30th Anniversary San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival Performers

Weekend One - (June 7, 2pm & 8pm and June 8, 2pm)
Weekend Two - (June 14, 2pm & 8pm and June 15, 2pm)
Weekend Three - (June 21, 2pm & 8pm and June 22, 2pm)
Weekend Four - (June 28, 2pm & 8pm and June 29, 2pm)

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WEEKEND ONE: June 7 & 8

CPAA Arts Center

Chinese
The stage is awash in a sea of red silk banners and whirling handkerchiefs as the children of the Dongbei region celebrate the New Year and hopes for good luck, bountiful harvest, achievement, harmony and peace. Guest musicians from Beijing accompany this piece.

Raices de Mi Tierra

Mexican
Five marimba masters provide accompaniment to dances from the region of Mexico's Chiapas, including a beautiful coming of age celebration waltz; the flirtatious courting dance of the Alcaravan Stone Curlew bird; and Zapateados - a high energy dance featuring fancy footwork and the exchange of poetry.

Miriam Peretz

Tajik
This Shodiona, or Tajik dance of happiness, is a signature piece throughout Central Asia and features a playful and athletic interplay between the soloist and the esteemed accompanying doira hand drum players, Salokhiddin Fakhriev and Abbos Kosimov.

Charya Burt Cambodian Dance Company with Khmer Arts Academy

Cambodian Classical Dance
One of the most traditional and well-known pieces in the classical Khmer repertory, the Robam Apsara describes the life of ce lestial beings as they dance in a beautiful garden, carrying golden flowers of happiness and well-being. In honor of the Festival's 30th Anniversary, the piece will feature live accompaniment by a visiting Cambodian pin peat ensemble from the Khmer Arts Academy.

Nā Lei Hulu I Ka Wēkiu

Hawaiian
World Premiere
Inspired by Hawaiian scholar Lucia Tarallo Jensen's Maui Dialogues, this World Premiere addresses ancient Hawaiian celestial navigation and portrays the Polynesian god Maui in four of the twelve challenges he encounters, including ensnaring and slowing the sun so that the bark cloth may dry.

Abhinaya Dance Company of San Jose

Indian, Bharatanatyam
World Premiere
Shakti, the Goddess of Power, is depicted in this South Indian style Bharatanatyam piece, as the female dancers capture each of the various disciplines the goddess utilizes to vanquish both internal and external evil forces. Accompanied by guest musicians from India.

OngDance Company

Korean
World Premiere
In a unique combination of Eastern and Western poetics, the sounds of small tin bells awaken ancient souls to hear prayers for good fortune and receive gifts of coins for the afterworld before being led back on a road that soars to heaven, in this three-part Shamanistic Korean dance for the Souls of the Lost. Accompanied by guest musicians from Korea.

Theatre Flamenco

Spain
Through deep songs - Cante Jondo - the dancers and musicians in Al Compas del Tiempo explore the contradictory demands of modern life, from a frantic rush to the serene nature of contemplation.

Las Que Son Son

Afro-Cuban
Opening with a rezo, or prayer, to ritually clean both the space and hearts, this Cuban-Haitian piece evolves from a single dancer's call for a Holy Week procession to the festivity of a communal celebration, replete with lively song, flag throwing, and cartwheels, alternating from scenes of street revelry to exciting dance competition. The performance features guest Cuban drummers and the masterful Michael Spiro.

WEEKEND TWO: June 14 & 15

Dunsmuir Scottish Dancers

Scottish
In a blend of traditional Scottish highland and island styles, this performance of live song and dance features the Beltane - a ceremony and celebration associated with the Celtic god of fire, Belenus, and offering hopes for a good growing season, future harvests and health.

Sindhu Ravuri

Indian, Kuchipudi
Performing a dance that received a recent standing ovation from the President and the Prime Minister of India, a young soloist depicts a sculpture that comes to life to music specially composed by Bharat Ratna Pandit Ravi Shankar and featuring Kuchipudi gurus Raja and Radha Reddy from Andhra Pradesh, the birth place of Kuchipudi style of Indian classical dance.

La Fibi Flamenco Dance Company

Spanish Flamenco
Inspired by the rhythms of Latin American and Caribbean folk music, and mixing happiness with a touch of melancholy, this 'Colombianas' tells the story of a woman both pining for her lover at sea, and questioning his love and fidelity for her.

De Rompe y Raja Cultural Association

Afro-Peruvian
World Premiere
Danced to the sound of the cajón and vocals, this Zapateo was created specially for the 30th Anniversary Festival and features complex drumming and footwork honoring the great Masters of the Afro-Peruvian arts.

Imani's Dream

Hip Hop
World Premiere
A mixture of hip-hop and modern dance, Our Story addresses the narratives of an inner city neighborhood rife with tragedies and difficulties, offering a portal to this world as well as a hopeful solution.

Chinese Performing Artists of America

Chinese
As the Chinese Dragon is the symbol of Chinese culture, the Golden Turtle Prime Minister, Prawn Warriors, Princess Gold Fish, and Seaweed Fairies all display their talents for the Dragon King, the supreme ruler of all waters, in his Crystal Palace beneath the ocean. Accompanied by guest musicians from China.

Shabnam

Belly dance
World Premiere
Feathers, fusion, flair and femininity. Inspired by the Demoiselle Crane, this soloist brings extreme athleticism to Middle Eastern dance, combining westernized staging with modern belly dance to tell the story of a bird's migration through the Middle East.

