parangal dance company

33rd ANNUAL
SAN FRANCISCO
ETHNIC
DANCE
FESTIVAL
June 3–July 3, 2011
Welcome
There are many changes at this
year’s San Francisco Ethnic Dance
Festival, from different venue
locations to the introduction of
new participatory programs. Yet,
amidst all of the change, what
remains constant is our commitment
to sharing the beauty of the many
diverse dance forms being sustained
by artists living here in local
communities.
We are thrilled to be presenting
more dance than ever before in the
Festival’s history—fifty dance groups
with over 750 artists collectively.
These artists were selected from
an impressive series of auditions in
January, where over 3,000 artists
brought dance from forty-five
world cultures to the stage. The
selection process was grueling,
and I thank the panelists and artistic
directors for all of their hard work
curating the Festival’s programs.
This year, we are excited to be
expanding the Festival outside
of San Francisco—into the East
Bay, presenting at Zellerbach
Hall on the UC Berkeley campus.
This moves us in the direction of
fulfilling our dream to expand the
Festival throughout the city and
regionally to be able to serve more
people, ultimately offering programs
throughout California. To learn
more about our plans, please visit
our website and consider joining
our efforts—there are many ways
to become involved and support
our work increasing appreciation
for cultural diversity and building
important bridges of cultural
understanding.
Also, new this year, are participatory
dance programs, where audience
members will be able to join the
dancing for a “feet on” experience,
both inside the Forum at Yerba
Buena Center for the Arts and
Spanning five weeks in multiple
new venues, this Festival speaks
from the heart of our community.
in the Yerba Buena Gardens.
Both audience members and the
performing artists have asked for
this, and the change of venues this
year allows us to respond to these
requests for more depth and
involvement. We hope to do more
public participatory programs,
and, soon, to be able to bring
these participatory programs into
the schools.
We open the Festival at San
Francisco City Hall with a special
ceremony honoring Chief Tony
Cerda of the Rumsen Ohlone
Tribe, followed by an unprecedented
series of public Ohlone presentations.
In addition to the City Hall festivities,
we are presenting a California
Indian Big Time Gathering at Yerba
Buena Forum and Gardens
hosted by Chief Cerda, and a
presentation by the Rumsen Ohlone
Tribe in the Novellus Theater at
Yerba Buena Center of Arts. We
are grateful to Chief Cerda for
nurturing the music and dance of
his culture with such passion and
dedication and for sharing his
tribe’s traditions with us this season.
Ohlone dance traditions are at the
heart of Ohlone culture. It is how
the Ohlone connect with each
other and with the spirit world
all around them—including their
ancestors. For the Ohlone, as with
so many of the dancers that are
part of this annual Festival, dance
is a form of prayer, or as Malcolm
Margolin would say: “prayer
made visible”.
Malcolm Margolin, who wrote the
seminal book The Ohlone Way
(Heyday Books), has been
instrumental in debunking the
commonly-held belief that the
Ohlone are an extinct people.
In 1978, he published accounts
of the Ohlone’s dance traditions
as reported by early European
visitors:
“The dance went on for hours,
sometimes for a whole day or even
longer. The dancers stamped and
stamped. They stamped out all
sense of time and space, stamped
out all thoughts of village life,
even stamped out their own inner
voices. Dancing for hour after hour
they stamped out the ordinary
world, danced themselves past
the gates of common perception
into the realm of the spirit world,
danced themselves toward the
profound understanding of the
universe that only a people can
feel who have transcended the
ordinary human condition and who
find themselves moving in total
synchronization with everything
around them.”
“By dancing…the people could
repair the world. With dance and
song they could restore order and
balance. They could reunite people
and power once more into a deeply
felt, rhythmic whole, summoning
the powers of the spirit world close
and returning (at least for a while)
to the purity of Sacred Time.”
“Throughout the entire dance the
expression on their faces never
altered, but an unrestrained joy
made itself felt within them, an
unspoken joy that spread invisibly
among the dancers, the singers,
and the spectators, joining them
to one another and indeed joining
them to the world around them:
a joy, an order, a balance, and a
sense of the oneness of all things
that were at the very heart of
the Ohlone world and that found
expression—not through dogmas
and religious tenets—but through
the all-embracing religious
experience of the dance.”
The Ohlone have much to offer the
21st-century world, and we invite
you to the Yerba Buena Center for
the Arts Forum on June 18 at noon
to hear a dialogue with Malcolm
Margolin and several insightful
Native American leaders, as part
of the first California Indian Big
Time Gathering in San Francisco.
There is more information available
on the following pages.
We ask that as you experience
the Festival this year, please give
thanks for the many people who
worked so tirelessly to make it all
happen—the dancers and musicians,
the funders, the volunteers, the
staff, the production crew, the
Ohlone Profiles Project team, and
the Board of Directors under the
leadership of President Susan
Somaya. We also ask that you give
financial support to allow us to
continue, if you are able to do so.
With heartfelt thanks,
Julie Mushet / Executive Director
1
2
Jessie Peralez of Rumsen Ohlone Tribe
Cover: Jet Tagle of Parangal Dance Company
2011
FESTIVAL
LINE-UP
YBCA / FORUM
June 19 Poetry in Motion
Gamelan Sekar Jaya | 19
Kiyonomoto Ryu USA Classical
Dance Group | 20
Jenny Fong | 21
Ballet Afsaneh | 22
YBCA / FORUM
June 25 Solstice Celebration
Leap of Faith Longsword | 23
Lowiczanie Polish Folk Ensemble | 24
Centeotl Grupo de Danza y Baile | 25
Jubilee American Dance Theatre | 26
YBCA / FORUM
June 25 PasiÓn Dance Party
Zellerbach Hall
June 11 and 12
Made Possible, in Part, thanks to the
& margarita and herbert rosenthal
YBCA / Novellus Theater
June 24, 25, 26
YBCA / Novellus Theater
July 1, 2, 3
Abhinaya Dance Company of San Jose
and San Jose Taiko | 11
Navarrete x Kajiyama Dance Theater | 27
Barangay Dance Company | 35
Rumsen Ohlone Tribe | 45
Ballet Pampa Argentina | 28
Shabnam Dance Company | 12
Rara Tou Limen | 46
El Tunante | 29
Chuna McIntyre of Nunamta Yup’ik
Eskimo Singers and Dancers | 36
Melissa Cruz | 30
Collage Dance Ensemble | 37
African Heritage Ensemble | 13
Parangal Dance Company | 14
generosity of Susan and Jitu somaya
Kyoungil Ong | 38
INTERMISSION
Gadung Kasturi Balinese Dance and
Music Inc. | 15
Nimely Pan African Dance Company | 39
YBCA / FORUM
June 26 RISING UP
Theatre Flamenco of San Francisco | 16
Ballet Folklórico Mexico Danza | 17
Hui Tama Nui | 18
INTERMISSION
Murphy Irish Dance Company | 40
Natyalaya | 41
Ballet Folklórico Anáhuac | 31
Los Lupeños de San José | 42
LIKHA - Pilipino Folk Ensemble | 32
OREET | 43
ABADÁ - Capoeira San Francisco
Performance Troupe | 33
Te Mana O Te Ra | 44
Caminos Flamencos | 47
Yang Yang Dance | 48
Ha-lau o Keikiali’i | 49
De Rompe y Raja Cultural Association | 50
Charya Burt Cambodian Dance | 51
Chinyakare Ensemble | 52
Bal Anat | 53
Compañía Mazatlán Bellas Artes | 54
EMESÈ: Messengers of the African
Diaspora | 34
3
4
Carola Zertuche, Theatre Flamenco of San Francisco
Lonnie Stevens, Jubilee American Dance Theatre
Neha Kidambi, Natyalaya
Pi‘iali‘i Lawson, Ha- lau o Keikiali‘i
32
36
9, 10, 11, 13, 14
12
North America
Europe
43
33
25
39
2
39
49
50
7
38
27
30
42
45
21
3
17
Middle East
6
22
41
20
19
Asia
34
1
4
47
28
31
35
40
8
South America
26
15
9
10
11
12
13
14
June 18 - YBCA / Forum and Yerba Buena Gardens
Elem Indian Colony Tribe
Pit River Maidu Tribe
Winnemum Wintu Tribe
Shingle Springs Miwok Tribe
Stewarts Point Kashaya Band of Pomo
Manchester Pomo Tribe
48
Australia
24
23
2011
15
16
17
18
June 19 - YBCA / Forum
Gamelan Sekar Jaya
Kiyonomoto Ryu USA Classical Dance Group
Jenny Fong
Ballet Afsaneh
19
20
21
22
June 25 @ 3pm - YBCA / Forum
Leap of Faith
Lowiczanie Polish Folk Ensemble
Centeotl Grupo de Danza y Baile Mexican
Jubilee American Dance Theater
23
24
25
26
June 25 @ 9:30pm - YBCA / Forum
Navarrete x Kajiyama Dance Theater
Ballet Pampa Argentina
Melissa Cruz
El Tunante
Over seven hundred and fifty performers representing
dances from twenty-four countries spanning six continents
27
28
29
30
June 26 - YBCA / Forum
Ballet Folklórico Anáhuac
LIKHA-Pilipino Folk Ensemble
ABADÁ-Capoeira San Francisco
EMESÈ: Messengers of the African Diaspora
June 24, 25, 26 - YBCA / Novellus Theater
31 Barangay Dance Company
32 Chuna McIntyre of Nunamta Yup’ik
Eskimo Singers and Dancers
33 Collage Dance Ensemble
34 Kyoungil Ong
35 Nimely Pan African Dance Company
36 Murphy Irish Dance Company
37 Natyalaya
38 Los Lupeños de San José
39 OREET
40 Te Mana O Te Ra
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
July 1, 2, 3 - YBCA / Novellus Theater
Rumsen Ohlone Tribe
Rara Tou Limen
Caminos Flamencos
Yang Yang Dance
Ha-lau o Keikiali’i
De Rompe y Raja Cultural Association
Charya Burt Cambodian Dance
Chinyakare Ensemble
Bal Anat
Compañía Mazatlán Bellas Artes
6
5
June 11 & 12 - Zellerbach Hall
1 Abhinaya Dance Company of San Jose
and San Jose Taiko
2 Shabnam Dance Company
3 African Heritage Ensemble
4 Parangal Dance Company
5 Gadung Kasturi Balinese Dance and Music Inc.
6 Theatre Flamenco of San Francisco
7 Ballet Folklórico Mexico Danza
8 Hui Tama Nui
5
29
46
Dance Origins
16
18
1
37
Africa
44
THE ANNUAL MALONGA CASQUELOURD
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
PRESENTED TO
CHIEF TONY CERDA
Tony Cerda is Chief of the Rumsen
Ohlone Tribe and artistic and spiritual
director of the tribe’s Humaya
(Hummingbird) Singers and Dancers.
Traditional dance, song, and prayer
shape his daily life and his community
presence. He is well-known for preserving
and reviving Ohlone dance forms and
for furthering the continued presence of
Ohlone cultural traditions.
Tony’s relationship to the preservation
of Ohlone dance is a long story of a
broken-apart Native American community.
The people called Ohlone, or Costanoan,
lived for millennia in the area from Monterey
to the San Francisco Bay Area.
When the Spanish arrived in the 1600s,
the Rumsen were the first Ohlone people
they encountered. Over fifty Ohlone
villages then thrived in the region:
communities loosely connected through
language, ceremonies, marriage, some
trade, and natural resources. The Ohlone
helped the Spanish find food and then,
many were forced to help build the
Christian missions. The first Ohlone
baptisms were recorded in 1771 at
Mission San Carlos Borroméo (Carmel),
and in 1777, at Mission Dolores in San
Francisco. Ohlone who moved to the
missions were enslaved. Poor and
crowded conditions, mistreatment,
and disease and starvation, decimated
California’s Native population. Less than
10% of their earlier numbers survived.
Tony Cerda traces his Mission Dolores
ancestors back to Sumu, and through
mission baptismal and marriage records
Tony has traced the journey of Sumu’s
descendants. Sumu’s baptism was
recorded in the record book at the San
Francisco mission in 1811. When the
missions were secularized in 1834, Sumu’s
son Tiburcio joined Native American
communities at Mission Carmel, then at
Missions Santa Cruz and San Jose. In
the 1850s the family was granted land in
the Sierra foothills, but they fled south, to
escape brutal deaths from racist miners.
One great-grandfather found work on a
vineyard, and another rode south with
a cattle drive, and by 1863, a group of
Ohlone had settled in Southern California.
Tony Cerda says, “That’s how we started
dancing again. Some of our songs and
dances are now mixed with Pomo and
Miwok, because we had all intermarried
and lived together and we had already
lost some of what we knew. Also, our
Rumsen Ohlone dances are different
from other Ohlone groups in the north,
because we came down here to Southern
California in 1863, and have lived 400
miles apart.”
Today, there are nine Ohlone applicants
for Federal Recognition, and Tony Cerda’s
tribe is one of them. But without major
reform to the Federal Government’s
recognition process, many think it is
unlikely that any Ohlone will ever be
recognized. Is it possible for San Francisco
to do so, however, and regain the cultural
presence and wisdom of its indigenous
people.
Tony Cerda works tirelessly to keep the
Rumsen Ohlone Tribe’s dance/song/story
alive, teaching dance to tribal youth,
hosting Big Time gatherings, and traveling
with presentations to other communities.
Members of the Rumsen Ohlone Tribe
are working to reclaim their language,
as well, which is challenging as the last
fluent speaker of an Ohlone language,
Rumsen speaker Isabel Meadows, died
in 1939.
Chief Cerda notes, “Our community is
one of the few that is still a cohesive
group, electing leaders and making
group decisions, living together. We
believe in dancing as a healing form of
prayer, and we practice it as a community.”
In honor of Tony Cerda’s achievements,
the City of Pomona renamed a town park
in his name.
SAN FRANCISCO CITY HALL / June 3, 2011
The Festival opens with special
ceremonies and performances
inside San Francisco City Hall on
June 3, beginning at noon.
Chief Tony Cerda will be presented with
the Festival’s Lifetime Achievement Award,
as well as a Mayoral Proclamation
proclaiming June 3, 2011, Tony Cerda Day
in the City and County of San Francisco.
Photos and footage of the festivities will
be posted on our Facebook page and
website homepage.
CALIFORNIA INDIAN
BIG TIME GATHERING
Yerba Buena Center for the Arts
Forum and Yerba Buena Gardens
June 18, 2011
This year’s Festival presents a Big Time
gathering of six Central California tribes
whose dance groups join the Ohlone
in the dance arena. This is the first Big
Time gathering hosted by Ohlone in San
Francisco in over 200 years.
The Rumsen Ohlone Tribe dancers are
joined by dancers from the following
tribes:
Elem Indian Colony Tribe:
Clearlake, Lake County, CA
Pit River Maidu Tribe:
Susanville, Lassen County, CA
Manchester Pomo Tribe:
Point Arena, Mendocino County, CA
Shingle Springs Miwok Tribe:
Shingle Springs, El Dorado County, CA
Stewarts Point Kashaya
Band of Pomo Tribe:
Stewarts Point, Sonoma, County, CA
Winnemum Wintu Tribe:
Mt. Shasta, Shasta County, CA
The Big Time begins at noon with a
prayer, followed by storytelling and
dialogue throughout the morning. We
would like to thank Charlene Sul, L. Frank,
Radley Davis, Jim Brown, Clayton
Duncan, and Malcolm Margolin for their
participation in the morning’s activities.
Next, Mary Jean Robertson, host for
forty years of “Voices of Native Nations”
on KPOO, convenes a panel dialogue
highlighting the political and spiritual
community of the visiting Central
California tribes. The tribes share not only
an ancient culture, but an empowerment
history in the Alcatraz Red Power
Movement that began in San Francisco in
1969. The Alcatraz occupation occurred
in San Francisco, but without Ohlone
participation. This Big Time gathering is
the first time the Ohlone will take their
place as the hosts of an inter-tribal event
in San Francisco and the panel will
focus on the stories of recovery and
cultural revival that each of the tribes
have experienced since the events of
1969. Participating on this panel are
Corina Gould, Ohlone, talking about the
Shellmounds and Segora Te; Faith Gemmil,
Pitt River, talking about the road from
Alcatraz to Federal Recognition; Barbara
Snyder, Washoe, talking about the protection of cave rock; Anne Marie Sayers,
Ohlone, talking about current Bureau of
Indian Affairs settlement issues and the
potential exclusion of California Indians;
and Isuit, talking about the Sinkyone
Wilderness Area in Mendocino County.
The Ohlone Profile Project’s Neil MacLean,
Bernadette Zambrano, and Mary Jean
Robertson have been instrumental in
organizing the Ohlone events for this
year’s Festival, and we would like to offer
them deep thanks and appreciation.
Beginning at sundown in Yerba Buena
Gardens, there will be a healing dance
ceremony to bring peace to the ancient
burial ground that was destroyed during
the construction of Yerba Buena Center
for the Arts and the Moscone Convention
Center. Although the human remains that
were dug up have been reburied elsewhere,
the Ohlone ceremonies that need to
accompany such a disturbance have yet
to be completed. This requires a four-day
ceremony that will begin in the Presidio
in San Francisco on Thursday, June 16,
and will conclude on Sunday, June 19,
2011. The public is invited to the June
18 portion of the ceremony, which will
conclude the Big Time gathering.
For more information about the Ohlone
visit ohloneprofiles.org, the website of
the Ohlone Profiles Project, a non-profit
organization building support for an
ongoing Ohlone cultural presence in
San Francisco.
Chief Tony Cerda and his granddaughter (left),
Desiree Munoz of Rumsen Ohlone Tribe
8
7
In the missions, the missionaries strictly
prohibited Ohlone ceremonies, and many
of the dances and songs went dormant.
According to mission agreements, the
Spanish had planned to leave the Ohlone
as administrators of the ranches when
they left, but Mexican gentry refused
to recognize the right of indigenous
occupancy. The surviving Ohlone were now
landless and split apart, and many found
work as vaqueros on ranches throughout
the state. Bay Area philanthropist Phoebe
Apperson Hearst was one of the early
supporters of the Ohlone people during
this time period, and welcomed many
Ohlone at her family’s ranch in Pleasanton.
Tony Cerda’s family settled on ranches in
Pomona, located in southern California.
In the summer of 1876, Jocefa Silva led
the first open Rumsen prayer dance that
was attended by Indians as far away as
San Diego. She summoned Rumsen tribal
members to a prayer meeting in a field
in Duarte, California. They built a sweat
lodge and participated in a talking circle
around a fire before entering the lodge.
Jocefa expressed the need to engage in
tribal ceremony. They had a dinner and
everyone danced around the fire, while
some sang and kept rhythm with clapper
sticks and rattles.
OPENING CEREMONIES
From the Festival Artistic Directors
There is much change in Festival format this year, yet the artists
of this year’s Festival are as inspiring as ever, and have been
delightful to work with.
