility issues can enter. They bring in chairs but she makes sure people in wheelchairs can be there.

It’s really outside the box. It’s not like your average ballet. She has a really wide variety of dancers. People who may not have been considered ballet dancers from the beginning, that started later in life. During the holiday performance, one of the guys wears this tutu. He’s really tall, great ballet dancer. There was a lady one time that was pregnant and dancing. She was up there! Man, it was amazing. They also had this really great dancer, this African American guy, with huge legs, looks like a football player. But he can really lift himself up. He’s amazing. They all are really great dancers. Seeing that spring showcase and seeing that pregnant lady out there — I’d never seen that before. 

That’s what Kathy does, she takes risks. She does things other ballet dancers wouldn't do. Like putting a guy in a tutu or putting up a pregnant ballet dancer. 

Also, you’re up close and personal with these dancers. You can see them, you can almost smell them, their perfume and stuff. So you get to really see up close the beauty of the costumes and just all of that. 

It’s available to people who normally don’t get to come to the ballet. They’re struggling to get funding for the arts, so she tries to put that out there, but it has been free every time for me and she never ever talks about having to pay money to come. 

This ballet, it’s a social statement, in itself.