Northern California Korean Dance Association

Korean
World Premiere
Gummu - originating from Korea's ancient Shinra period - offers a beautiful dance of peaceful and graceful movements as it pays homage to a young boy called to dance for an enemy king and heroically slaying him before meeting his own death. Accompanied by guest musicians from Korea.

Ensambles Ballet Folklórico de San Francisco

Mexican
World Premiere
'Las Cortes Mayas' brings to life images seen on the temple walls of Yucatan's Chiapas, including the welcome of the Mayan King, his selection of a Queen, and their nuptial celebration.

WEEKEND THREE: June 21 & 22

 

Eszterlánc Hungarian Folk Ensemble

Hungarian
World Premiere
Three generations take the stage for The Last Dance at Dawn, showcasing the Kalotaszeg region tradition marking the close of several days of special celebration, when remaining revelers sing their final song and youth impress with their last energetic dances before the dawn arrives and sleep takes over.

Vishwa Shanthi Dance Academy

Indian, Bharatanatyam
World Premiere
In a moving Bharatanatyam piece accompanied by live music, beautiful Queen Shantala Devi's devotion and passion for dance magically gives life to sculptures in an abandoned temple and completes it when her own image joins them for eternity.

Murphy Irish Dancers

Irish and Celtic
The rolling valleys, rivers and bridges of Ireland are depicted through music and dance with the traditional reel, Ceili and jig steps, culminating in a powerful performance to the Lord of the Dance and a grand communal finale.

Ballet Folklórico Mexicano de Carlos Moreno

Mexican
The sound of the accordion underscores the Calabaceados - dances from the North of Baja California - as dancers mimic the movements of local animals and compete to see whose intensity will 'kick up the most dust'.

LIKHA Pilipino Folk Ensemble

Pilipino
World Premiere
Dried palm leaves and bamboo poles appear in SEMBA, a dance accompanied by live music to appease the spirits of nature as the nomadic Batak tribe perform rituals to ward off evil and seek blessings for hunting, planting, harvesting, and life. Featuring guest artists from the island of Palawan.

Niharika Mohanty

Indian, Odissi
A Hindu prayer majestically describes the elephant-headed Lord Ganesh, worshipped for wisdom and the removal of obstacles, in this traditional, fluid and haunting Odissi piece, accompanied by Indian musicians and Guru Ratikant Mohapatra, son of legendary Odissi Master late Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra.

Bolivia Corazón de América

Bolivia
World Premiere
Heels tap and skirts fly in two traditional dances: Salaque, a magnificent harvest dance; and Tinku, where two communities compete for their survival, vying to gain favor for abundance and fertility from Pachamama, the mother land.

China Dance School and Theatre

Chinese
Inspired by the Hua Dan character in Sichuan Opera, a group of energetic young girls show off their colorful garments and a variety of coy and proud guises in a game of show and chase, inviting the audience into their playful, cheery world.

Ballet Lisanga II West African Performing Arts Company

West African
The Baga Nimba, or D'mba, is depicted in this Senegalese dance, representing an ideal of the female role in society - a vision of woman at the zenith of her power, beauty, fertility and presence. Visiting Senegalese master artists join local musicians for breathtaking percussion accompaniment.

WEEKEND FOUR: June 28 & 29

Chhandam Youth Dance Company

Indian, Kathak
World Premiere
Intricate footwork and lightning fast spins punctuate this Kathak dance entitled Uttarakaala, or Future, enjoying live musical accompaniment by two international masters, Abhijit Banerjee and Jayanta Banerjee and created specially for the 30th Anniversary Festival by Pandit Chitresh Das, who performed in one of the very first Festivals.

Hiyas Philippine Folk Dance Company

Filipino
The frenzied, scurried movements of the mud crab; the swinging of fisherman's oil lamps; the tossing of the fish basket; and the careful movements of the long-legged Tikling bird are all recreated in this suite of rural dances originating from the Philippine coastal communities.

YaoYong Dance

Chinese
Where there is water, there is life, and The Big River celebrates the bounty along its banks and its seasonal changes through the Yang-Ge dance styles and the traditional red ribbon dance from China.

ABADÁ - Capoeira San Francisco Performance Troupe

Brazilian Capoeira
The Spirit of Brasil highlights each of capoeira's unique genres, including three capoeira duets and a full company piece incorporating acrobatics, dance, percussion and songs in a rhythmic dialogue of body, mind and spirit.

Fuego Nuevo Ballet Folklórico Mexicano

Mexican
Originating in the state of Veracruz, these traditional dances of courtship and romance represent a mix of Spanish, Flamenco and African rhythm influences. Accompanied by guest musicians, Los Cúmbancheros.

Gadung Kasturi

Indonesian
A full Balinese Gamelan musical accompaniment sets the tone for this famous ritual drama, as forces of good and evil engage in conflict in the Tari Topeng Telek masked dance.

CollageWest Dance Theatre

Turkish
Anatolia delights with a wedding celebration dance, offering a medley of seven regions and dance styles from Turkey to represent its diverse ethnic cultures.

Halau o Keikiali‘i

Hawaiian
World Premiere
A hula halau thirty strong takes the stage to offer a love song to the healer of land; a prayer honoring the shark deity; and a rare performance of a sacred Hula Pahu - ancient Prophecy from a high priest in the 1400's warning of turbulent times ahead.

Alafia Dance Ensemble

Afro-Haitian
A re-enactment of the Battle of Vertiéres - the last Haitian revolution fought before winning independence from France - is portrayed in this dance of empowerment, culminating in victory and the spirit of a country reborn. Guest artists from Group Petit La Croix showcase Bay Area dance lineage, accompanied by a soul-stirring percussion ensemble.