Holding the Festival’s auditions at Zellerbach Hall proved to be
a fantastic change that both audiences and artists loved. Yet,
once again, it was agonizing to select those that would be
offered the opportunity to perform in the Festival, while sending
our regrets to over 80 other fantastic companies and soloists
that we would have loved to present.
Because of the impacts of the massive Doyle Drive Reconstruction
Project in the Marina, the Festival had to move from the Palace
of Fine Arts Theatre to new venues. Our first theater program will
be at Zellerbach Hall in Berkeley and the subsequent programs
will be featured at the Novellus Theater and the Forum at the
Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, in San Francisco. Both new
venues are more easily reached with public transportation than
the more remote Palace location, and we know that will be helpful
for many people based on feedback from previous years.
Since we joined as Co-Artistic Directors five years ago, we have
watched the Festival grow and are thrilled to be part of the
wonderful work that this Festival does in the community. Our
goal is to see the season expand even further, and we hope to
reach many thousands more people as appreciation grows and
more support becomes available. Our hope is that the superb
reviews we have received from our local press, as well as from
The New York Times, will encourage individuals and funders to
grant the support needed to be able to serve more of the Bay
Area’s excellent dancers and choreographers.
Carlos Carvajal , a native San Franciscan, is a distinguished
dancer/choreographer of more than two hundred works for ballet,
opera, musical theater, and television. Beginning as a folk dancer, he
went on to the San Francisco Ballet, then the Ballet of the Marquis de
Cuevas, Opera of Bremen, Opera of Bordeaux, and Ballet Nacional of
Venezuela as soloist, principal dancer and choreographer. He created
more than twenty works for the SF Ballet as its ballet master and
associate choreographer. He founded San Francisco Dance Spectrum,
creating over fifty works during its ten year tenure. He has also
choreographed for the SF Opera, Oakland Ballet, and Dance Theater of
Harlem, among others. His full length ballets include Cinderella’s Crystal
Slipper, Totentanz, Wintermas, Carmina Burana, and The Nutcracker.
Honors/grants/awards include five from the National Endowment
for the Arts, the SF Art Commission, the Critics’ Circle, and Isadora
Duncan Lifetime Achievement. He holds a BA in Theater and MA in
Creative Arts from SF State University.
It is both unique and incredibly exciting that the Festival’s dancers
are exclusively from this region. Most world dance festivals
invite dance groups from other countries to participate in order
to present international art forms. Here in the San Francisco
Bay Area, we have accomplished and respected master artists
who have settled in our communities and who have been nurturing
second and third generations of “home-grown”, expertly trained
and knowledgeable dancers. This phenomenon is unparalleled
anywhere in the world and inspired Alastair Macaulay, chief
dance critic of The New York Times, to write: “What other city in
the world has anything like the San Francisco Ethnic Dance
Festival?...I heartily envy the Bay Are residents…”
Working with the amazing artists, excellent staff and production
team is a joy and a challenge, particularly enhanced by the
restrictions we bump up against in this difficult economic
climate. We encourage everyone to join the effort to find the
financial resources to keep this magnificent Festival alive.
We are thrilled to be a part of creating one of the most vibrant
and exciting cultural events of the season, and we hope that you
enjoy the magical performances.
Vive la Danse!
Carlos Carvajal and CK Ladzekpo
CK Ladzekpo, PhD, is the director of the African music program
at the University of California Berkeley. His has a distinguished career
as a performer, choreographer, composer, teacher, and published
scholar in the African performing arts. He is a member of a renowned
family of African musicians and dancers who traditionally serve
as lead drummers and composers among the Anlo-Ewe people of
southeastern Ghana in West Africa. He has been a lead drummer and
instructor with the Ghana National Dance Ensemble, the University of
Ghana’s Institute of African Studies, and the Arts Council of Ghana.
He joined the music faculty of the University of California Berkeley in
1973 and continues to be an influential catalyst of the African perspective
in the performing arts. Awards include two choreographers’ fellowships
from the National Endowment for the Arts, Irvine Choreographer’s
Fellowship, and the Ruth Beckford Extraordinary People in Dance
Award. He has been a member of the faculty council of the East Bay
Center for Performing Arts since 1974.
Zenón Barron was born and raised in Guanajuato, Mexico, where he
began his dance training at the age of twelve. He studied with America
Balbuena at the Universidad Autonoma de Guanajuato. He was honored
with being selected to participate in the Cultural Exchange program with
Casa Cultural Florencia Italia in 1980. Later, he became a member of the
Ballet Folklórico de la Universidad de Guadalajara under the direction
of Carlos Ochoa. Deciding to further his professional dance training, he
moved to Mexico City, attending classes at the Escuela Nacional de
Bellas Artes while a earning a degree in Dance Instruction. He was
subsequently accepted as a member of the world famous Ballet Folklórico
de Mexico de Amalia Hernandez. He moved to San Francisco in 1992,
and founded Ensambles Ballet Folklórico de San Francisco later that
year. Over the years, he has choreographed numerous works both for his
own dance company, and as a guest choreographer, in addition to teaching
workshops and dance classes throughout the country.
Naomi Diouf is the artistic director of Diamano Coura West African
Dance Company. She was born in Monrovia, Liberia, where her artistic
career was greatly influenced. She holds a BA in Sociology from the
University of California, San Diego, and an MA in Organization Management
from the University of Phoenix. Ms. Diouf has studied with prominent
dancers and musicians from other West African countries, and has also
engaged in extensive research on world dance genres. An expert in West
African dance, she has choreographed for the University of California,
Berkeley; Dimensions Dance Theater in Oakland; and Kankoran Dance
Company in Washington D.C. Ms. Diouf has also collaborated with the
San Francisco Ballet, the Ballet of Florida, the Singapore Ballet, and the
South African Ballet. A credentialed teacher with the State of California,
she has conducted and organized various projects that introduce youth
to the performing arts. She currently teaches West African dance and
culture at Berkeley High School, at Laney College, and at the Malonga
Casquelourd Center for the Arts in Oakland.
Ramya Harishankar is the founder and artistic director of the
Arpana Dance Company that performs bharatanatyam. Over the past
twenty-eight years, she has created fifteen full-length productions for
her company. As a performer, she has toured in India, Southeast Asia,
the Far East, the Middle East, Europe, Australia, and North America. She
trained under legendary gurus—the late Swamimalai K. Rajaratnam and
Kalanidhi Narayanan. Awards include two choreography fellowships from
the National Endowment for the Arts, the California Arts Council, Alliance
for California Traditional Arts, Fund for Folk Culture, Helene Modjeska
Cultural Legacy Award, and the Outstanding Artist of the Year by Arts
Orange County. An accomplished teacher, she has trained over 250
students at her Arpana School of Dance founded in 1982. She is proud of
raising nearly $100,000 for worldwide charities and presenting over forty
soloists/dance companies in Southern California.
Edwardo Madril is an acclaimed performer, choreographer, singer,
and teacher of Native American dance and culture. He co-founded the
dance company Four Winds in 1983 which has performed thrice in this
Festival. He also founded the Revision Production Company which promotes
the development, performance, and research of Native American culture.
As a recipient of a California Arts Council Artist-in-Residence Grant, a
member of the artistic roster of Young Audiences, a lecturer at the San
Francisco Art Institute, and an instructor at San Francisco State University,
he has brought Native American dance to thousands of Bay Area students.
He also serves on the Board of Directors of the Friendship House of
American Indians, Inc., and on the Advisory Council of the De Young
Museum’s Native Programming.
Carolena Nericcio is the creator of American Tribal Style Belly
Dance (ATS) and the founder and director of FatChanceBellyDance
based in San Francisco. She began studying belly dance at the age of
fourteen. She trained with Masha Archer for seven years before starting
FatChanceBellyDance in 1987. Ms. Nericcio has authored two books on
belly dance, Tribal Talk, and The Art of Belly Dance, a special edition
publication by Barnes and Noble. Her dance company celebrated its
20th Anniversary in 2007, marking the completion of eleven dvds, five
cds, and a Folkwear pattern. The improvisational choreography of
FatChanceBellyDance incorporates movement vocabularies and design
elements from the cultures of Northern Africa, Spain, India, and the
Middle East. Derived from traditions in which women danced together to
entertain each other, this form of belly dance is a celebration of community.
Hilary Roberts is a Bay Area veteran dancer, choreographer, artistic
director, teacher, and advocate of Eastern European and American
traditional dance. She has an extensive choreography resume, including
World Arts West’s commission of A Palestinian Wedding and the San
Francisco Slavonic Cultural Center’s commission of Lindjo. Ms. Roberts
has been honored with a number of recognitions, including an Isadora
Duncan Award nomination, and an Eminence Credential in Dance from
the California Commission for Teacher Credentialing. She has presented
at a number of conferences, and has been a member of many panels,
including the Isadora Dance Awards Committee and the San Francisco
Ethnic Dance Festival Advisory Board. Ms. Roberts has performed
widely as a dancer and singer and was the artistic director of Westwind
International Folk Ensemble, leaving that post to found and direct Jubilee
American Dance Theatre, for which she is now emeritus.
Miguel Sanchez was born in Cusco, Peru and has focused on preserving
the mystic and mythological traditions of the Andes. He holds a BA from
San Antonio Abad University of Cusco, and an advanced degree in
Education from Federico Villarreal University in Lima. He is co-founder
and current president of Asociación Cultural Kanchis, a non-profit
folkloric group that specializes in dances from three regions of Peru. He
appeared with the National University Folkloric Dance Ballet of Cusco
before relocating to the Bay Area in the late 1980s. In addition to numerous
Festival performances from 1994 through 2010, Kanchis has been
presented in the Sacramento World Music and Dance Festival, Stanford
University, and Long Beach State University, among many other cultural
and academic venues.
Kaiwen You received his education and training from the Beijing
Dance Academy where he later founded the Ethnic and Folk Dance
Department. He has choreographed over fifty dance productions, several
of which have been performed by national Chinese dance companies
during international tours around the world. Mr. You has also been
recognized for excellence in national dance competitions in China. His
choreography has been staged at New York’s Joyce Theater. Mr. You has
also authored works on Chinese Han and ethnic dance, including Learning
Dance from the Masters. His work has been honored at the highest level
of Chinese cultural society and featured throughout Asia on television
and radio. Since 1999, Mr. You has been an instructor of Chinese Dance
at UC Berkeley, and is the founding artistic director of the China Dance
School and Theatre. He has also developed the dance curriculum at
Skyline College, where he currently instructs.
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In fulfillment of a wish of ours since first coming on board as
artistic directors, this year’s Festival will feature several onetime-only events in the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Forum.
These events allow for an experience closer to the traditional
way that folkloric dances and rituals are presented in many of
the countries in which they evolved—where the dancers are
surrounded by onlookers and other participants, rather than
dancing on a proscenium stage.
The “classic” Festival proscenium events will feature collaborations
and transitional interactions between groups and soloists from
different ethnicities in ways which have never been seen, as well
as group presentations with breath-taking audacity, choreography,
and showmanship.
2010 AUDITION PANELISTS
Abhinaya Dance Company of
San Jose and San Jose Taiko
India and Japan
In 1993, two of San Jose’s oldest cultural groups, Abhinaya Dance
Company and San Jose Taiko, collaborated in performance.
Today the next generation—choreographers Franco Imperial
and Rasika Kumar—present a new collaboration: Synergy.
Dynamic Japanese taiko drummers awaken South Indian
bharatanatyam dancers, and a playful exploration begins . . .
This performance made possible,
in part, thanks to the generosity
of the Honorable Judge
Marilyn Patel and Magan Patel
intricate rhythmic cycles and changing meters of South Indian
Carnatic music. To collaborate, Franco Imperial and Rasika
Kumar created new rhythmic sequences within bharatanatyam
signatures. The taiko drummers play hand-held uchiwa-daiko
(fan drums), the mid-sized nagado-daiko drum, and the larger
chu-daiko drum with bachi sticks. A mridangam (Indian drum)
mirrors the dancers’ intricate footwork, along with cymbals,
flute, and ankle bells.
Synergy was created in 2010.
The piece underscores the unique qualities of each form, and it
also accentuates what is shared: an underlying spirituality and
ancient connection to religion; a dignified and commanding
stage presence; commitment to rhythm and movement; and an
energy that extends outward, through drumsticks and fingertips.
Bharatanatyam dance originated in South India’s ancient
temples, as an exquisite blend of abstract dance (nritta)
and graceful expression (nritya). The dancers’ costumes are
modeled after temple sculptures and festive bridal attire, with
jewelry, flowers, gold brocade, and elaborate henna designs.
In North America, taiko names both the Japanese drum and
the art of kumidaiko ensemble drumming. Taiko was integral to
Japanese classical and folk culture and religion. It only recently
emerged as an ensemble art form of physical endurance and
singleness of mind, body, and spirit.
San Jose Taiko, founded in 1973, is under the artistic leadership
of Franco Imperial. Inspired by traditional Japanese drumming,
San Jose Taiko performers express the beauty of the human
spirit through the voice of taiko. www.taiko.org
Dance Origin: India and Japan • Genre: Bharatanatyam and Taiko • Title:
Synergy • Artistic Directors: Mythili Kumar (Abhinaya Dance Company of
San Jose) and PJ Hirabayashi (San Jose Taiko) • Choreographers: Rasika
Kumar (Abhinaya Dance Company) and Franco Imperial (San Jose Taiko) •
Abhinaya • Dancers: Yatrika Ajaya, Anjana Dasu, Eesha Khare, Malavika
Kumar, Rasika Kumar, Sindhu Natarajan, Anu Ranganathan, Neeraja
Venkat, Preeti Vissa • South Indian Musicians: Lakshmi Balasubramanian
(violin), Mythili Kumar (nattuvangam or cymbals), Ashwin Kumar (flute),
Ganesh Ramnarayanan (mridangam) • San Jose Taiko Musicians: Rina
Chang, Yurika Chiba, Alex Hudson, Franco Imperial, Allison Ishida, Stewart
Kume, Trish Kume, Meg Suzuki, Adam Weiner
WORLD PREMIERE
This performance made possible, in part,
thanks to the generosity of Patricia Arellano and friends
Middle East and United States
sweeping veil movements and dramatic floor patterns to fit the
proscenium stage, and she designed a revealing two-piece
costume.
The Flirtation of Girls−Homage to Badia is a four-part performance of belly dance fusion. Inspired by the 1949 Egyptian film
“Ghazal Al Banat”, it honors the elegance of a bygone era and
the dynamism of contemporary belly dance. The piece begins
with an original finger-cymbal routine, with a fast-flowing malfuf
2/4 rhythm, a 4/4 baladi rhythm, and percussive riffs commonly
played by Egyptian drummers. Next—the dancers perform a veil
dance with spirals, body extensions, and tosses. The third piece
is a unique goblet dance, daringly performed on overturned wine
glasses. Choreographer Shabnam’s inspiration was a vintage
photograph of Fatma Akef, a dancer from a circus family. The set
ends with a raks sharki drum solo, with accentuated hip isolations,
shimmies, and line formations reminiscent of Cairo’s Golden Era.
From the 1930s to the 1960s, Cairo attracted western and wealthy
Arab tourists with sophisticated nightclub acts, orchestras, and
western haute couture. The Arabic recording industry was born,
as was Egypt’s Golden Age of Cinema. Badia’s dancers became
film stars, and the world fell in love with belly dance. Today,
early development of the style can be traced in Egyptian movies
and on YouTube: from Tahia Carioca’s awalim style, danced
demurely in one spot; to Samya Gamal’s balletic Hollywood-star
performances; to Naima Akef’s athletic choreography (also from
the Akef circus family); to Soher Zaki’s baladi solos with their precise
hip isolations; to Nagwa Fouad’s expensive spectacles. Belly
dance choreographers continue to shape the traditional form.
The Badia of the title is Badia Masabni, mother of raks sharki
dance (a form also known as Egyptian theatrical dance and
contemporary belly dance). Badia moved from Lebanon to Cairo
in the 1920s and opened the Opera Casino, Egypt’s first music
hall, showcasing international comedians, dancers, and singers.
Enchanted by Hollywood, Badia trained her traditional Middle
Eastern dancers in a new and flashy form. She choreographed
Persian American dancer/choreographer Shabnam is celebrated
for her unique choreographies, dynamism, and imaginative,
artistic approach to Middle Eastern dance. She formed Shabnam
Dance Company to perform her interpretations of Near Eastern
dance and to elevate the art form for presentation on the theatrical
stage. All company members are apprentices and award-winning
dancers from Shabnam Studio located in Oakland, CA.
www.oaklandbellydance.com
Dance Origin: Middle East and United States • Genre: Belly Dance Fusion
Title: The Flirtation of Girls (Homage to Badia) • Artistic Director/
Choreographer: Shabnam • Dancers: Sumaia De La Camara, Mandy
Gallegos, Alicia Gonzales, Jules Huang, Karimah Keene, Heaven Mousalem,
Diana Prendergrast, Shabnam
JUNE 11 & 12 ZELLERBACH HALL
JUNE 11 & 12 ZELLERBACH HALL
The art form of taiko continually integrates new rhythms, and
San Jose Taiko is influenced by different meters present in
various world music traditions. Abhinaya dancers move to the
The Abhinaya Dance Company of San Jose was founded in
1980 by Mythili Kumar to transmit classical South Indian
bharatanatyam dance through training and presentations of the
highest quality. Through multicultural collaborations, Abhinaya
honors the tradition and fosters its stylistic evolution in the U.S.
www.abhinaya.org
Shabnam Dance Company
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African Heritage Ensemble
Ghana and Benin
Adzohu–Dahomeyan Dance Suite, is a
stage presentation of West African sacred
dance. Adzohu drum-language tells the
story: Vinowo mi shi vi djo. . . Parents
protect your children. There is danger in
ambush for us!
In Fon and Ewe communities in Benin
and southeast Ghana, young men learn
this dance in devotion to Adzogbo, divinity
of war. Its vigor prepares warriors for
battle, as they develop physical strength,
learn military tactics, and embody a
war-like frenzy. The dance also displays
combat to women and children. Clapping
the chest means “me”; snapping fingers
means “I am angry!”; and hitting the
ground is a show of strength. The costume
adds colorful stacks of waistcloth to West
African attire, and raffia on the knee is for
sacred protection.
Dahomeya (Benin) is the Fon’s ancestral
home. The Ewe, now in Ghana, tell a
dramatic story about their arrival. In the
fifteenth century, the King of Notsie (an
area now in Togo) had killed Ewe elders
and imprisoned the Ewe. A hidden elder
named Tegli devised an escape: the
women threw wash water on the city
wall, softening the mud brick. With the
gods’ help, Tegli broke through.
In Fon and Ewe communities, dancedrumming rites shape religion, warfare,
social life, and collective destiny. The
rites are performed for consecration,
centering oneself in the divine, invocations, and expressing gratitude and
reverence. Everyone participates. Elders
guide performances, helped by (in
decreasing importance) composers, lead
drummers, ring-leaders, supporting song
leaders, keepers of order, and supporting
drummers.
