Press
release 2009
31st Annual San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival
For Immediate Release
March 25, 2009
Contact: Nina Sazevich (415) 752-2483; nina@worldartswest.org
31st Annual San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival
Producer World Arts West Returns
with Four All New Weekends of World Dance and Music
June 6 & 7; 13 & 14; 20 & 21; 27 & 28, 2009
SAN FRANCISCO-- From the temples of India to the village squares
of Mexico, the 31st Annual San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival is your first class ticket to an unforgettable journey around the
world. San Francisco’s Palace of Fine Arts comes to vivid
life in a swirl of sublime gesture, exuberant energy, and soul-stirring
rhythms as 37 companies representing dance traditions from more
than 20 cultures and featuring more than 500 of Northern California’s
most acclaimed dancers and musicians take to the stage Saturdays
at 2 & 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. on June 6 & 7; 13 & 14;
20 & 21; 27 & 28, 2009 with a special Gala hosted by the
legendary Rita Moreno on Saturday, June 13 at 6 p.m. Discounted
family matinees are available every Saturday at 2 p.m.
Recently cited as one of the top ten Bay Area dance innovations
by San Francisco Chronicle dance critic Rachel Howard, the Festival is considered the largest and most prestigious gathering of its
kind in the country. Drawing on Northern California’s rich
cultural diversity, the event is an unparalleled showcase of some
of the area’s top dance performers, many accompanied by world-class
musicians. Festival Artistic Directors CK Ladzekpo and Carlos Carvajal,
in consultation with a panel of dance experts, carefully select
participating artists from the more than 100 ensembles and soloists
who audition over four days in January to land a coveted spot in
the June Festival.
The result is a visual feast of world dance, sophisticated and
smoothly produced but full of down home fun that is entirely new
every year. “It is thrilling to be able to see so many beautiful
dancers from so many world cultures on one stage presented seamlessly
thanks to the efforts of our wonderful staff and Artistic Directors,” says
Julie Mushet, Executive Director of World Arts West.
Each of the four weekends features a different line-up of performers
offering audiences an exhilarating introduction to dances from
East and West. On any given weekend, examples of dance styles from
India, Latin America, the African Diaspora, Asia and the Pacific
Islands, Europe and North America can be seen (full line-up follows
this press release). Highlights include the rarely seen, secretive
initiation dance for girls of the Lorma ethnic group in Liberia
presented by Festival veteran Diamano Coura West African Dance
Company; a quartet of Native American dances including a sacred
hoop dance by Four Winds; a dynamic long sword dance by the Northern
California Korean Dance Association; and a Lebanese belly dance
by Samar Nassar that features a stunning rhythmic interchange between
drummer and dancer.
This year’s program also offers thirteen world premieres – the
most in Festival history. Among these are three original commissioned
works. With the support of the San Francisco Foundation, World
Arts West, producer of the Festival, has developed an exciting
program, now in its fourth year, to foster the creation of new
work by important, local artists. This year, audiences can be the
first to see new, commissioned pieces by Murphy Irish Dancers,
Leung’s White Crane Lion and Dragon Dance Association (Chinese)
and Gamelan Sekar Jaya (Balinese). Gamelan Sekar Jaya’s dancers
will be accompanied by a magnificent gamelan jegog, an ensemble
of giant bamboo marimbas so large that the musicians must climb
them to play—one of the few existing outside of Bali.
Also new this year is a special storytelling performance on the
fourth weekend of the Festival that supports this year’s
theme, “Return of the Sun”. Master storyteller Brenda
Wong Aoki, of First Voice, weaves together several dance performances
in the first half of the program using Japanese Noh and Kyogen
dance forms, telling the Japanese folktale of Ameterasu, the Sun
Goddess. Accompanied by musicians led by First Voice musician Mark
Izu, this story highlights how dance and music can bring light
in times of darkness.
On Saturday evening, June 13, the Board of Directors of
World Arts West together with Honorary Gala Chair Rita Moreno
hosts a
special Gala and reception from 6 to 8 p.m. The public is invited
to attend this annual fundraiser featuring food and wine from some
of the Bay Area’s top restaurants, an exciting live and silent
auction, welcoming remarks from Moreno and the evening’s
exhilarating performances. Tickets are $150 each.
This year, World Arts West will present its annual Malonga Casquelourd
Lifetime Achievement Award to Mary Jo Feeney, Artistic Director
of Murphy Irish Dancers, on June 6, the Opening Night of the Festival. Feeney, who has headed up the company since 1963, maintains that
Murphy Irish Dancers is, most importantly, a family tradition.
She herself grew up dancing, first picking up steps from her mother
in the kitchen at age four and further encouraged by Irish nuns
at her grade school. Feeney’s daughter and grandchildren
continue the family tradition, and there are numerous siblings
in the company. Feeney sees the learning and performing of Irish
dance as a way for young people to connect to a rich tradition,
build self-esteem and maintain lasting friendships. Starting out
with 35 members, today the company boasts as many as 175 participants.
Tickets to the San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival are
$22 - $44.
Tickets are available by calling City Box Office at (415) 392-4400;
online at www.cityboxoffice.com or www.tickets.com. A subscription
package for all four weekends of performances is priced from $80
- $158. Target Saturday Family Matinees offer 50% discounts to
children age 16 and under, and group discounts for 20 or more are
also available by calling City Box Office.
The 31st Annual San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival is supported
in part by Grants for the Arts/San Francisco Hotel Tax Fund, The
William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, The San Francisco Foundation,
The Wallace Foundation, the Walter & Elise Haas Fund and Target
Corporation. Media sponsors include: ABC7/KGO-TV, Asian Week, KDTV
Univision, KFSF Telefutura, KLOK 1170 AM, KPFA, KQED Public Broadcasting,
India West, Philippine News, Radio Recuerdo, San Francisco Bay
Guardian, SF Station, World Journal and Yelp.com.
BACKGROUND
World Arts West has been presenting and promoting the dance and
music traditions of the world since 1978, creating opportunities
for individuals and communities to celebrate, share, and sustain
the vitality of ethnic dance. Our work promotes the importance
of cultural heritage for strengthening community and building
cultural understanding. For more information about World Arts
West, visit www.worldartswest.org.
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PHOTOS ARE AVAILABLE BY REQUEST by contacting Nina Sazevich
at (415) 752-2483 or nina@worldartswest.org or
can be downloaded in high resolution JPG format at http://www.worldartswest.org/about/press/photos.html B ROLL VIDEO IS ALSO AVAILABLE BY REQUEST.
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