A letter to supporters of the San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival
“What other city in the world has
anything like the San Francisco
Ethnic Dance Festival?... I heartily envy the Bay Area residents who can see
the three programs I must miss… ”
—Alastair
Macaulay, Chief Dance Critic, New York Times
There is magic in the sound of an African drum, as your body moves
with the beat, and your rhythm harmonizes with the people around you. As
drummers from Fua Dia Congo played in
the lobby of the Palace
of Fine Arts after the
closing performance of the San Francisco
Ethnic Dance Festival, and concentric circles of artists and audience
members moved to their rhythm, I was overwhelmed with a sense of joy and
achievement for the Festival. Malonga
Casquelourd, who founded Fua Dia Congo,
worked tirelessly to sustain Congolese culture, and although Malonga passed on
six years ago, these extraordinary drummers were evidence that Malonga’s spirit
lives on within the artistic community that World Arts West is dedicated to
supporting. And evidence that our support is making a difference.
“The aspect that makes the festival so remarkably
watchable is its commitment to the artists, who are not simply there to provide
exuberant, family-friendly fare, but to breathe new life into both age-old and
more obscure art forms.”—Nirmala Nataraj, Dance Critic,
SF Station
The
31st annual San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival featured 36
local dance companies representing over 20 distinct cultures. More than 500
Northern California dancers and musicians brought their repertoire to the Palace of Fine Arts over four weekends in June of
this year. Over 11,000 local Bay Area arts lovers attended the performances,
some for the first time, but many as part of an annual, cherished cultural
tradition.
Your donation in 2008 made all of thishappen.You kept the Festival alive through one of the worst
economic downturns in recent history—
thank you.
We are excited, given the tough economic climate, to
be entering 2010 with a surge of new activity. With the support of The Wallace Foundation, the James
Irvine Foundation, and the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, we are
embarking on one of the most extensive community outreach and audience research
and planning processes in our organization’s history. By next fall, the
outcomes of this work will lay the groundwork for new programs and
performances, and enhanced ways to celebrate and honor the culturally diverse
dance forms practiced by thousands of dedicated artists throughout the Bay
Area.
2010 is going to be big year
in the Festival’s history—but our
foundation supporters can only take us so far, which is why it is imperative that we continue to receive support from
individuals who value our work. We urge
you to be a part of this next stage in the Festival’s
history by making a tax-deductible contribution at this time.Click here to make a donation. Your support
will strengthen the Bay Area’s dance communities and help sustain these
important cultural traditions for future generations. Click here to make a
donation.
Thirty-one years
after our first Festival, we are
witnessing the second and third generations of Bay Area artistes
enthusiastically picking-up the baton and perpetuating the dance and music of
their forefathers. Please help us nurture these artists.
Our work has never been more important as these arts pass through
this immensely critical phase in their intergenerational survival. As we
continue to support and promote great artists and their art forms, we are fortunate to have the support of such
a wonderful community.