The Ewe say of the drum: a dead animal
screams louder than a live one. The drum
is a super-voice-surrogate, employing
the forces of humans, animal skins, and
tree trunks. Drums awaken humankind
to new patterns of consciousness. The
lead drum (atsimevu) is supported by
Parangal Dance Company
sogo, kidi, and kagan drums. The bell
(gankogui) provides a metronome-like
structure, and performers who can’t
follow its patterns are called “blind”.
African Heritage Ensemble was formed
in 2009 by young professional musicians
and dancers who migrated from Ghana
to the Bay Area. The group preserves
and researches West African dancing
and drumming through performance
and education. It adapts traditional West
African dance for stage performance,
and creates unique choreography fusing
traditional and modern movements.
Dance Origin: Ghana and Benin • Genre: Traditional (Fon and Ewe) • Title: Adzohu: Dahomeyan
Dance Suite • Artistic Director: Kwesi Anku
Choreographer: CK Ladzekpo • Dancers: Kwesi
Anku, Mawuli Ladzekpo, Kwaku Oppong Manu,
Myisha McClennon, Nancy McClymmond, Selasi
Morgan • Musicians: Kokou Soglo Katamani
(sogo), Gameli Ladzekpo (axatse), Godwin
Gameli Ladzekpo (kidi), Sammuel Elikem
Nyamuame (atsimevu), Ken Riechl (gankogui),
David Williams (kagan)
Philippines
The island of Mindanao in the Philippines
is home to over fifty indigenous or nonIslamic groups collectively called Lumad.
The largest of these groups is the Subanen
(People of the River) from Lapuyan,
Zamboanga Del Sur. Parangal presents
dances from the Subanen, in this order:
Ritual—Daga-salangsang: The community
gathers and places nipa leaves in a circle
to ward off bad spirits. An offering of
boiled egg, betel nut chew, and cooked
rice are placed on a tapi. Chicken blood
is placed in an antique bowl and the
Balian taps on it to summon beneficial
spirits. The sipping of pangasi, rice wine,
ends the ceremony.
Sohten: A dance of male strength and
stoicism, calling the deities with the
sounds from dlasag (shields) adorned
with balasi (small shells) and saliringan
leaves. Gongs and drums sound. Women
play syncopation on besalen or bowls
representing Subanen’s trade with China.
Subanen was created in 2010. Eric
Solano choreographed the ritual dance,
Thalek, and the finale, Shelayan &
Khinlesung. Sohten is by Philippine
National Artist Ramon Obusan. Dumadel
is by Noel Asiatico.
Founded in 2008, Parangal Dance
Company is a Bay Area Filipino folk
dance company under the leadership
of Eric Espartinez Solano. The group
gives tribute to Philippine heritage by
preserving and promoting ethnic attire,
music, and dance. Through research,
workshops, and performances, Parangal
proudly connects Filipino Americans
to their roots, while educating diverse
communities to an awareness and
appreciation of Philippine culture.
www.parangaldance.org
WORLD PREMIERE
Dance Origin: Philippines: Lapuyan, Zamboanga,
and Mindanao • Genre: Traditional • Title: Subanen
Artistic Director: Eric Espartinez Solano
Choreographers: Noel Asiatico, Ramon Obusan,
Eric Espartinez Solano • Dance Sources: Noel
Asiatico, Alleluia Panis of Kularts, Gauden Sireg
of Subanen Cultural Master and NCCA Cludter
Head of Subanen, National Commission for
Culture and the Arts, Ramon Obusan Folkloric
Group • Costume Design: Carlo Ebeo and Anabel
Ramos-Lopez • Props: Marlon Dumlao, Armando
Gazo, Romeo and Cristina Gonzalez, Major Julian,
Gilbert Laylay, Ritchel Gazo, Gauden Sireg
Dancers: June Arellano, Hazel Benigno, Vanessa
Brake, Kimberly Buhay, Marissa Cruz, Wilford
Vince Cruz, Hazel Belga Dela Cruz, Mark Diao,
Marlon Dumlao, Karina Fantillo-Cruz, Ritchel
Gazo, Emelita Hernandez-Bravo, Ali Ignacio,
Major Julian, Gilbert Laylay, Michael Macayan,
Dominika Maglasang, Jeff Mancilla, Rachel
Perey, Kimberly Requesto, Ophelia Nombrado
Sampang, Paul Silverio, Jet Tagle, Renalyn Tan,
Andrew Tiña, Dio-Ann Valmores • Musicians:
James Bartolomé (babandil and karatong),
Josefina Buencamino-Malabuyo (durugan),
Armando Gazo (agung), Dominika Maglasang
(durugan), RJ Payomo (agung), Paul Silverio
(babandil and durugan), Eric Espartinez
Solano (tambul)
Dumadel: A dance of bountiful harvest.
Shelayan & Khinlesung: The elderly
Balian teaches the Shelayan rite to the
younger generation: healing the sick
under moonlight. The swinging sinalimba
represents a mythic vessel used for
journey; a dancer needs considerable
skill to board it.
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The traditional music includes the
agung—a single brass gong, the
durugan—a hollowed log drum; and
a tambul or drum.
JUNE 11 & 12 ZELLERBACH HALL
JUNE 11 & 12 ZELLERBACH HALL
Thalek: A celebration after a ritual or
bountiful harvest, danced to establish
good will in the community and to invite
and receive blessings: performed with
saliringan leaves and taming scythes,
clashing bamboo, and rhythmic agung.
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Gadung Kasturi
Balinese Dance and Music Inc.
Bali, Indonesia
Spain
From Bali’s lush, evergreen landscape of
terraced farms comes an offering dance
inspired by elements of a traditional
temple ceremony. The dance is from
the small village of Ngis in East Bali,
the birthplace of choreographer/dancer
Kompiang Metri Davies. It is called
Nyapuh Jagat, which means “sweeping
the world”, and it portrays the preparation of a Balinese temple. A Balinese
temple’s annual anniversary celebration
occurs every two hundred and ten days
(a year in the Bali Hindu calendar), and in
preparation for this ceremony, the entire
temple is cleansed and decorated.
To God in all your manifestations:
to the Goddesses, the Deities,
our Ancestors, and local spirits
We kneel before you in respect
and beg your forgiveness
We ask you to grant peace to the
world, peace within ourselves,
and safety to all living creatures
We offer gratitude for all we have
received and shall receive
We ask you to accept our humble
offerings, to bless them
and make them worthy
Santi Santi Santi Om.
Gamelan musicians weave melodies on
bronze metallophones, tuned pot gongs,
and bamboo flutes, over the complex
rhythms of cymbals, drums, and gongs.
The music for this dance showcases a
lead instrument, the terompong, a row of
tuned gong pots played by one person.
A single stroke on the largest gong marks
the end of a rhythmic cycle.
Gadung Kasturi Balinese Dance and
Music Inc. was conceived in 1994 to
promote and preserve Balinese culture,
and it was incorporated in 2007. Kompiang
Metri Davies is artistic director, composer,
choreographer, and primary dancer. She
created Nyapuh Jagat in 2009–2010.
Dance Origin: Bali • Genre: Traditional • Title:
Nyapuh Jagat (Sweeping/Cleanse/Purify the
World) • Artistic Director/Choreographer:
Kompiang Metri Davies • Dancers: Kompiang
Metri Davies, Fenty Kaliman, Joyce Lu, Ninik
Utami Lunde, Willis Rengganiasih, Minoo
Sarkarati, Irma Spars, Irene Wibawa, Rotrease
Regan Yates • Musicians: Timothy Black, Kathy
Bouvier, Dudley Brooks, Marianna Cherry, Phil
Cox, Brian Dahmen, Ralph Davies, Carla Fabrizio,
Ed Garcia, Evan Gilman, Barbara Golden, Lisa
Graciano, Rafael Guagliano, Reiko Hasegawa,
Steve Johnson, Evan Laforge, Lydia Martín,
Sylvia Matheus, Paul Miller, Monali Varaiya,
Samuel Wantman, Ken Worthy
Una Nota Para Dos summons nostalgia
for the beauty of the ultra-feminine,
with an unusually soft and dreamlike
performance of flamenco. The dancers
are barefoot and they dress as elegant
Spanish women. The dramatic bata de
cola dress adds stunning and graceful
curves as its long ruffled train lifts and
flies around with the dancers. With an air
of graceful sensuality, the dancers kick
the cola behind them or lift it up into
their hands. Spanish fans convey pride
and power, as they echo the movement
of the skirts and punctuate the rhythms.
The dance form is a milonga. In the
Americas, the milonga is known as an
Argentine, Uruguayan, and Southern
Brazilian form which preceded the tango.
In Spanish flamenco, the form musically
derives from the Cantes de Ida y Vuelta,
literally, the roundtrip songs.
The essence of flamenco is cante, or
song. Cantes de Ida y Vuelta are flamenco
forms that were born in Spain, carried
to Latin America by Spanish immigrants
and softened and sculpted by America’s
African and Indigenous rhythms. The
songs were then carried back to Spain,
and reintroduced to flamenco. They are
known for their slow and easy rhythms.
The origin of flamenco is traced to
the time of the Spanish Inquisition in
Andalusia, southern Spain. For centuries,
persecuted and marginalized communities
of Romani, Greeks, Visigoths, Sephardic
Jews, and Moors expressed their suffering,
protest, and hope in song. In the nineteenth
century, in Spain’s sophisticated cities,
flamenco artists gathered in lively Café
Cantantes. There, their spontaneous
dances evolved into today’s highlypolished art form, a tightly improvised
collaboration between dancer, singer,
and musicians.
Theatre Flamenco of San Francisco,
founded in 1966 by Adela Clara, was the
first U.S. company to stage full productions
of Spanish dance. It remains a beacon
of cultural pride, Spanish tradition, and
artistic collaboration. In 2008, longtime
artistic director Miguel Santos was
honored with the Isadora Duncan Dance
Award and the Lifetime Achievement
Award from World Arts West. Current
artistic director Carola Zertuche’s vision
continues for a highly professional
company with a home season, touring
schedule, and community outreach.
Dance Origin: Andalucia, Spain • Genre: Flamenco
Title: Una Nota Para Dos • Artistic Director:
Carola Zertuche • Choreographers/Dancers:
Cristina Hall and Carola Zertuche • Musicians:
Jose Valle “Chuscales” (composer/guitar), Alex
Conde (piano), Cristo Cortes (vocals), Tregar
Otton (violin)
JUNE 11 & 12 ZELLERBACH HALL
WEEKEND
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15 | JUNE 11 & 12 ZELLERBACH HALL
WEEKEND
The dancers wear white cloths on
their foreheads to summon only good
thoughts, and they carry flower petals
and temple cloths for purification and
decoration. Each dancer also carries one
crucial ingredient for the rite: holy water,
coconut water, sea water; or a mixture of
Balinese herbs. A shower of flower petals
symbolizes clearing the mind of all negative
thoughts, leaving the fragile, natural
beauty of a clear mind, body, and soul.
So that they can pray in peace, the dancers
first give offerings to the lower spirits.
They then sing about gathering,
temple cleaning, and the placement
of decorations. To close, Kompiang
Metri Davies sings an original prayer in
Balinese, after which the dancers toss
flowers as the final blessing:
Theatre Flamenco of San Francisco
Ballet Folklórico Mexico Danza
Hui Tama Nui
Mexico
Tahiti
A joyful performance of Mexican folklórico
dance brings to life the busy port town of
Veracruz, Mexico. Zapateado footwork
and spacious configurations show the
sophistication of Veracruz society and
a peoples’ vibrant zest for life. The first
dance, Fandango Jarocho is a paseo, a
musical walk-through, danced to a love
song about the coastal region’s lush
vegetation, wine, and candies. (Fandangos
are fiestas in which dancers often perform
on top of a large wooden platform, the
beat of zapateado footwork turning the
stage into a resounding cajón­—wooden
drum.) The next number, La Tuza (The
Gopher) is courtship dance that mimics
a furry animal who lives in the ground.
El Zapateado presents a lively footwork
competition between the sexes.
Since the 1600s, Veracruz has been
home to African, Indigenous American,
Spanish, and Caribbean people.
Musicians from this rich mix of cultural
traditions have improvised together
for centuries, sharing diverse rhythms,
lyrics, and melodies. The result is the
distinctive Veracruz form, a percussive
rhythm, syncopation, and vocal style
called sones jarochos. (“Son” refers to
the rhythmic structure and verse of the
song, and “jarocho” is a name for the
people of Veracruz.) Some sones are
about love and the pleasures of rural
life, and others poke fun at or taunt
competitors. Jarocho musicians continue
to improvise new harmonies, melodies,
and verses, so sones are often invented
on the spot.
The company learned the dances from
Omar Angeles of Fort Worth, Texas, and
set the piece for this stage.
The state of Veracruz is hot and tropical,
so the dancers’ traditional costumes are
white and loose-fitting. The women’s
dresses reflect a Spanish influence—
white lace, organza, heirloom jewelry,
floral hair pieces, wave-like ruffles—as
well as an African influence—aprons and
shawls. The music of Veracruz is played
on requinto jarocho and guitarrin—both
evolved from the Spanish guitar—violines,
guitarra, and harp.
Ballet Folkórico Mexico Danza is a
Hayward-based Mexican folk dance
company, founded in 1991 by Rene
Gonzalez. Since 1992 with the collaboration of Martin Romero of Mexico City, the
dance company has grown to include
individuals of all ages and nationalities,
who originate from diverse communities
throughout the entire San Francisco Bay
Area. This dance company was created
to educate the community and bring a
cultural understanding and pride to this
multiethnic community we call the East
Bay. Artistic directors are Rene Gonzalez
and Martin Romero.
Dance Origin: Veracruz, Mexico • Genre: Folkloric
Titles: Fandango Jarocho, La Tuza, El Zapateado
Artistic Directors: Rene Gonzalez and Martin
Romero • Choreographer: Omar Angeles
Dancers: Elyssia Alvarez, Hugo Flores, Melissa
Flores, Alicia Garibay, Marilu Garibay, Jennifer
Gonzalez, Luis Guerra , Humberto Gutierrez,
Salvador Hernandez, David Herrera, Mario
Martinez, Karina Meraz, Xochitl Meraz, Felipe
Pantoja, Karina Pantoja, Veronica Pantoja,
Randy Robles, Ronnie Romo, Martin Romero,
Samantha Romero, Rurik Sanchez, Sergio Segura,
Audy Elena Trejo, Maria Elena Villasenor
From French Polynesia and San Francisco,
over eighty dancers and musicians
celebrate peace and love, tradition and
diversity. Rumia is named for the dark
egg in which Ta‘aroa, the Tahitian god of
creation, sat before breaking his bounds
and creating the land, sea, moon, and
stars. In this modern interpretation,
bound, mute, and blind dancers break
out of their shells. They celebrate selfdiscovery, and then return to community
and tradition. The piece asks: Who will
you become when you leave this shell?
and ends with a prayer for acceptance: Ia
fa- mai te anu‘anu‘a! Let the rainbow shine!
Contemporary Tahitian dance—ori
rau—merges tradition with contemporary
inspiration. Rumia references jazz and
ballet as it presents the Tahitian forms:
‘aparima (interpretive hand-dance); ‘o- te‘a
vahine (women’s) dance with circular and
side-to-side hip movements; ‘o- te‘a ta-ne
(men’s) dance with scissor-like legs; and
‘o- te‘a ‘amui Polynesian storytelling dance
with percussion and rapid choreography.
conch shell calls a contemporary choir-like
‘aparima song (composed by Aaron Sencil
and Tahitian dance masters, Lorenzo
Schmidt and Teiki Villant). The costumes
evoke nearly everything: the delicate
beginnings of life; Mother Earth’s raffia,
tapa, and coconut bark; and today’s
brightly-colored individuality. Ancient
style Hura dress pulls us to tradition, with
tamou headdresses of ancestral human
hair and feather rosettes; and white finale
costumes evoke a new day.
Rumia was conceived by Aaron Sencil
and created by Hui Tama Nui’s directors
in collaboration with Les Grands Ballets
de Tahiti. Mr. Sencil accounts for the
emotion in this performance: “Our theme
of rebirth inspired the dancers personally
—some were coming out, others undergoing changes in marriages or careers.
Singing about a coconut is one thing, but
singing about your life is another.”
JUNE 11 & 12 ZELLERBACH HALL
• Vocalists: Kevin Amen, Yolanda Amen, Alma
Arcega, Jong Arcega, Arthur Bello, Millie Berrios,
Vicki Corpus, Twinkle Concon Dela Cruz, Lani Cid
Iulio, Chesa Palma, Noely Panganiban
JUNE 11 & 12 ZELLERBACH HALL
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Hui Tama Nui is the professional dance
company of the newly formed non-profit
organization, the Conservatory of Polynesian Performing Arts. Artistic director
is Aaron Sencil. Hui Tama Nui specializes
in traditional and contemporary Tahitian
dance and music. The company creates
original avant-garde performances,
understanding the culture’s dance and
music as an evolving performing art.
Dance Origin: Tahiti, French Polynesia
Genre: Ori Rau (Contemporary Tahitian Dance)
Title: Rumia • Artistic Director: Aaron Sencil
Choreographers: Monica Bermudez, Von Parsario,
Lorenzo Schmidt, Angela Sencil, Teiki Villant
Production Administrator: Vincent Tanciongco
Executive Director/Historian: Monica Bermudez
Dancers: Carlos Acosta, Tshon Ambrose, Melanie
Amen, Sean Amen, Kehinde Apara, Jamie Aranda,
Remie Aranda, Rochelle Arcega, Christine Balingit,
Crystal Balingit, Joemar Baniaga, Virginia Batac,
Heather Bell, Colie Berbano, Mia Berrios,
Dominique Bouknight, Leana Pakela Bremond,
Melanie Brignoli, Chanel Calipes, Narissa Cepeda,
Anisa Cervantes, Amihan David, Jill De Los
Angeles, Lora Kehaulani Dinga, Phoebe, ’Alohi
Dinga, PuraFe Eastman, Dawn Faoliu, Sammy
Faoliu, Janeth Figueroa, Denise Garner, Lynn
Hernandez, Ita Iopu, Makana Iulio, Avie Koot,
Jessica Maestas, Norm Munoz, Genica Ocampo,
Cheena Palma, Nicholle Panganiban, Von
Parsario, Diamond Pederson, Shanna Pineda,
Azyha Quidit, Jeremy Rogan, Angela Sencil,
Monica Bermudez, Gillian Taganas, Vincent
Tanciongco, Michelle Tarleton, Pea Ulufatu, Gail
Vasquez, Catherine Villalon • Drummers: Mark
Adam (fa’atete), Gil Ambrose (pahu tu-pa’i), Mark
Amen (to- ’ere), Matthew Amen (pahu), Kevin Na’eahau Farey (pahu tu-pa’i), Keith Garner (pahu),
Genji Lim (pahu tu-pa’i), Dominic Somera (pahu tupa’i), Jojo Tabora (to- ’ere), Theo Tabora (to- ’ere)
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The music is also eclectic, as electric
guitar and ‘ukulele meet Tahiti’s earliest
chant and drumming on pahu, pahu
t upa‘i,
and vivo flutes; as the ancient
WORLD PREMIERE
This performance made possible, in part, thanks
to the generosity of Sedgwick, LLP
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Gamelan Sekar Jaya
Bali, Indonesia
Classical Balinese dance has three genders: male, female,
and—honoring human complexity—androgynous. Teruna Jaya
—Victorious Youth, is a beloved masterpiece in the androgynous
bebancihan style. Three female dancers depict a volatile and
moody character: a young man going through puberty. The
piece was created in the 1950s by Gede Manik from North Bali.
The character quickly became popular, regions adapted the
dance, and it became a virtuosic piece. Putting on the costume
takes about two hours, with layers of gold-painted cloth, leather,
and male make-up. The headdress is a masculine style, as is the
loose-fitting kamben sarong.
Several teachers worked with Gamelan Sekar Jaya to bring this
piece to the stage, primarily: Ni Luh Andarawati, beloved teacher
and featured soloist; I Made Arnawa, internationally revered
composer and spiritual leader; I Dewa Putu Berata, renowned
performer and teacher; and I Ketut Wirtawan, renowned
Balinese dancer, musician, vocalist, puppeteer, painter, and
master of the complicated dance-drama form, gambuh.
Gamelan Sekar Jaya is a Bay Area-based company of musicians
and dancers, specializing in the performing arts of Bali. Founded
in 1979, Sekar Jaya has performed throughout California, the
U.S., and Bali—from New York’s Symphony Space to Bali’s
remote village squares. Central to the group’s success are the
more than fifty of Bali’s most brilliant performers who have
joined Sekar Jaya as artists-in-residence for periods of one
month to two years. www.gsj.org
Thanks to Bali Advisor (www.BaliAdvisor.com) and the Alliance
for California Traditional Arts for their support in making this
piece possible.
Dance Origin: Bali • Genre: Kebyar • Title: Teruna Jaya (Victorious Youth)
Director: Emiko Saraswati Susilo • General Manager: Sara GambinaBelknap • Composer/Arranger: I Gede Manik • Guest Dance Teacher: Ni
Luh Andarawati • Guest Musical Director: I Made Arnawa • Dancers: Ni
Luh Andarawati, Nina Herlina, Maria Omo • Musicians: David Aue, Alexis
Brayton, Phil Cox, Tom Deering, Bea Deering, Carla Fabrizio, Sara GambinaBelknap, Ed Garcia, Evan Gilman, Matthew Gleeson, Lisa Gold, Todd
Greenspan, Maddie Hogan, Andrej Hronco, Steve Johnson, Debbie Lloyd,
Lydia Martin, Mudita Nisker, Keenan Pepper, Ellen Perlman, Emily Rolph,
Joseph Paddy Sandino, Ansel Schmidt (gong coordinator), Wayne Vitale
(assistant teacher), Sarah Willner, Ben Zadan
Kiyonomoto Ryu USA
Classical Dance Group
Japan
Edo no Shiki—The Four Seasons of Edo, presents a neo-classical
women’s dance from Japan. Edo, now Tokyo, was the seat of
the ruling Tokugawa Shogunate from 1603 to 1868. Kiyonomoto
Ryu dancers transport us back to that time, as they dance
gracefully with sensu fans, katsura wigs, and traditional makeup and kimono. The text below is a summary of each seasonal
scene described by the Edo no Shiki song. The descriptions are
followed by translations of haiku from the seventeenth century
poet, Basho: the poems will be read aloud in this performance.
Spring: Sailing through the city of Edo on Sumida River in a
rowboat, gazing at cherry blossoms. The spring wind is blowing
the blossoms when the bell rings to signal spring—the bell of
the famous Sensou-ji Buddhist temple dedicated to bodhisattva
Kannon.
The flowers bloom everywhere like pink clouds.
Was it the bell from Ueno or Asakusa that I just heard?
Summer: A fun summer night, enjoying fireworks on Sumida River
in a brand-new summer kimono. Famous makers of fireworks—
Tamaya and Kagiya—compete with their beautiful displays.
The wind of Mount Fuji that my fan offers
is my souvenir from Edo to you.
Autumn: Viewing the moon in a calm and pensive mood,
surrounded by lotus leaves and chirping of the autumn insects
at Shinobazu Pond, Ueno-Yamashita.
The worms are digging a hole in a chestnut on a
moonlit silent night.
Winter: Love for that special person grows when watching the
snow fall at home in Negishi. I wonder who that poor camellia
blossoming in the snow is waiting for?
Fluffy flower-like snowflakes clean and polish the mirror.
The piece was choreographed by Kiyonomoto Sensho, from
Kagoshima, Kyushu Prefecture, Japan, and set for this stage
by dance masters, Kiyonomoto Katsuho and Kiyonomoto
Katsunami. The Kiyonomoto Ryu USA Classical Dance
Group was established in 1995 in San Mateo as a branch of
Kiyonomoto Ryu Classical Dance Group, Kagoshima, Kyushu
Prefecture, Japan, led by Headmaster Kiyonomoto Katsuho. The
group studies Japanese classical dance, Japanese traditional
contemporary dance, and Japanese minyo (folkloric dance), and
performs them annually at Cherry Blossom, Obon, and other
Japanese cultural festivals, in an effort to honor, promote, and
introduce Japanese culture throughout the Bay Area.
Dance Origin: Japan • Genre: Neo-Classical • Title: Edo no Shiki
(The Four Seasons of Edo) • Artistic Directors: Kiyonomoto Katsuho and
Kiyonomoto Katsunami • Choreographer: Kiyonomoto Sensho • Company
Administrator: Annie Lo • Dancers: Kiyonomoto Maiho, Kiyonomoto Katsuno
SUNDAY, JUNE 19 / Poetry in Motion FORUM / YBCA
SUNDAY, JUNE 19 / Poetry in Motion FORUM / YBCA
The Indonesian gamelan orchestra has bronze, iron, wood,
and/or bamboo percussion instruments, and from two to thirty
players. Today’s performance is drawn from the villages of
Pengosekan and Pegosek in South Central Bali, areas known for
intricate drumming and dance. The musicians are said to marry
their instruments and fellow performers: and the performers
communicate intimately in every nuance of movement and
sound, rhythm, tempo, and emotion. The musicians play as fast
as they can, between each others’ beats, while the low-toned
kebyar gong outlines the structure.
This performance made possible, in part, thanks
to the generosity of Meckler Bulger Tilson Marick & Pearson LLP
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Jenny Fong
China
Jenny Fong presents a traditional Korean solo dance: Salp’uri.
This performance is a concert form of the dance, a choreography
from Chinese people of Korean descent. The dance expresses
the sorrow of human relationships and separations, the
bitterness of unsatisfied desire. The dancer begins slowly and
then gains speed and intensity as her emotions rise. She moves
continuously, mirroring the eternally revolving yin and yang,
darkness and light, and she leads each step with the heel,
holding her body in check, creating a thousand fluid lines in
circular paths and turns. The dress is a modernized hanbok, the
traditional Korean and Korean Chinese dress, with billowing skirt
and short jacket vest. As a vestige of the Salp’uri’s shamanistic
roots, a white silk scarf represents the soul’s road to the spirit world.
SUNDAY, JUNE 19 / Poetry in Motion FORUM / YBCA
In Korea, the concert form of Salp’uri is often attributed to
1930’s choreographer Han Song-jun in Seoul. This Korean
Chinese version was first performed and choreographed for
China’s National (2009) Taoli Cup Competition by the Minzu
University of China. Jenny Fong studied the form under Mrs.
Guan-Shan Wang at YaoYong Dance in San Jose, CA.
Jenny Fong began her dance training when she was six years
old, studying under Mr. Yong Yao and Mrs. Guan-Shan Wang, at
YaoYong Dance in San Jose. As an undergraduate at UC Davis,
Jenny taught Chinese dance to members of the Davis community
as well as the Chinese Dance and Arts Club, where she served
as president until she graduated in 2010. She now holds B.S.
degrees in both Clinical Nutrition and Psychology.
Dance Origin: China • Genre: Chinese-Korean • Title: Salp’uri • Artistic
Director: Guan-Shan Wang (of YaoYong Dance) • Dancer: Jenny Fong
Iran
Rest yourselves, while I tell you a story about our people . . .
Roya−The Dream, is a celebration of Persian dance. The
performance begins with Qashqa’i—a traditional dance of
celebration from the nomadic Turkic Qashqa’i of Southwestern
Iran. The essence of this dance is participation: it is a unified
dance with simple steps. One of the women begins to tell an
Afsaneh, a familiar and beloved legend from ancient times, a
shared dream-like reverie. In a Persian art dance/nouveau
classical choreography, a scarf becomes the wind-lofted dome
of the heavens, and candle flames recall Zoroastrianism’s
eternal fire. Magical figures appear, with fairy-like pari, soloist
Mariam Gaibova performs the dance of the peacock−Raqse
Tavus, and Miriam Peretz performs a solo to haunting music,
“Chahar Mezrab”. The Afsaneh story is centuries old, but the
dance genre originated in Iran in the 1960s, inspired by images
and iconography from Persian decorative art, medieval paintings,
and classical literature.
The dancers’ colorful skirts are everyday Qashqa’i wear: they
liven up Iran’s landscape as women herd animals and perform
daily tasks. For Qashqa’i, a strident sorna horn and dahol bass
drum chase away malevolent forces: with a volume set for
Qashqa’i outdoor celebrations. The Afsaneh section is danced
to delicate and ethereal music from Persian classical tradition,
hundreds of years old.
This performance made possible, in part, thanks
to the generosity of Sedgwick, LLP
Today, Roya−The Dream comes full circle. In 1994, the Festival
commissioned a work from Ballet Afsaneh showing the full
diversity of dance in the Bay Area Iranian American diaspora
communities. The stunning suite has since traveled the world as
a jewel in Ballet Afsaneh’s repertoire, ever-evolving in collaboration
with dancers, ethnographers, musicians, and members of the
Persian and Central Asian community in the U.S. and Central Asia.
Ballet Afsaneh, performance ensemble of the Bay Area nonprofit Afsaneh Art & Culture Society, was founded in 1986 by
artistic director Sharlyn Sawyer. Miriam Peretz is assistant
director/choreographer. The group represents Iranian American
and Afghan communities in the diaspora, and diverse cultures
of the historic Silk Road. They are known for award-winning
and critically-acclaimed performances of dance, poetry, and
music—from lyrical fairytale to thought-provoking contemporary
work—throughout the U.S. and beyond. www.dancesilkroad.org
Dance Origin: Iran • Genre: Nouveau Classical and Folkloric • Title:
Roya (The Dream) • Artistic Director/Choreographer: Sharlyn Sawyer
Assistant Director/Choreographer: Miriam Peretz • Dancers: Claire Ajideh,
Farima Berenji, Emelie K. Coleman, Mariam Gaibova, Nina Gonzales-Silas,
Rachel Greer, Juliana Hebenstreit, Sage LaCroix, Masha Loukianenko,
Lina Nazar, Miriam Peretz, Lucia Riera, Hannah Romanowsky, Leila Sadeghi,
Kristen Sague, Roz Samimi, Chantal Schoenherz, Marta Serra Marti,
Manami Takashina, Lisa Tilton, Carolyn Uno, Parousha Zand • Musicians:
Sonja Drakulich (vocals), Mehran Ebrahimi (daf, dahol), Mohammad
Ebrahimi (doumbek, sorna), Neema Hekmat (santur), Pourya Khademi (violin),
Moses Sedler (cello)
SUNDAY, JUNE 19 / Poetry in Motion FORUM / YBCA
In Korea, Salp’uri is a beloved form, a dance of spiritual cleansing,
designated a “national intangible heritage”. It embodies the
essence of Korean dance, expressing life’s heavier aspects
with an inner lightness. The form is closely tied to the centuriesold indigenous religion (still very much alive in Korea) danced
by Korean shamans to help souls pass to the spirit world. The
dance form arrived in China with millions of Korean immigrants
escaping famine and political repression in the nineteenth and
twentieth centuries. Today over two million Chinese of Korean
descent live in China, partly in the northeastern Yanbian Korean
Autonomous Prefecture. China preserves Salp’uri as a Chinese
minority dance, a beautiful traditional art.
Ballet Afsaneh
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Leap of Faith Longsword
Lowiczanie Polish Folk Ensemble
of San Francisco
England and United States
Poland, Bialo-Russe, Ukraine
Leap of Faith honors the solstice with English display dances
and music. The set is in three parts:
I. Charley’s Star’s is a Cotswold morris dance, an English
dance style dating back to at least the fifteenth century. (The
Cotswold region is known for a relatively unbroken, centuriesold dancing record.) The morris is a joyful dance, performed
to celebrate springtime in villages and fairs. Today’s
performance is in the Bampton style, with a repeated chorus
adapted from local morris dance variations. It’s performed
to “The Moon and Seven Stars”, a 1750’s American contra
dance tune with English origins.
Leap of Faith was founded in 2008 as a team of skilled dancers
who perform “display dances” in the English tradition with an
American flair. Predominantly a longsword team, the group also
performs English clog dance, morris dance, and other related
traditions. Members have been dancing from ten to more than
thirty years. Artistic director is Kyla Brooke.
It continues with: Korobeczka to Eastern-style music; Oberek, a
variation on a national dance, with dazzling traditional spins and
twentieth century aerials; Tupacz, a “jiggling polka” performed with
bending knees and foot-to-foot pivots; and Jeziora, the “little waltz”,
with lyrics mourning an impossible love: I, a poor girl, am simple
and poorly dressed, so I do not ask you, Jasienko, to be my husband.
Finally, the group performs Ojra, a smooth-gliding polka, the
dancers’ arms shaping “the window”; and the galopa polka,
where dancers travel like the wind.
Lowiczanie Polish Folk Dance Ensemble of San Francisco
(founded in 1975) under artistic director Mary Kay Stuvland,
researches and presents authentic programs of Polish traditional
music, song, and dance. The group has traveled extensively.
The Republic of Poland has honored them for their work in
maintaining and promoting Polish folk culture: with a 1989 Oskar
Kolburg Award and a special citation in 2000. www.polishfolk.org
Dance Origin: Poland • Genre: Folkloric • Title: Songs & Dances from the
Biale Podlasie • Artistic Director/Choreographer: Mary Kay Stuvland
Musical Director/Podlasie Arrangements: Susan Worland • Dancers:
Jen Bzura, Geoffrey Cant, Alexander Dabrowiecki, Dominik Dabrowiecki,
Ryszard Drelich, Witold Dudzinski, Ania Gudelewicz, Alexander Hadas,
Julia Kite, Adam Kodzis, Phillip Kosiara, Brennan Kreller, Karen Oakley,
Aleksander Poppe, Kasia Rostkowski, Joasia Smolen, Krysia Smolen,
Basia Suroz, Gosia Suroz, Mary Kay Stuvland, Gosia Wojciechowska,
Natalia Zelazna, Elzbieta Zienczuk • Musicians: Carol Braves (violin),
Barbara Deutsch (clarinet), Nikolai Prisikar (accordion), David Reyna (bass)
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Dance Origin: England and USA • Genre: English Display Dance • Titles:
Charley’s Stars, Furry Day Carol, Take 5 • Artistic Director: Kyla Brooke
Choreographers: Traditional steps adapted by Leap of Faith (Charley’s Stars);
Judy Erikson (Take 5) • Dancers: Francis Attanasio, Dana Balan, Jon Box, Kyla
Brooke, Anise Feldman, Jane Hecht, Kalia Kliban, Sue Meighan, Dave Michaelson
Musicians: Jon Berger (fiddle, accordion, vocals), Doug Olsen (vocals)
The suite includes: Sobotka, an ancient solstice rite involving young
women, flower wreaths, and love; Krzyzak, a walking and greeting
dance; Jest, Drozyna, Jest, a man’s plea for faithfulness before
he braves a proposal; and Skocz, Koniu!, with the suggestive
lyrics: Jump, horse, into the wheat! Jump, horse, into the rye!
Yesterday she was a young maiden, and today she’s a woman.
Mary Kay Stuvland created the suite in 2010; consultant was
Polish master choreographer Emma Cieslinska.
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II. Vocalists Doug Olsen and Jon Berger sing “The Furry Day
Carol”, a May Day song, from Helston, Cornwall. The word
“furry” comes from the Latin feria, holiday.
Choreography: Leap of Faith choreographed Charley’s Stars
in 2011; Take Five was choreographed by Judy Erickson in the
1990s. The tune is “Take Five” by Paul Desmond, made famous
by the Dave Brubeck Quartet. Jon Berger plays accordion and
fiddle, and arranged the tunes.
Biale Podlasie, a culturally diverse region in central eastern Poland,
has suffered changing borders, pogroms, and holocausts. For
centuries it has been home to Polish, Belarusian, Ukrainian,
Lithuanian, Roma, and Jewish communities, with many dance
and music forms shared across cultures. Songs & Dances from
the Biale Podlasie exhibits the pathos, poetry, and confident
sensuality of Podlasie villagers.
This authentic presentation shows style of the regional floating
and raised arms, and a dance style that is flat, level, and low—
with no jumps in the air between “sits”. Men wear authentic
handspun Polish-cut clothing. The women’s one-of-a-kind
costumes are costly works of art: the master craft of woven
embroidery is disappearing in Poland. Musicians play regional
instruments and most songs are in Podlasie’s favored minor keys.
SATURDAY, JUNE 25 / Solstice Celebration FORUM / YBCA
SATURDAY, JUNE 25 / Solstice Celebration FORUM / YBCA
In English spring revelries, morris dancers wear ribbons. They
once sewed bells and pieces of metal on their clothes: now
they wear bell pads on their legs. Handkerchiefs or sticks
accompany the hand movement. In traditional morris dancing,
a sword-and-cake bearer distributes pieces of cake. The
Green Man might even appear, as he is happily associated
with this springtime dance, as a symbol of life and rebirth.
III. Take Five is a longsword dance, a form originally from Yorkshire.
It has been traditionally danced in the winter, especially on
Boxing Day and Plough Monday. It was also often seen in
mummer’s plays—performed with metal or wooden swords.
Leap of Faith exhibits an unusual choreography: they use Americanstyle footwork, and dance the only sword dance known to have
a five-beat meter.
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Centeotl Grupo de Danza y Baile
Jubilee American Dance Theatre
Mexico
United States
Flor de Piña—Flower of the Pineapple, is a folkloric dance with
indigenous origins, from the city of Tuxtepec in the Mexican state
of Oaxaca. A gentle innocence surrounds sixteen young girls as
they dance geometric patterns, hoist pineapples to their shoulders,
and offer them as gifts. The dancers’ long braids represent
purity and their bare feet show their connections to the Earth.
The upbeat music speaks to the happiness of gathering and
dancing in community.
Regional Dance Group Centeotl of Santa Cruz was founded in
December of 2002 by Nerida Robles, Fe Silva Roble, and Benigno
Silva to preserve connection with the cultural traditions of Oaxaca
and Mexico. Participants maintain physical fitness, live with
respect for themselves and others, and work towards academic
success in their new country. The tradition of Guelaguetza
continues in Oaxacan communities in California, and Centeotl
Grupo de Danza y Baile performs Flor de Piña in many cities
every year. www.viveoaxaca.com
Kentucky running sets descend directly from pre-1650s era
English dances. The form was isolated in the Appalachians for
generations until the English scholar Cecil Sharp brought it to
light in 1917. He described the form as “so smooth that the
dancers seemed to be moving, or gliding on wheels”. Clogging
—like some square dance elements—originated in eighteenth
century Appalachian cabins where Irish, German, and English
immigrants, enslaved Africans, and Native Cherokee combined
songs and steps and developed a percussive syncopated
dance. The banjo was originally a West African stringed gourd.
American folk dancer Hilary Roberts founded Jubilee American
Dance Theatre in 1999. Now under artistic director Becky
Coulter, the company brings to life the dances, music, songs,
and stories of America. Jubilee’s performances transport
audiences to many other times, and many other places: from
old-time Appalachia, swing era dance halls, Cajun Country, to
North American whaling towns, Baja California, and America’s
immigrant communities. www.jubileedance.com
Dance Origin: USA • Genre: Western Square, Appalachian • Titles: Kentucky
Running Set, Exhibition Square Dance, Appalachian Clogging • Artistic
Director: Becky Coulter • Choreographers: Becky Coulter, Mary Bee
Jensen, George Frandsen • Dancers: Eric Bennion, Carol Braves, Dee
Brown, Becky Coulter, Mary Ann Davis, Lew Douglas, OJ Erikson, Debbie
Evenich, Diana Greenleaf, Fabien Goulay, Joe James, Carl Kanzaki, Sandra
Koenig, Rebecca Navarrete-Davis, David Nelson, Steve Rottell, Lonnie
Stevens, Ruth Suzuki, Eve Tarquino, Barbara Vernon • Musicians: Karen
Celia Heil (banjo), Elise Engelberg (fiddle), John Fuller (bass), Matt Knoth
(guitar), Tony Phillips (mandolin) • Caller: Ken Olcott
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Dance Origin: Oaxaca, Mexico • Genre: Folkloric • Title: Flor de Piña (Flower
of the Pineapple) • Artistic Directors/Choreographers: Isai Pazos and Jennifer
Robles • Dancers: Jazmin Castaneda, Cindy Delgado, Aurora Fabian, Kenia
Gonzalez, Kimberly Jarquin, Angeles Juarez, Romelia Macias, Gabriela Ortega,
Roxanna Ortiz, Alondra Pina, Chanel Robles, Jenny Robles, Nicole Robles,
Karina Romero, Jehimy Rosas, Jessica Serna, Kristen Silva, Katherine Sosa
Musicians: Anahi Ambrocio, Emmanuel Ambrocio, Gerardo Ambrocio,
Brenda Cipriano, Martin Contreras, Chelsy Cruz, Gereon Gonzales, Steve
Gonzales, Alma Guzman, Jackie Guzman, Rosale Hernandez, Rene Jeronimo,
Sixto Jeronimo, Alejandro Jezcas, Javier Miguel, Jesus Miguel, Modesto
Miguel, Elizabeth Morales, Laura Reyes, Luis Antonio Reyes, Luis Reyes Sr.
Jubilee presents a foot-tapping suite of traditional American music
and dance. It opens with Kentucky Running Set, the earliest
dance form in the colonies, followed by an old-time music break
with “Mississippi Sawyer”, “Goodbye Liza Jane”, “Kitchen Girl”,
and “Little Liza Jane”. The next set is Exhibition Square Dance,
performed to “Skip to My Lou”, “High Up on Tug”, and “Wink
the Other Eye”. This complex piece is choreographed to show
square-dance formations, lifts, polka steps, ladies chain, circles
left and right, allemandes, swing-your-partner, and the special
flying square—a carousel-like spin that sets the ladies flying.
The final set is Appalachian Clogging, high-energy step dancing
to “Bile Them Cabbages Down” and “Blackberry Blossom”.
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Flor de Pina is the representative dance of Tuxtepec, the principle
city of Oaxaca’s northeast Papaloapan region. Today’s staging
represents the world-famous Guelaguetza fiesta, celebrated in
Oaxaca City each July to honor Centeotl, the indigenous goddess
of corn. The fiesta is an exuberant gathering of generosity,
music, dance, and food. Groups from Oaxaca’s seven regions
bring gifts to distribute—breads, vegetables, other fruits of the
Isai Pazos & Jennifer Robles learned Flor de Pina in Oaxaca’s
Papaloapan region and also from instructors of Oaxaca’s Casa
de La Cultura.
Say, boys, when you tell where you’ve been / You preach your
wives such stories / You can tell them just a few / Just met an
old acquaintance / Or the train was overdue / And when the wife
believes / That every word is true / Then you wink the other eye!
The dancers begin in 1860s era costumes. They then transition
to authentic clothing from the 1950s American square-dance
renaissance. The women wear petticoats, pettipants, and dresses
with rows of “Native American” rickrack. The men’s vintage
shirts sport embroidery and floral appliqués. The old-time music
group plays authentic instruments, with fiddle and banjo playing
melodies, and a caller cuing the square-dance moves. Hilary
Roberts choreographed Kentucky Running Set. Becky Coulter
learned Exhibition Square Dance from its choreographer, Mary
Bee Jensen, and set it for this stage. Coulter choreographed
Appalachian Clogging with George Frandsen in 1983 and
adapted it in 2008.
SATURDAY, JUNE 25 / Solstice Celebration FORUM / YBCA
SATURDAY, JUNE 25 / Solstice Celebration FORUM / YBCA
A meditative tune called Tonalteca is played for the entrance
and the exit and the dancers show off an ancient indigenous
art form, the complex and colorful huipil. The huipil dress is a
rectangle of cloth, handwoven on the backstrap loom used in
Zapotec culture for thousands of years. Intricately embroidered
symbols show bright flora and fauna and religious and cosmic
concepts. For centuries—and today, as women wear them in
modern Tuxtepec—the huipil dress acts as a kind of wearable
indigenous resume: its symbols tell a woman’s identity,
history and culture, social and marital status, religion, power,
and personality.
harvest that specifically represent their pueblos. Then, to
celebrate these gifts, people from this community present
representative dances. In 1958, choreographer Paulina Solis
was commissioned to create a new dance, Flor de Pina, one that
better represents Tuxtepec’s large indigenous population and
its bountiful pineapple harvest.
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Navarrete x Kajiyama
Dance Theater
Argentina
Amorando is an Argentine tango. The form is usually improvised,
but has been choreographed for this stage. This moving and
authentic performance shows why the tango is beloved in
diverse communities around the world. It is a dance of intimacy,
beauty, melancholy, longing, struggle, love, and passion. In
tango, the dancers must pay absolute attention to another
human being. Absorbed and self-contained, the couple moves
as one, finding joy and epiphany in the moment.
Tango’s 2/4 rhythms and elegant movements have been traced
to the habanera through the syncopated Argentine milonga
(possibly influenced by polka). The roots of tango are also
linked to Afro-Uruguay candombe ceremonies, French Cuban
contradanza, Andalucian tango, Spanish ballroom dance,
Spanish American payada ballads, and 1930s Congolese
sukous (related to the rumba).
beats, men improvised steps in crowded houses and in the
streets, a dancer holds his partner’s right hand in his left. The
names of tango songs evoke decades of lively porteño culture:
“Guy With a Wiry Build”, “Let’s Chat”, “Give Me My Pay”, “Store
for Stolen Goods”, “Goodbye to My Father”, “Joe Who Carries
Knives”, and “Beware the 1950s.”
In the early twentieth century, tango became popular in Europe
and the U.S. The song “Amorando” is by Osvaldo Pugliese
from the Golden Age of Tango (1935-1952). The music features
bandoneon (tango’s instrument of melancholy) violin, piano, and
double bass. The piece was choreographed by Jose Navarrete
and Debby Kajiyama in 2008.
Navarrete x Kajiyama creates interdisciplinary performance
works using movement, theater, art installation, multimedia, and
site-specific environments. Their work has been influenced by
ritual, cultural studies, and political and environmental concerns
of the world in which we live. NAKA’s vocabulary has been
enriched by studies of Japanese taiko drumming, Latin American
social dances, and the cultural significance of these communitybuilding art forms. Their primary master tango teacher is San
Francisco’s Nora Dinzelbacher, originally from Argentina.
www.nkdancetheater.com
Ballet Pampa Argentina
Argentina
En La Fiesta Santiagueña presents dances from Argentina’s
Santiago del Estero, a northern region known for folkloric dance.
The style is norteño, brisk and flirtatious. The dancers exhibit
two-hundred-year-old European geometric formations and waltz
meters, traditional masculine bravado, and zapateo (footwork),
showcasing the men’s quick pie volcado, danced on the side of
the foot.
The first piece, Fiesta Linda is a chacarera doble, a group dance
enjoyed at festivals and parties. The region of Santiaga del
Estero claims this dance as its own. The second piece, De Las
Trincheras Santiagueñas is an escondido. The name means
“hiding”, and the dance is known for its picardía (spice). The
men compete for the ladies’ attention, and the women carry
themselves with flirtatious bravado, ruffling their skirts with a
sexy swish. The set ends with Malambo de Boleadoras, a solo
by Pampa Cortés. Malambos performed with weapons are a
late 1950s era invention for the stage. (The wooden boleadoras
were originally three rocks on a leather strap.) The combined
rhythms evoke horses’ hooves across the expansive Argentine
pampas where everything is bigger, faster, and better.
WORLD PREMIERE
This performance is made possible, in part, thanks
to the generosity of Susan and Jitu Somaya
The dancers wear typical country clothing, with the ladies in
cotton dresses and the men in bombachas, the wide-legged
Cossack-inspired gaucho pants. Musicians play guitar, violin, and
bombo, a wooden-barrel drum—played on its head and also on the
encircling wooden bands.
Ballet Pampa Argentina was founded in 2010 by Pampa Cortés
and is a program of Tango & More Argentine Dance. It is a new
embodiment of Cortés’ troupe originally founded in 1980. Group
performances honor the depth and breadth of Argentine folkloric
dance and music. Artistic director Pampa Cortés is a master
Argentine tango and folkloric dancer, director, and choreographer,
trained by Santiago Ayala “El Chúcaro” and Norma Viola, founders
of El Ballet Nacional Folklórico de Argentina; and maestros
Mario Machaco and Norma Ré. www.tangoandmore.org
Dance Origin: Argentina • Genre: Folkloric • Title: En La Fiesta Santiagueña
Artistic Director/Choreographer: Pampa Cortés • Assistant Director:
Patricia “Gigi” Jensen • Dancers: Brooke Byrne, Pampa Cortés, Martha
Gallego, Patricia “Gigi” Jensen, Janis Llamas, Gilma Pereda, Luis Valverde
Musicians: Edmond Badoux (guitar), Francy Vidal (bombo), Daniel Zamalloa
(violin)
JUNE 25 PASIÓN DANCE PARTY FORUM / YBCA
JUNE 25 PASIÓN DANCE PARTY FORUM / YBCA
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Dance Origin: Argentina • Genre: Tango • Title: Amorando • Choreographers/
Dancers: Debby Kajiyama and José Navarrete
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The melancholy of the dance is said to come from the difficult
lives of its early practitioners, many of whom danced “just to
keep going.” In the late 1800s booming port of Buenos Aires,
thousands of poverty-stricken porteños—European immigrants
and displaced Africans—crowded together. Tango now highlights
distinct gender roles, but in a town with few women, its original
couples were mostly male. As street organs played catchy 2/4
This performance is made possible, in part, thanks
to the generosity of Margarita and Herbert Rosenthal
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El Tunante
Peru
The marinera is the Peruvian National
Dance, one of the most elegant dances
in Peru. In Lima, it’s marinera Limeña;
on the coast, it’s marinera costeña;
and in Trujillo and the North, it’s the
lively marinera norteña, the form on our
stage today. The men wear traditional
wide-brimmed hats and ponchos. The
women’s dresses are from cities of
northern Peru‚ including Moche, the
source of elegant lace, and Trujillo, the
marinera capital.
ocean waves. To complete the set, the
couples unite. Their steps include the
coqueteo, with partners dancing very
closely, and the skillful cepillado brushing
footwork.
El Tunante describes the dance: She,
with her gathered skirt seems to leave
her agile feet free sweeping the ground
with the fury and the passion of her joy.
He, with his desire contained, expresses
with the force of his dance the passion of
his conquest.
Marinera dancers are typically accompanied by Spanish guitars, an Afro-Peruvian
cajón box drum, spoons that substitute
for Spanish castanets, and palmadas or
handclaps. This presentation features a
traditional marching band.
Nestor Ruiz, director of El Tunante, was a
national dance champion in Peru in 1978.
With the growing number of Peruvians
immigrating to the Bay Area, Señor Ruiz
founded El Tunante in 1999 to promote
Peruvian folklore within the youth of
his community.
Soloist Melissa Cruz performs one of the
oldest styles of flamenco forms in La
Petenera, a dance of slow intensity.
Her fluid movements are broken by
dynamic footwork and sharp poses, as
cante singing evokes flamenco’s majestic
sadness.
they can be categorized by their most
prominent cultural origin and related
rhythms. Palos from one of the earliest
flamenco forms are Romani-Andalucian,
with a rhythmic signature of twelve
beats. These include soleares, alegrías,
bulerías, and peteneras.
Melissa Cruz created the piece in 2010.
Ms. Cruz began studying flamenco and
classical Spanish dance in San Francisco
with Rosa Montoya in 1993 and performed
with Ms. Montoya’s professional company,
Bailes Flamencos, from 1996 to 2000.
From 2001 to 2004, she studied in Spain
with Pastora Galvan, Manuela Rios,
and Yolanda Heredia. Ms. Cruz’s Spanish
studies collectively inspired this
performance of La Petenera.
Dance Origin: Spain • Genre: Flamenco
Title: La Petenera • Soloist: Melissa Cruz
One verse suggests La Petenera is a
song of Spanish origin. The words refer
to the sorrowful Spanish singer La
Petenera, from Paterna de la Rivera,
Cadíz, so cruelly seductive she was
called “the damnation of men”. (Even
today, some flamenco singers believe
the song brings bad luck.) Another
verse places the song’s origins with
the Sephardic Jews of Andalucia. The
lyrics begin: ¿Dónde vas, bella judía . . .
Where are you going, beautiful Jewess,
so dressed up and running late? A more
recent theory gives the song Mexican or
Guatemalan origins, based on evidence
of a “Peteneras” sung in Veracruz.
Flamenco’s origins are also vague,
though its lamenting lyrics and melancholic
melodies are usually traced to sixteenth
century Andalucian communities, from a
people impoverished and marginalized
by the Inquisition. The origins are
indigenous Andalucian or Iberian
traditions, the music of Sephardic Jews
in Andalucia, Moorish forms, and music
developed in the Spanish new world and
modified by the Romani. Flamenco songs
have distinctive rhythms, called palos.
Most palos—there are at least sixtyfive—have roots in several sources, but
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Dance Origin: North Peru • Genre: Folkloric
Title: Marinera Peruana • Artistic Director:
Nestor Ruiz • Musical Director: Alberto Morales
Dancers: Alejandra Chumbes, Cesilia Fey, Renato
Manay, Renzo Manay, Sonia Porras de Niño de
Guzmán, Nestor Ruiz • Musicians: Jose Castillo
(euphonium), Pedro Castillo (trumpet), James
Cuba (tuba), Hernan Lara (alto sax), Alberto
Morales (trombone), Augusto Sandoval (drum),
Edward Sandoval (cymbal), Percy Sandoval (drum)
Spain
WORLD PREMIERE
This performance is made possible, in part, thanks
to the generosity of Margarita and Herbert Rosenthal
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The marinera has origins in much of
Peru’s cultural history: the Afro-Peruvian
zamacueca, Incan artwork, Creole
symbolism, Spanish fandango and
jota, and the French minuet. The white
handkerchief is a wink (or wave) to the
seventeenth century French Peruvian
aristocracy. Once named “the chilena”
the dance was renamed “marinera” for
the Peruvian Navy in 1879, when Peru
entered a war against Chile. Some
versions of marinera have sweeping foot
movements and leaps. Some use elements
from indigenous Andean huayno. One
form is danced outside: a graceful woman
dances barefoot in the dirt, and an elegant
male dances on an equally elegant
Peruvian Paso horse—a horse bred for
its steady four-beat gait.
Melissa Cruz
JUNE 25 PASIÓN DANCE PARTY FORUM / YBCA
JUNE 25 PASIÓN DANCE PARTY FORUM / YBCA
The dance begins with the men demonstrating marinera norteña choreography.
This version includes steps that imitate
the Peruvian Paso horse, and the music
directs the gait. Next the women dance,
their expressive bare feet drawing images
on the ground, their skirts swishing like
This performance is made possible, in part, thanks
to the generosity of Susan and Jitu Somaya
30
Ballet Folklórico Anáhuac
Mexico
The name of this powerful military
performance is La Pelea de Anáhuac,
The Fight of Anáhuac. Anáhuac is the
Pre-Columbian (Aztec) name of the
Valley of Mexico. The dance portrays a
battle between two small Aztec tribes,
bringing to life dramatic war-time emotions,
and demonstrates the fear tactics
Aztecs used for military dominance.
The choreography is filled with symbolism
and steps that imitate nature. As two
families of warriors enter, they perform
a dance that symbolizes water. Dancers
then imitate a snake with their sonajas
raised high above their heads; they then
represent the air with a great turning
inwards and swishing of feathered heads;
and then they dance like running deer.
Finally, two warriors stage a confrontation,
and a closing dance symbolizes eagles.
The costumes represent the clothing
of the Aztec wealthy class, with gold
adornments and images of animals,
gods, and other symbols. The copili
headdress of pheasant and rooster
feathers particularly symbolizes power
and wealth, as feathers were often imported from long distances and possibly
were used as a form of money. One of
the Aztec’s greatest weapons was fear.
Animal skins and the sheer size of regalia
transformed warriors into fearsome
giants. Leg band shakers—here made
of leather, hardened string, and seeds—
created a constant sound. Warriors also
used the sounds of fierce yelling, cocoli
shell, and huehuetl drum to strike fear
into men’s hearts. Of particular note
is the Aztec macuahuitl, the obsidianedged club. This weapon was sometimes
four feet long and its obsidian tip was
said to be sharper than steel.
Cristóbal González-Villano created the
piece in 2010, based on years of practice
and research.
Ballet Folklórico Anáhuac was formed
in 2006 by General Director Liduvina
González and co-founder Cristóbal
Gonzalez, her son, with a dream to
inspire children and youth to keep alive
the wonderful heritage of Mexican arts
and culture; and through dancing and
theatrical forms, to enrich their lives now
and in the future.
www.balletfolcloricoanahuac.com
Dance Origin: Mexico • Genre: Aztec • Title: La
Pelea de Anáhuac • General Director: Liduvina
González • Artistic Director/Choreographer:
Cristóbal González-Villano • Prop Manager:
Eric Díaz • Dancers: Rosalinda Andrade, Araceli
Bergara, Alexa Cadenaz, Kassandra Casillas,
Paola Yasmin Castro, Roberto Coria, Eric Díaz,
Daisy Garcia, Mariana Gomez, Josandra
González, Juan Carlos González, Liduvina
González, Cristóbal González-Villano, Javier
Jacquez, Anahi López, Samantha López, Alicia
Navarro, Sarayah Perez, Danny Salgado, Diana
Sandoval, Diego Sandoval, Bianca Siordia,
Jhocelynne Sotelo, Vanessa Tapia, Emily
Valenzuela, Joanna Valenzuela, Patricia Coria
Villaseñor • Musicians: Mark Cadenaz (drums),
Juan Ceja (drums), Edgar Enciso (drums),
Cristóbal González-Villano (conch shell),
Julio Cezar González (conch shell), Miguel
Larios (drums)
LIKHA - Pilipino Folk Ensemble
Philippines
This performance, called Gampang,
depicts a community ritual for good
health, harmonious living, and bountiful
harvest. LIKHA brings this dance from
the indigenous Subanen communities
of Mandih, Sindangan, Zamboanga del
Norte, Mindanao Island, Philippines.
Subanen ceremonies bridge the gap
between two realms, mortal and supernatural. The Subanen are also animists
who believe in spirits in nature. The name
Subanen comes from suba (river). The
Subanen settle inland, near rivers and
mountain streams, where they farm on
terraced hillsides.
Gampang is performed by the riverside.
Three wooden posts of differing heights
hold offerings to the spirits of uncooked
rice, chicken or pork, and an egg. The
tallest post is for higher spirits, the shorter
ones for the lower. A timuway (leader)
dances with folded palm leaves, and then
dips the leaves in the stream: this is a
protective blessing before the community
sets out to work in the fields. Assistants
follow the timuway, burning incense
and sounding porcelain bowls with
sticks of fragrant wood. Female dancers
whisk dried palm leaves (siosay). The
men strike bamboo poles in rhythmic
cadence as the women nimbly thread
their steps between them. Each dance,
offering, sound, and smell is designed to
please the spirits, to attract their spiritual
presence into the rite. Five musicians join
the performance with Subanen musical
instruments: a big brass gong (agong); a
set of eight small brass gongs of graduated
size (kulintang); a hollow log or bamboo
tube (durugan); a hollow bamboo with
few slits and plucked strings (sigitan);
and the native drum (tambol).
In May of 2009, choreographer Rudi C.
Soriano went to the village of Mandih,
Sindangan Zamboanga del Norte
Philippines to research Subanen dance
and ritual. Rudi learned the dance and
ritual from Cristina Andus, Audie Soledad,
Anthony & Malina Gallemit, Arturo
Lamdag, and Ian Dalman.
In 1992 a collective of individuals came
together to form a group that celebrates
Philippine culture and tradition. From this
group LIKHA-Pilipino Folk Ensemble was
born, founded by artistic director Rudi C.
Soriano. LIKHA believes in the power
of dance and music to educate the
Flipino community and diverse audience,
showcasing the diversity of the Philippine
culture on stage. www.likha.org
Dance Origin: Philippines • Genre: Folkloric
Title: Gampang • Artistic Director/Choreographer:
Rudi C. Soriano • Costume Director: Warren
Manuntag • Dancers: Eric Abad, Liza Allen,
Noel Asiatico, Liza Atendido, Raisa Baula, Erin
Bolick, Ron Cabarloc, Lolita Castillo, Catherine
Centeno, Raymond Centeno, Beverly Cruz,
Janice Cruz, Tina Cruz, Manuel De Vera Jr.,
Cassie Dominguez, Maurice Fortner, Vincent
Hutalla, Chariss Ilarina, Laurie Laxa, Cynthia
Lucero, Elsa Manlangit, Marie Oliveros, Kristin
Pahati, Michael Palad, Pehnee Poblete, Maria
Rios, Paulino Tamayo, Jenny Young, Martina
Zabala, Sunshine Zabala • Musicians: Kevin Alicbusan (agong), Ed Cruz (kulintang) RP Cuenco
(durugan), Arledge David (agong), Omar Pahati
(tambol), Richard Rios (agong), Angelo Salumbides (durugan & sigitan)
SUNDAY, JUNE 26 / Rising Up FORUM / YBCA
SUNDAY, JUNE 26 / Rising Up FORUM / YBCA
The Aztec were a migrating Nahuatlspeaking tribe who conquered the Valley
of Mexico to build one of Americas’ great
indigenous civilizations. Contemporary
Aztec staging, choreography, and
costumes are reconstructed from
archeological evidence: carvings and
murals, bark paper codices, and sixteenth century eyewitness accounts of
Aztec life and culture by Spanish conquistadors and monks.
WORLD PREMIERE
32
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ABADÁ - Capoeira San Francisco
Performance Troupe
EMESÈ: Messengers
of the African Diaspora
Brazil
Cuba and Brazil
In the seventeenth century, Portuguese transported millions of
Africans to work in sugar plantations along Brazil’s northeast
coast. Spirit of Brazil celebrates dance and martial art forms
invented in those fields—maculelê and capoeira. The performance
mixes authentic and modern interpretations with rarely-seen
choreography from Mestre Bimba, Brazil’s 1930s champion of
the form.
The performance begins with a set of capoeira, an improvised
game. The rhythm of the berimbau— a resonant stringed gourd
—declares the rules. Opponents catch each other off-guard with
acrobatics, martial arts, and dance moves. Players score points
for rhythm, athletic prowess, and improvisational grace: and the
duo’s points are combined. Today’s performance, set for stage,
begins with benguela, a ritualized game with low, slow movements,
use of the head, and attempts to get behind the opponent. Next,
in São Bento grande, the object is to “put down” the opponent
with athletic, flowing moves. The third rhythm, iuna, signals free
form combat—a daring game of trust. This game was developed
as African groups shared fighting techniques, disguising their
military practice as music, dance, and song.
The simple maculelê costumes have traditional raffia skirts, and
white capoeira suits evolved from African ceremonial attire and
Afro-Brazilian Sunday suits. Musicians play agogo cowbell;
Brazilian atabaque drums, and three sizes of stringed African
berimbau. Call and response songs honor the strong human voice
and the oral tradition that helped a people and their art form survive.
ABADÁ-Capoeira San Francisco Performance Troupe (ACSF,)
founded 1992, preserves and promotes Afro-Brazilian culture
through athletic, spirited, and artistic performances of maculelê,
capoeira, and music; with over 500 performances at schools,
cultural events, and outdoor festivals in California. Mestranda
Márcia “Cigarra” (Treidler), originally from Rio de Janeiro, is
ACSF’s founder and artistic director, one of the ten top capoeiristas of 40,000 international ABADÁ-Capoeira members, and
Mestre Camisa’s first female student to be named “Mestranda.”
www.abada.org
When Yoruba people were enslaved and brought to Cuba,
they maintained African ancestral religions within the imposed
European religious systems. Yoruba orisha worship evolved and
thrived in Cuba and Brazil. The sacred Yoruba Odu scripture
describes Shango as one of the early rulers of Oyo, Nigeria,
whose fierce spirit conquered death. He returned to his place in
the sky where his divine life force is eternal. Shango is master of
the dance and owner of the sacred batá drums. He represents
action and connection, and his power lives in the resonance of
the drum and in the scream of thunder, heard simultaneously in
heaven and on Earth.
The costume’s leopard patterns honor Shango’s animal, sixpaneled skirts reflect Shango’s sacred number, lightning bolts
are for masculine energy, fedoras for contemporary masculine
cool, and a double-headed ax, or oshé, is for swift and balanced
justice.
Early Yoruba musicians played a set of five batá hand drums
for Shango ceremonies. In Cuba, the batá evolved into a set
of three two-headed drums. In this performance, the batá play
the toques, or rhythms, unique to Shango—Wemilere, Emi so,
and Meta. The singer calls out a prayer, praise, or welcome, to
activate the drum and the dancers.
The piece was choreographed in 2009 by Bianca Coleman,
guided by Shango; dancers prepare for performances with
invocations to the orisha.
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All programs in YBCA’S Forum narrated
by Ma- healani Uchiyama.
Dance Origin: Cuba and Brazil • Genre: Folkloric (Orisha) • Title: Shango!
Musical Director: Rick Ananda • Choreographer: Bianca Coleman
Costume Design: Maya Coleman • Praise Poetry (Oriki) Writers: Adéìràwò
Orígúwà, Sarah Rosenkrantz • Dancers: Bianca Coleman, Asatu Musunama
Hall Allah, Adéìràwò Orígúwà, Tammy Ryan, Tyese M. Wortham • Musicians:
Rick Ananda (batá), Tyrone Collins (chorus), Taji Maalik Hill (batá), Calvin
Holmes (akpón-lead singer), Laila Jenkins-Perez (chorus), Pedro Lopez
(batá), Sarah Rosenkrantz (chorus), Takeo Wong (chorus)
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Dance Origin: Brazil • Genre: Folkloric (Capoeira and Maculelê)l • Title:
Spirit of Brazill • Artistic Director/Choreographer: Mestranda Márcia Cigarra
Dancers: Antonio Contreras, Rhodora Derpo, Claudia Escobar, Aimee
Fribourg, Michael Friedman, Kelly Gleason, Elias Gonzales, Erica Hemenway,
Dongshil Kim, Joshua Peterson, Krystele Rosado, Olivia Shetler, Lisa Silva,
Makley de Sousal • Musicians: Alison Barnes (atabaque), Mestranda Márcia
Cigarra (berimbau, atabaque), Zak Douglas (berimbau, atabaque), Joshua
Peterson (berimbau), Reynaldo Vieira (pandeiro), Jocelyn Walker (pandeiro,
agogo)
Shango! is a theatrical performance of a spiritual invocation. An
all-female ensemble dances for the Yoruba orisha Shango, a
powerful male deity not often portrayed by women. The orisha
are emissaries of the divine: the dancers celebrate a masculine
ashé (divine life force) that lives in all of us. The choreography
shows swagger and kingly presence, sharp lines for Shango’s
thunderbolt energy, and pronounced pelvic movements for
masculine sensuality. Traditional batá drumming accompanies
Lukumí songs of Cuba. To honor longstanding cultural and spiritual connections, the choreography also draws from the spiritual
belief system of Candomblé from Brazil.
EMESÈ: Messengers of the African Diaspora is a collective of
artists founded in 1998 with a mission to promote and present
the rich cultural traditions of the African Diaspora. EMESÈ is
comprised of artists with extensive backgrounds in the history,
teaching, and preservation of African and African-derived song,
dance, and drum culture as practiced in Cuba, Brazil, Guinea,
Congo, Senegal, Liberia, Haiti, and the U.S.
www.emesemotad.com
SUNDAY, JUNE 26 / Rising Up FORUM / YBCA
SUNDAY, JUNE 26 / Rising Up FORUM / YBCA
Part two of this set is the maculelê, a dance inspired by the
chopping of sugar cane. In a roda circle, participants dance,
keep rhythm, and sing, often in Yoruba.
Swing and balance in the sea . . . in port, we were sold into
slavery. . . but I’m black and I have a warrior’s soul, I will
escape captivity in capoeira. . . penetrate the jungle, break
the chains, return to my land. . .
WORLD PREMIERE
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Barangay Dance Company
Philippines
People of the Current refers to the Tausug, an Islamic tribal
group in the Sulu Archipelago, Philippines. The Tausug live
beside, on, and in water: diving for pearls in turquoise waters
and navigating treacherous tides of the Sulu, China, and
Celebes Seas. In this staging of Tausug dance, divers descend
into clear waters and then ride home on a colorful vinta boat.
Intricate movements and abrupt transitions reflect violent waves
and currents as well as the Tausug’s unpredictable fierceness.
They are called Tau Maisug “brave people” for three centuries of
resistance of Spanish colonialization. They regard themselves
superior to other Philippine Muslims and remain combative.
One proverb says: Hanggang maybuhay, may pag asa: Never
admit defeat as long as you live.
The pangalay style is distinctively Asian among Southern
Philippine dances. The dancer moves up and down, torso rigid,
feet planted on the ground, while the rest of the body moves
with intricate dexterity. Brass janggay fingernails simulate
corals. (They come from an earlier Buddhist tradition.)
Barangay Dance Company of San Francisco promotes
preservation, awareness, understanding, and appreciation of
Philippine cultural heritage through research, outreach, and
presentation of folk dances and music. Barangay or balangay
was a large swift boat that carried the first Malay families to the
Philippines, and the word came to mean a clan or family. Barangay
Dance Company is a family—immigrant and American-born,
young, and young-at-heart—bound by a mutual love for
Philippine dance and music.
Alaska, United States
I take you on a journey, in the air, on the ground,
and in your mind.
Someone is singing to you and calls your name from the air,
from the ground, and in your mind.
Someone dances for you and moves gracefully from the air,
from the ground, in the deep recesses of your mind.
Chuna McIntyre is a Central Yup’ik Eskimo from the Bering
Sea, Alaska. He performs I Take You on a Journey, a dance with
movements from everyday life. Chuna wears a Yup’ik mask
and traditional regalia, with handmade Yup’ik garments and
dance accoutrement. His tambourine-like instrument is called
“Cauyaq”, or “one that you face”, to describe the relationship
between the dance and drum. Yup’ik masks help humans see
through the eyes of the animals who dwell with us. Mask dances
ask for well-being and gifts from nature—understanding
that everything in the environment—even a speck of dust—
has awareness.
Chuna McIntyre was born and raised in the village of Eek on
Kuskokwim Bay. Yup’ik is the first language in his village, and
they carry on the ancient traditions of fishing and hunting and
gathering the berries and greens from the land. Chuna was
raised by his grandmother, who lived to be 95 years old, in the
village of Eek. She taught Chuna these ancient dances, songs,
and stories, and he set them for stage. Through scholarly
recording, and dancing for ceremony and theater, the Yup’ik
keep their culture alive.
To share his people’s rich culture, Chuna McIntyre performs
frequently for Inuit-Eskimo and non-Native audiences. He is
founder and director of Nunamta (“of Our Land”) Yup’ik Eskimo
Dancers, which has traveled the world sharing Alaska’s Native
cultural heritage. He attended the University of Alaska, Fairbanks
and Sonoma State University, where he received a BA in Studio
Art and Native American Studies. Chuna is assisting the Smithsonian
Institution with their Yup’ik Eskimo collection, and he curated
the Inuit-Eskimo permanent exhibit at the de Young Museum.
Additional support for this performance comes from the Alaska
Native Heritage Center.
Dance Origin: Kuskokwim Bay, Bering Sea, Alaska • Genre: Traditional
Title: I Take You on a Journey • Artistic Director/Choreographer/Soloist:
Chuna McIntyre • Musician: Vernon Chimegalrea
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Dance Origin: Southern Philippines • Genre: Indigenous (Pangalay) • Title:
Tau Sug (People of the Current) • Artistic Director/Founder: Bonifacio
Valera • Executive Director: Rona Ronquillo • Costume Design: Patricia Valera
Choreographer: Jay Loyola • Dancers: Marijoy Angeles, Marjorie Anicete,
Christine Aquino, Gina Battad, Joel Cayabyab, Rommel Conclara, Kevin
Cortes, Paolo Fonacier, Garrett Hom, Aikenne Mauricio, Jonathan Mercado,
Crystel Presa, Emily Piros, Evan Reyes, Jan Salas, Jonathan Tioseco
Musicians: Richard Fernandez (kulintang), Mikaela Reyes (agong), Rona
Ronquillo (agong), Bonifacio Valera (dabakan)
This performance
made possible,
in part, thanks
to the generosity of
Philomena King
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35
At least five players are needed for the kulingtan ensemble:
playing kulingtan—a graduated series of eight to eleven small
gongs—and gandang drums, a large gong, and another set of
paired gongs. For vocals or solos, Tausang also play a gabbang
xylophone with fourteen to twenty-four keys in seven-note scales.
Jay Loyola, scholar of Philippine indigenous dance, created the
piece. Radel Josef Lopez is collaborative musical director for
indigenous instruments.
CHUNA MCINTYRE OF Nunamta Yup’ik
Eskimo Singers and Dancers
JUNE 24, 25 & 26 NOVELLUS THEATER / YBCA
JUNE 24, 25 & 26 NOVELLUS THEATER / YBCA
The patterned male headgear and cloths slung across the
shoulder are made of hand-woven Tausug textile (habul). The
skirt (patadjung) with its imported patterns has many uses: as
head cover, waistband, blanket, or hammock. A satin blouse
(biyatawi) with tambuku buttons is worn with silk and brocade
sawwal trousers.
WORLD PREMIERE
36
Collage Dance Ensemble
Kyoungil Ong
Transylvania, Romania, and Hungary
Korea
Eastern Tides features dance from the Transylvanian Romani
(Roma) people—once called gypsies. Transylvania is “the land
beyond the forest” in northwestern Romania. Its wooded valleys
are circled by Carpathian mountains, and the region is home to
Romanian, Hungarian, and marginalized Romani communities.
As a migrating people, the Roma carry their culture with them,
and they also absorb elements of dance from their Eastern
European neighbors.
Roma dance is a fiery and proud tradition. It’s about feeling,
a building of community through an expression of sorrow. The
style favors individual style over unison work. For example,
when they dance Transylvanian circle dances, Romani dancers
don’t hold hands, but express themselves individually, showing
off emotion, flair, and flexibility, with a soft upper body, incredibly
rapid footwork, and exciting vocals. Roma dance has also
adopted Hungarian boot slapping and claps, and a Hungarian
military look, with straight arms and precision movements.
Jaj Devla, Jaj Devla, Jaj Devla, Jaj e Fani . . .
Oh God, Oh God, Oh God, This Fani
It is her, it is her, it is her who gives me sorrow
Aj le le le le, I must die from sorrow,
because Fani doesn’t love me
The final number, staged with western-style geometry, celebrates
rhythm, Roma a capella style. The dancers are wearing typical
Transylvanian Roma costumes—Eastern European with a bit of
bling—metal studs, printed shirts, mismatched fabrics, gold jewelry
—and boots that are useful for dancing in muddy village streets.
Eastern Tides was choreographed in 2000 and restaged in 2011.
Collage Dance Ensemble grew out of artistic director Ahmet
Lüleci’s goal of showcasing the beauty, energy and passion of
neglected dance forms and their cultural heritage. Mr. Lüleci is
master of many traditional forms. The highly-acclaimed Collage
performs in the U.S., Canada, and Turkey, integrating traditional
performance with modern Western techniques. www.collageusa.org
Dance Origin: Korea • Genre: Shaman Dance • Title: Voices of the Spirit
World • Choreographer/Soloist: Kyoungil Ong
|
There are two kinds of Korean shaman dance—one is for the
cleansing of the spirit after death, and the other is to heal spiritual
sickness in the living. Shamanism is Korea’s indigenous religion
and it is very much alive in contemporary Korean society.
Spiritual guides, called mudang, are usually women. Selected
for their integrity and skill, they act as intercessor between the
spirits, ancestors, unknown forces from history, and deities.
Korean-born dancer/choreographer Kyoungil Ong is artistic
director of OngDance Company, (formed in 2003) and was artistic
director of S.F. Korean Culture Center, and A.I.R. at Oakland
Asian Cultural Center. With an M.A. from Korea’s Sungkyunkwan
University, she achieved acclaim as principal dancer for the
National Dance Company of Korea. She has choreographed
over fifty works and performed in thirty countries (including
the Atlanta Olympics and “Wave Rising” in New York).
OngDance awards include: San Francisco Foundation
Choreography Commission for the San Francisco Ethnic Dance
Festival, Isadora Duncan, Art Council of Korea, and 24th
Barcelona International Dance Competition. www.ongdance.com
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37
Dance Origin: Transylvania, Romania, and Hungary • Genre: Contemporary
Dance in Folkloric Style • Title: Eastern Tides • Artistic Director/
Choreographer: Ahmet Lüleci • Associate Artistic Director: Sherene
Melania • Rehearsal Director: Erica Nicolae • Dancers: Norma Adjmi, Gina
Brignetti, Ryan Chan, Lacey Cope, Vadim Dribinsky, Hilda Del Carmen
Fernandez, Courtney Kiel, Edgar Lepe, Ahmet Lüleci, Norberto Martinez,
Sherene Melania, Albert Galvan Morales, Erica Nicolae, Isaac Niederman,
Karen Oakley, Jeannette Quintana
Kyoungil Ong performs an authentic Korean Shaman Dance,
as a spiritual blessing for today’s audience and in honor of the
women who suffered during the Korean War. Using traditional
instruments, dance, and music, the soloist literally invites the
spirits to enter her: she enters the stage as a human and ends
the dance as an intermediary, a dancer halfway between the
human and spirit world. When a shaman channels spirits,
she dons an elegant and colorful costume, encouraging the
spirits to enjoy moments of her happy dancing life. She holds
a fan for dignity and a bell to call the gods. Most importantly,
the dancer’s ceremonial actions with the bara—a cymbal-like
Korean brass instrument—expel evil spirits and purify the mind.
Kyoungil dances to traditional Korean music, played on gongs,
drums, and the shaman’s piri flute.
Their rituals and ceremonies—highly valued in Korean society—
help with all aspects of life, from illness and marriage, to school
exams and the lottery, to a final peace after death. Rituals may
run a few hours to a few days, and some mudang, especially in
the northern regions, follow a spirit-possessed, ecstatic tradition.
JUNE 24, 25 & 26 NOVELLUS THEATER / YBCA
JUNE 24, 25 & 26 NOVELLUS THEATER / YBCA
The first dance is based on the Hungarian mekereki/verbunk.
Male dancers enter like a squadron, and with a flourish
command the ladies to enter. A competitive duet highlights
traditional steps, and the western staging includes precision
lines. The song is “Lovers of Light” by Afro-Celtic Sound Machine.
(Choreographer Ahmet Lüleci found an exciting connection
between the amazing rhythms of Afro-Celtic music and
European Romani dance.)
The second piece, Fani, a typical Roma style, danced to the
sorrowful song from Kalyi Jag:
WORLD PREMIERE
38
Nimely Pan African
Dance Company
Liberia
The Liberian costumes and masks are
handmade with raffia skirts, yarn net
shirts, and Kente cloth pants. Vibrant
colors and gold represent the rich colors
of West Africa. In close connection with
the dancers, percussionists play a talking
drum, djembe, djun djun, klen, and
kpaneglah log drum. A gourd laced with
beads (saa-saa) makes rhythmic rattling
sounds. The songs are: “We Are
African”—a song that explains Africans
are Africans, whether or not they are
born on the continent of Africa; “Praises
to Liberia”; and “Oh Mama”—a graduation
song that gives thanks to Mother Earth.
This choreography is from the Boimah
Gibla of the Liberian National Culture
Troupe (1965): it was re-choreographed
by Nimely Napla, former director of The
Liberian National Dance Company.
From the green hills and shady glens of
Ireland, Murphy’s Irish dancers present
Dancing at the Crossroads, a lively set
of traditional Irish step, ceili, and figure
dances. The young performers enter
with their feet flying, exhibiting dances
in this order:
The Darling Girls From Clare, a group
dance about young girls flirting with a
crowd.
Dueling Feet, the boys execute intricate
footwork to impress the locals.
The Slip Jig, a light and airy dance by the
junior girls in soft shoes.
Celtic Hooley, a lively dance done by the
minor dancers and ending with the Irish jig.
The Treble Reel, featuring the Lord of
the Dance style (Riverdance), bringing
everyone back for a rousing finish.
The title of this piece comes from the
time of British occupation, when dances,
religion, language, and gathering in
social halls were forbidden. It’s said Irish
step dance originated then, as communities gathered where they could—at
the crossroads and in kitchens—and
danced with their arms casually at their
sides, their feet making up the difference.
Dancers outdid each other with intricate
steps, while their neighbors hummed
melodies on comb and paper, and kept
the beat on a hand drum or a washboard.
Mary Jo and Patricia Feeney (U.S.) and
Tony Comerford (Ireland) choreographed
the performance. The costumes are the
“contemporary traditional” look of Irish
dancers, with thick embroidery patterns
from the Book of Kells with a 1900s era
black jacket and green skirt. A gathering
for Irish music and dance is called a ceili:
the music is played on traditional ceili
instruments—the fiddle, bodhran (drum),
accordion, banjo, and concertina.
Murphy Irish Dance Company was
founded in 1963, and is run by motherdaughter team Mary Jo Murphy-Feeney
and Patricia Feeney-Conefrey. The artistic
director is Mary Jo Feeney. She first
learned Irish dancing in her kitchen on
Second Avenue, from her mother Hannah
O’Sullivan from County Cork, Ireland.
The school now immerses generations of
students in dancing, singing, language,
art, and other aspects of Irish tradition.
Company dancers perform frequently in
the Bay Area and internationally, and they
have won western regional, national, and
world titles.
Dance Origin: Ireland • Genre: Traditional • Title:
Dancing at the Crossroads • Artistic Director:
Mary Jo Feeney • Choreographer: Tony Comerford
and Patricia Feeney-Conefrey • Dancers: Autumn
Amato, Michael Conefrey, Jennifer Corry, Brigid
Crossan, Katie Danz, Katelyn Dwyer, Lauren
Elliott, Shannon Ferry, Jake Grey, Gavin Haskell,
Grace Haskell, Will Haskell, Siobhan Healy,
Pierce Honeymoon, Jane Lange, McKenzie
Lynch, Julie Maxwell, Marie Maxwell, Mary Ann
Maxwell, Rachel Maxwell, Molly McDowell,
Hannah McGowan, Sarah McGowan, Claire
Naughton, Emily Naughton, Briana Nelson, Marie
Rossi, Sarah Rossi, Anthony Sheridan, Melissa
Sheridan, Christina Spiers, Melissa Spinelli, Evan
Trudell • Musicians: Eileen Danz (harp), Melissa
Lundy (accordion and concertina), Richard
Lundy (banjo and guitar), Lewis Milligan (fiddle),
Peter Persoff (piano)
JUNE 24, 25 & 26 NOVELLUS THEATER / YBCA
Dance Origin: Liberia • Genre: Folkloric • Title:
Breaking of the Poro Bush (Male Rights of
Passage Graduation Ceremony) • Artistic Director/
Choreographer: Nimely Napla • Business
Manager: Dedeh La Foucade • Dancers: Jamila
Booker, Stefon Dent, Gamalieh Drake, Orion
Drake, Fikpe Flomo, Nanfo Heybrun, Amani
Johnson, Darian La Foucade, Dedeh La Foucade,
Israel La Foucade, Sekou Ndiaye, Keaynun
Polee, Shadrach Polee, Nicolas Smith, Terrance
Smith, Stephanie Wilson, Patrick S. Yeanay
Musicians: Benjamin Castro (djembe), Zinnah
Cooper (vocals/saa-saa), Blessed Drake (vocals),
Kenneth Kirkwood (djembe), Mau Kirkwood (djun
djun), Mareshah Moss (vocals), Nimely Napla
(djembe), Benjamin Roberts (djun djun), Hannah
Smith (vocals), Richmond Wiggins (djembe)
Ireland
This performance made possible, in part, thanks
to the genorosity of Olga Milan-Howells, Real Estate Broker
JUNE 24, 25 & 26 NOVELLUS THEATER / YBCA
|
Nimely Pan African Dance Company was
established in Minnesota in 1994, and is
now based in Oakland. It is a non-profit
community-based company focusing on
the positive attributes of youth through
discipline, study of cultural heritage,
performing arts, song, dance, drumming,
and building self esteem; celebrating the
life, youth, craft, and wisdom of West
Africa. The company’s programs provide
young men and women with a strong
foundation of support and guidance to
realize their truest potential and achieve
their goals in life.
www.nimelypanafricandancecompany.com
Murphy Irish
Dance Company
|
39
Breaking of the Poro Bush is a dance
representing a rite of passage for
young men of the Vai, Gola, and Mende
ethnic groups. It comes from Grand
Cape Mount County, a remote region in
Liberia’s northeast mountains. The Poro
is a secret male society that initiates
and cares for its members. Between the
ages of four and eleven, boys are taken
for seven years to a secluded school in
the bush: here they learn to survive as
men with strength, endurance, and pride.
Their graduation ceremony is blessed by
spirits who dance to protect the boys:
full-body “masks,” dancers who literally
embody divine spirits of the African bush
and of the community. The ceremony
begins early in the morning, with the Da
Zoe (spirits of the earth) giving birth to
the children, sending them home to
their parents. At noon the boys return, to
dance what they have learned: how to
give respect, make rope, cook, hunt,
and fish. The tradition is as old as people
can remember, passed down from
generation to generation through a line
of teachers/patriarchs. The secret black
mask, Zoe Gba, has never performed on
stage before, and it appears today with
special permission granted from Poro
and Sande societies.
This performance made possible, in part, thanks
to the generosity of Sara Zumwalt
40
Natyalaya
India
An Evening in Brindava is a well-loved
South Indian kuchipudi item, based on
the Hindu tale of the gopi milkmaids. One
evening—amid cuckoos and honeybees,
beside the Yamuna river, under cool
mountain breezes and the scent of
sandalwood—the gopi maidens are
enchanted by the flute. They come upon
Lord Krishna and they dance with him,
each woman believing Krishna dances
only with her.
So Krishna took each one of them by
the hand and completed the circle of
the dance with the cowherd women. . .
Krishna sang about the harvest moon,
the moonlight and the night-blooming
lotus, but the crowd of cowherd
women sang only the name of Krishna,
over and over again . . .
He whose real form is as pervasive
as the wind lives as the lord in those
women, in their husbands, and in all
creatures as well. Just as ether, earth,
water and wind are in all beings. . .
JUNE 24, 25 & 26 NOVELLUS THEATER / YBCA
Kuchipudi is one of India’s seven classical
dance styles, traced to the second
century BC In the fourteenth century,
scholar/dancer Sidhyendra Yogi, in
a village in Andhra Pradesh, revived
Yakshagna folk dance forms with stylized
footwork and classical music. Until the
1900s, only men danced kuchipudi, as
religious practice. Then Vedantam
Lakshminarayana Shastri took the dance
to Madras (Chennai), reintroduced women,
and created the popular solo dances.
Kuchipudi dancers mime stories told in
song. They combine intricate classical
movements with theatrical gesture, fast
rhythms, alluring expressions, and swift
looks. Unique to kuchipudi is tarangam, a
dance performed on the edge of a brass
plate. Dancers often balance on their
heads a small brass pot filled with water.
The South Indian costume is considered
auspicious, with regalia, jewelry, and
makeup adapted from traditional bridal
wear. Dancers also wear veils to portray
the milkmaids. Krishna is adorned with
peacock feathers and garlands; he
mimes his spiritual flute. The dancers
beat sticks in formations. They dance
to classical Carnatic music recorded in
India by singer Swetha Persad, with
mridangam, tabla, sitar, violin, and vina.
Jyothi Lakkaraju learned the dance from
Dr. Uma Rama Rao in Hyderabad, India,
and choreographed this version in 2010.
Natyalaya-Kuchipudi School of Dance
was established by artistic director
Jyothi Lakkaraju in 2000 to promote and
proliferate kuchipudi, a popular south
Indian classical dance. The school
provides lessons and has given
innumerable live performances in the
San Francisco Bay Area.
www.natyalaya.net
Dance Origin: Andhra Pradesh, India • Genre:
Kuchipudi • Title: An Evening in Brindavan
Artistic Director: Jyothi Lakkaraju • Musical
Composer: Sweta Prasad • Dancers: Vedantam
Keerthi, Avvari Manaswini, Vemuri Meena,
Kidambi Neha, Thangelapalli Rekha, Gundavajhala
Smitha, Bathina Sneha, Davala Spoorthi,
Madabhushi Sreenidh
Los Lupeños de San José
Mexico
Picture yourself in the Plaza Guadalajara,
Mexico. It is 1860, early in the morning.
The musicians are returning home and
the vendors want to dance. An impromptu
celebration begins—a brief interlude of
familiar numbers, to celebrate ranch life
and love.
The suite was choreographed by
Guadalajara’s Maestro René Arce in the
1990s. It blends nineteenth century
social dances with sones and jarabes
from the state of Jalisco. (Sones are
songs with improvised lyrics. Jarabes—
the word means “syrup”—are instrumental
medleys of mixed European rhythms.)
As Mexico struggled against a Frenchspeaking monarchy, the citizenry
disdained the upper class affectation
and yet adopted some of their style. The
dances mix European couple and line
formations and elegant body carriage
with zapateado footwork and the imitations of animals. The men wear typical
horsemen’s chinaco pants, day-labor
chaps, and a scarf to wipe the face. The
women have added brocade to peasant
dresses, and in affected elegance, they
show a seductive glimpse of white slip.
The first dance is Jarabito, the “Little
Jarabe” with a jota rhythm from Spain,
and a European mix-up of couples. The
performance continues with three sones.
In El Tejón, “The Badger”, the men dance
sidesteps to show their rooster-like ruffles.
In La Potranca, “The Mare”, a female
soloist is the filly to the men’s appreciative
and competitive stallions. The courtship
escalates in El Coco, “The Coconut”, a
dance with sly lyrics:
La vecina de alla enfrente
Es una buena cristiana
Sale a misa por la noche
Y vuelve por la mañana.
The woman across the street
Is really a good Christian
She goes to evening mass
And doesn’t return until the morning!
The musical ensemble of European string
instruments represents the mariachi
band in its infancy. The familiar trumpet
was inspired by 1930s era radio. The
group—Conjunto Perla—was formed
for this performance from Bay Area
musicians. Los Lupeños studied the
dance with Maestro René González
López, a disciple of Maestro Arce,
and debuts this choreography with a
WORLD PREMIERE
This performance made possible, in part, thanks
to the generosity of Shirley King
generous commission from the Cashion
Cultural Legacy.
Los Lupeños de San José, founded in
1969, is a grupo folklórico that promotes
awareness, appreciation, and understanding of Mexican culture. Under artistic
director Tony Ferrigno, Los Lupeños
stretches the boundaries of folklórico
dance, presenting a varied repertoire
from both traditional and contemporary
choreographers, and master teachers on
both sides of the border.
www.mhcviva.org/lupenos
Dance Origin: Jalisco, Mexico • Genre: Folkloric
Title: Plaza Guadalajara • Artistic Director:
Tony Ferrigno • Musical Director: Esteban Zapiain
Master Instructor: Jaime René González López
Choreographer: René Arce Ruelas • Dancers:
Mario Avalos, Marco Chávez, Yvonne Domínguez,
Arturo Magaña, Juan Carlos Miranda, Alejandra
Pereda, Victoria Robles, Guadalupe Rodríguez,
Gerardo Silva, Angela Szymusiak, Eduardo
Torres, Karen Zaldivar • Musicians: Joe
Domínguez (guitar), Ole Domínguez (violin),
Isidro Jiménez (guitar), Tom Klassen (guitar &
vihuela), Rick Moreno (violin), Dorothy Morgan
Carney (violin), Jim Taylor (guitarrón), Liz
Valdez (harp & vihuela), Esteban Zapiain (violin)
JUNE 24, 25 & 26 NOVELLUS THEATER / YBCA
(from The Sanskrit Puranas
(Dimmit & van Buitenen)
WORLD PREMIERE
This performance made possible, in part, thanks
to the generosity of Tania and Sabeer Bhatia
42
41
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OREET
Egypt, Turkey, and Israel
OREET fuses modern dance athleticism, graceful ballet, and
high-energy belly dance from her Yemeni-Israeli roots to create
an innovative twist on the contemporary Egyptian belly dance
style. The name of the set is SharQui Style. Sharqui, or raqs
sharqi, is another name for “dance of the East”, the Egyptian
solo dance form rooted in pre-Islamic times and taught within
the family. The first piece mixes raqs sharqi with a contemporary
style: OREET moves across the stage to energetic rhythms from
the Arabic pop singer Haifa Wahhab. We see a hint of flirtation,
but the dancer also holds back a bit: in the lyrics a woman tells
her lover he must behave himself before she’ll promise her love.
Tomorrow, desire (for me) will call you . . .
Oh you will stay up so many nights
With your heart on fire
You will feel everything that has happened to me
And you will come to me bewildered
OREET created the piece in 2008. She learned belly dance from
her grandmothers, in a tradition that honors it as a dance created
by women for women: women danced it as an exercise for
childbirth, a fertility dance for new brides, and to celebrate a
baby’s birth.
OREET holds the titles Belly Dancer of the Year 2007, Entertainer
of the Year 2006, Jewel of the Nile 2006, and Belly Dance Diva
2005. She is the reigning Middle Eastern dance champion of
MEDINA (Middle Eastern Dance in North America). Also an
innovator in the fitness world, she fuses the body-loving and
soul-stimulating elements of belly dance in “SharQui−The
bellydance workout™”; the world’s only fitness-accredited belly
dance method. She teaches and performs in the U.S.
and abroad. www.sharqui.com
Varua Te Fenua—The Spirit of the Land, brings an environmental
message from Tahiti, the pristine land of tropical green, lush
mountain forests, white beaches, and crystal blue waters.
Young wahine (female dancers) represent new Mother Earth,
the spirit, and the ocean that surrounds Tahiti; and a young ta-ne
(male dancer) is surveyor of all this beauty, together they tell a
story about the wonders of nature.
Over the centuries, Tahitian elders have never transcribed histories,
legends, or dance forms. Instead, they continue to pass traditions
through oral history, the direct transmission of dance and musical
forms. In a similar way, says choreographer Lisa Aguilar, we
should pass down our concern for the earth: “In the world of
global warming we need to stop, look around, and be aware of
the natural beauty that surrounds us—not destroy this richness
that is right in front of us, but preserve it with pride for future
generations.”
Lisa Aguilar created the piece for the Festival stage, with drumming
sequence by Rey Aguilar. The choreography was guided and
influenced by three legendary masters and historians of Tahitian
dance in Tahiti−Coco Hotahota, Heikura Nui, and Makau Foster.
Te Mana O Te Ra is an award-winning Tahitian dance company
from Walnut Creek, under the artistic direction of Lisa and Rey
Aguilar. The group—approximately 140 members, from age four
to seventy-four—perpetuates and presents the culture of Tahiti
(French Polynesia) as traditionally as possible. The group was
established in 1997, when Lisa and Rey had already been teaching
for over 24 years. Members compete and perform in the U.S.
and other countries. The name Te Mana O Te Ra means “energy
of the sun”. www.temanaotera.org
– te‘a • Title: Varua
Dance Origin: Tahiti, French Polynesia • Genre: Tahitian ‘O
Te Fenua (The Spirit of the Land) • Ra‘atira Pupu (Directors): Lisa & Rey
Aguilar • Choreographer: Lisa Aguilar • Musical Director: Rey Aguilar
Dancers: Joanaline Abria, Desirae Bills, Jeremiah Castillo, Lauren Chow,
Taylor de los Santos, Tiana de los Santos, Joseph Duff, Tammy Durley,
Leandra Figueroa, Julia Herbert, Terri Hollidge, Zach Isaac, Alakoka Kailahi,
Shennen Manaoat, Alexandra Mariano, Vanessa Mariano, Joanne Min,
Angelisa Nichols, Sarah Padrones, Caesar Sabadlab, Mariah Salinas, Jackie
Sarmiento, Melissa Sischka, Nicole Smith, Marie Valmores • Musicians: Rey
Aguilar, Virgil Asuncion, Rick Isaac, Zach Isaac, Robbie Macareg, Michael
Manlapeg, Fabian Martinez, Mike Peralta, Arne Ragadio, Jeff Raymundo,
Soane Vehematahau, Ahmad Yamato
JUNE 24, 25 & 26 NOVELLUS THEATER / YBCA
This performance is an ‘ o-te‘a, a traditional Tahitian form with
rapid movement of hips and hand motions. It is performed with
precision rhythms to fast-beating drums—the t o-‘ére is a slit-log
drum; the pahu tu-pa‘i is a standing bass skin drum, called
“the heartbeat of Tahiti” for its golden tone; and the tahape is
the smallest, high-toned drum. The drum beats are traditional
Tahitian, complimented with new rhythms from the Cook Islands
and Toklelau.
Costumes are also traditional, made of materials from the land
and sea, with shells, fresh greenery, natural fibers, and fine
feather work. The dancers perform with bamboo, the wooden
tahape, and lauhala leaves.
JUNE 24, 25 & 26 NOVELLUS THEATER / YBCA
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Dance Origin: Egypt, Turkey, and Israel • Genre: Cabaret and Contemporary
Belly Dance • Title: SharQui Style • Artistic Director/Choreographer/Soloist:
Oreet Jehassi Schwartz
Tahiti, French Polynesia
WORLD PREMIERE
This performance made possible, in part, thanks
to the generosity of Julia and Leo Cheng
|
43
The second piece is an Egyptian drum solo featuring the distinctive
ring of darbuka drum and the song “Osama” by Raquy and
the Cavemen. The drum solo is the traditional finale of a belly
dancer’s performance. The dancer follows the drum’s rhythms
precisely while remaining mostly in one place. OREET adds
contemporary choreography to meet every beat—especially the
contemporary syncopation at the end of the song.
Te Mana O Te Ra
44
Rumsen Ohlone Tribe
OhloneTerritory, United States
To honor San Francisco’s original people,
the Festival presents the Rumsen Ohlone
Tribe’s Humaya (Hummingbird) Singers &
Dancers. The dance presented evokes a
time—tens of thousands of years—when
the Ohlone lived sustainably in the Bay
Area, in villages from San Francisco in
the northwest to Big Sur in the south
and Mt. Diablo in the east; when Bay
Area rivers and bays overflowed with
waterfowl and fish. As reflected in the
dancers’ regalia, the Ohlone dressed in
skins, woven tule, and ornamental shells.
They built homes of tule rush and willow
and developed artistic basket-weaving,
and practiced dance as a powerful form
of healing. For the Ohlone, dance is
prayer, and prayer shapes community
life. Sometimes the people dance in
gratitude and sometimes as a request,
sometimes overnight, and sometimes as
part of four to nine-day ceremonies.
The Humaya Singers and Dancers of the
Rumsen Ohlone Tribe maintain their
cultural traditions and values by teaching
the ways of dancing through ceremony.
The tribe supports a thriving Ohlone
cultural life including a song and dance
group, and weekly sweat lodge healing
ceremonies. The dances are performed
at schools to teach multicultural issues
and as powerful means of prayer and
good health. Tribal chairman Tony Cerda
says, “You’ve been taught that the
Ohlone people no longer exist but we
do and we take great pride in sharing our
cultural traditions including dance with
those around us.”
In a fiery and fierce performance of Haitian
Petwo dance and rhythms, Freedom
Rising depicts events from Haiti’s historic
fight for freedom, including the rite that
opened the rebellion: on August 13-14,
1791, Houngan Boukman led a secret
Vodou ceremony at Bwa Kayiman, with
Manbo Cecile Fatiman, who, possessed
by a spirit (lwa), sacrificed a black pig.
This event launched the Western
Hemisphere’s only successful slave
revolt and its first independent black
republic. In Bondage, dancers in chains
represent the suffering of enslaved
Africans. In Twa Fey, medicine women
cleanse ceremonial participants. Ouve
Pot La represents rebellious slaves led
by spirits Ezili Danto and Papa Simbi to
seek justice. Victory represents the death
of slave holders. Dancers wear red to
symbolize the hot and fiery Petwo spirits.
Haiti is hugely important to twenty-first
century practitioners of traditional African
dance: it is the heart of traditional African
spiritual practices in the Americas,
practices referred to as “Vodou.” Vodou
originated with displaced people from the
nations of Kongo and Ibo; the Yoruba of
Nigeria; and the Fon of Benin (Dahomey).
African beliefs and rituals merged with
elements of French Catholicism, forming
Haitian religion, and much of Haitian
culture, including folkloric dance. In Haiti
today, Vodou continues to empower
families, communities and individuals.
Vodou, translated as “spirit”, is a danced
religion. Petwo refers to the family of
spiritual entities, the lwa, and to the music
and dance form that creates a direct
conduit to the lwa and to the ancestors.
The powerful beat of the sacred petwo
drums begin the ceremonies, and their
rhythms are offerings to the spirits, calling
lwa to “enter” and impart knowledge,
blessings and wisdom.
Freedom Rising was created in 2010,
choreographed by Portsha Terae
Jefferson. It premiered on April 18th in
Oakland Ansanm pou Ayiti—Oakland
Together for Haiti, performed in support
of Haiti’s people as they reclaim their
power, resources, and communities after
the earthquake.
Rara Tou Limen, established by artistic
director Portsha Terae Jefferson in 2004,
presents Haitian music, dance, and
culture through classes, workshops,
and performances. The company builds
strength and solidarity within the Haitian
community, raising awareness (and
funds) for Haitian organizations, while
nurturing dance and musical traditions
with other Haitian cultural groups in
the U.S. and Haiti. Grants and awards
include those from: Alliance for California
Traditional Arts, Zellerbach Family
Foundation, East Bay Community
Foundation, and Theater Bay Area
CA$H Grants.
Dance Origin: Haiti • Genre: Folkloric • Title:
Freedom Rising • Artistic Director/Choreographer:
Portsha Jefferson • Musical Director: Daniel
Brevil • Costume Design/Construction: Portsha
Jefferson and Rachel Parrish • Dancers:
Alvedo, Heather Easley-Kasinsky, Lakiesha
Golden, Tracee Henson, Yuri Hinson, Akua
Jackson, Portsha Jefferson, Leah Kimble-Price,
Rami Margron, Halimah Marshall, Patrice Roland,
Shemica Watkins • Musicians: Jealool Amari
(tchatcha), Daniel Brevil (tanbou petwo, manman,
vocals), Guy De Chalus (segon), Kendrick Freeman
(segon), Karen Kirschling (kata), Tossie Long
(vocals), Taji Maalik (bas), Josh Piagentini (ogan),
Lalin St. Juste (vocals)
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The dancers often perform the humaya
hummingbird dance, the eagle dance, or
the bear dance. In the eagle dance,
masked dancers fly in and out of the lifecycle dance, carrying prayers between
worlds. The eagle and hummingbird are
also part of a creation story that includes
Pico Blanco Mountain in the Ventana
Mountains. The Rumsen Ohlone Tribe
are Bear Medicine people, and the male
dancers wear a bear claw around their
necks, with a hole for the creator eye, to
“see what’s going on”. As initiation into
The dance regalia includes necklaces of
olivella and abalone shells, and black and
white markings for protection. Dancers
carry baskets with medicine wheels
representing the four directions. The
feathers of turkey, quail, blue jay, and
raven direct prayers up to the spirits.
Wearing animal skins reflects a spiritual
understanding: these regalia are literally
the dancers’ ancestors joining them. San
Francisco’s indigenous people are truly
related to all local forms of life: they
traditionally prayed to the spirits of
animals and plants to feed their families,
and promised in return to give their
bodies also for food.
Haiti
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“We start with the Star Child Song, a
prayer to the universe and the Creator.
Then an entrance song calls in dancers
and spirits of our ancestors. The
counterclockwise dance represents
eternal life cycles, turning the clock back.
We place abalone and sage in the center
to cleanse the space and honor the
spiraling center of the universe: this is
where we dance.”
“The first dance honors women, as the
sacred givers of life. Then we dance the
acorn dance, to honor trees for their
food, shade, lumber, firewood and for
acting as the lungs of Earth. Next, we
dance a prayer to water, lifeblood of
Mother Earth, nourishing life. We sing the
ocean-water song, while dancers move
like waves, and call our 12th generation
great-grandfather Chanjay to join us.”
the Bear Clan, young men fast for four
consecutive days, in four consecutive
years. Tony Cerda’s grandson Henry Munoz dances today: he began his initiation
cycle when he was twelve.
Rara Tou Limen
JULY 1, 2 & 3 NOVELLUS THEATER / YBCA
JULY 1, 2 & 3 NOVELLUS THEATER / YBCA
In the spirit of Ohlone oral tradition, the
following descriptions of today’s dance are
from a conversation with Chief Tony Cerda:
“The dancers move in concentric circles:
inside is the natural world and outside
is the spirit world. When we change to
clockwise direction, this represents our
natural life-cycles. We start in the east,
the place of springtime, rebirth, and our
birth; then we dance to the south, where
things come closer to the earth, where
everything grows; then to the west,
the place of rain and harvest, where as
adults we harvest our life; and then we
dance to the top of the circle: with its
white hair, earth is resting, as we elders
are resting to prepare for a new birth.”
WORLD PREMIERE
This performance made possible, in part, thanks
to the generosity of Sedgwick, LLP
46
Caminos Flamencos
Spain
Caminando a Zaafra—Walking to Zaafra,
begins with a contemporary flamenco
number, choreographed for the stage.
Then the dancers begin to sing in unison,
as they walk down a Spanish
road—
Camino la feria Zaafra
caminanan dos Extremeñas
van vendiendo sus canastas
Traveling to the Zaafra fair
are walking two women from Extremeña
to sell their baskets
Caminando a Zaafra is performed in
the style of jaleo extremeños from
Extremadura in western Spain. Poor
and sparsely populated, Extremadura is
known for its flamenco and tango and
for a relatively large population of Roma
people. Jaleos Extremeños is an archaic
song style that is not usually danced.
Its songs have resurfaced among the
region’s Romani singers, and have been
popularized by Porrina de Badajoz, Ramon
Porrina “El Portugese”, and Guadiana.
The songs are party songs—usually
accompanied by palm-clapping and
cries of encouragement and admiration—
with lyrics about love, working, traveling,
and being together in family. The style
is related to the palo bulería, with a
monotone cadence and a relaxed 12beat scheme with 6-beat and 3-beat
sections. In this piece, the dancers sing
together, unusual in flamenco performance.
Caminos Flamencos was founded in
the mid-1990s to promote and present
both innovative and traditional creations
representing the past, present, and future
of flamenco. Artistic director Yaelisa is
also director and co-founder of the New
World Flamenco Festival. A second
generation flamenco artist, Yaelisa has
won an Emmy, an Isadora Duncan Dance
Award, and ABC 7’s “Profiles in Excellence”
Hispanic leadership award. Jason
McGuire “El Rubio” is the award-winning
musical director for Caminos Flamencos
and the New World Flamenco Festival.
www.caminosflamencos.com
Firecrackers announce the start of the
spring festival, and the young Han girls
pour into the streets to celebrate and
play. This dance, Wind Blown Butterfly, is
a traditional Han Chinese dance from
Shanxi region, showcasing Han fan and
umbrella techniques. The dancers flash
their fans like butterflies and snap them
with a technique called da shan. They
twirl umbrellas like flowers in a fresh
breeze and show off splits, Chinese kung
fu kicks, and fluid backbend bridges
and handstands, moves from Chinese
Opera’s zuo tumbling.
(and sometimes from other countries)
travel to their home towns to celebrate
with extended family. Most businesses
shut down, and people gather to relax
and eat together. Everyone, and especially
the children, anticipates a trip into the
mountains, where they can climb, picnic,
and play.
年味儿
红红的年味儿在灯笼上摇，
甜甜的年味儿在年糕上笑，
喧喧的年味儿在锣鼓上敲，
好运道送来了热热闹闹。
Yang Yang Dance was formed in 2004 to
bring Chinese ethnic dance instruction
to the South San Jose area. Yang Yang
learned to dance at the Beijing Dance
Academy, and received her degree in
Chinese dance there. She performed for
the Chinese Opera and Ballet Theatre
from 2000-2005. Her students, the
performers in this dance, are eight to
nine years old. Most of them began
dancing at age five.
Dance Origin: China • Genre: Folkloric (Han
Ethnic Group) • Title: Wind Blown Butterfly
Artistic Director/Choreographer: Yang Yang
Lyon • Dancers: Felicia Fan, Erica Fu, Ashley
Jiang, Jessica Jiang, Annie Ping, Annie Xu,
Kailyn Xu, Joanna Yan, Sarah Zhang
The Taste of New Year
The dance is set to a traditional spring
festival piece of music, “Nian Wei Er—
The Taste of New Year.” It features the
suo na, a Chinese oboe with a distinctively
loud and high-pitched sound which can
imitate the singing of birds. Over the
years, the instrument and the song have
become inseparable: the familiar melody
announces it’s officially spring.
Spring Festival is celebrated for two
weeks around the Chinese New Year.
Family members from all over China
The taste of the New Year in swinging
red lanterns,
In the sweet rice cakes that make us
laugh,
The loud banging of the drums,
Lively celebration brings good luck.
The costumes are traditional Han Spring
Festival costumes. Red symbolizes luck
and happiness. The choreographer is
Yang Yang Lyon, 2010.
JULY 1, 2 & 3 NOVELLUS THEATER / YBCA
Dance Origin: Spain • Genre: Flamenco
Title: Caminando a Zaafra • Artistic Director/
Choreographer/Singer/Dancer: Yaelisa
Soloists: Fanny Ara, Melissa Cruz, Marina Elana
Dancers: Damien Alvarez, Paloma Aspe, Alexis
Davis, Kymm Haggar, Laura Hanks, Kelly
Kovanis, Devon LaRussa, Larraine Leitz, Leslie
MacArthur, Ruby Moyoli, Veronica Rodriguez,
Holly Shaw, Lauren Smiley, Patricia Wilson
Musicians: Jason McGuire “El Rubio” (cajón),
Kina Mendez (vocals)
China
JULY 1, 2 & 3 NOVELLUS THEATER / YBCA
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Yaelisa choreographed the piece, with
soloists creating their parts. Jason McGuire
“El Rubio,” accompanies on cajón, a
traditional box instrument. Special
guest singer Kina Mendez is from the
Mendez dynasty of flamencos in Jerez,
Spain: she carries a long tradition.
This performance made possible, in part, thanks
to the generosity of Esther and Calvin Li
& the Chinese Performing Arts Foundation
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47
—and they sing themselves into the past,
into the small town of Zaafra, where the
feeling is decidedly different. In friendship
and close community, the dancers
transition to the traditional flamenco
form. Graceful dance, zapateado footwork,
clapping of palmas, and cante song are
all improvised on the spot. The result
is an intimate conversation between
melody and movement, dancer, singer,
musician, and audience. The spontaneity
and passion of this performance speaks
to flamenco’s origins. The dance developed
as a form of soulful protest among
Spain’s fifteenth century marginalized
communities of Romani, Sephardic,
Byzantine, Spanish, and Moors.
Yang Yang Dance
48
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Halau o Keikiali`i
Hawai`i
Ha-lau o Keikiali`i presents contemporary hula `auana with a
favorite Hawaiian theme: Na- Pilina Aloha—Relations in Love.
The suite includes:
Ke Aloha, for a secret love affair, a drumbeat as the lovers’
hearts, with a wahine (women’s) choreography by Kumu Rae
Fonseca and ka- ne (men’s) choreography by Kumu Alfiche. Mai
mana`o `oe—pay no heed to gossip, all that matters is we are
bound.
Ho`i Hou Mai, for love that stands the test of time. E nene`e mai,
ma ku`u poli mai—come here my love, your head upon my chest,
in my arms is where you belong.
Hi`ilawe, for jealousy, a ka- ne dance about a romance between
an out-of-town woman and a hometown boy. `A`ole no- wau e
loa`a mai—gossip all you like, I’m like the mist on the mountain,
you cannot grab my attention.
Ma- luaki`iwaikealoha, for a true love that ends too soon: in a fit of
fiery rage the Volcano Goddess Pele, destroys Ho-poe, the first
hula teacher and loving companion of the Goddess Hi‘iaka.
Ma- luaki`iwaikealoha—it is you, beloved Ma- luaki`iwai breeze,
causing the lively birds of Panaewa to sip nectar of the lehua buds.
new music shaped modern hula ‘auana. The form honors classical
choreography and poetry and it also includes waltz tempos,
hips that roll instead of sway, a high body carriage, melodies
from western hymns, and lyrics about modern life. The wahine
wear ruffled holomu- or mu‘umu‘u, and the ka- ne wear pants,
shirts, and vests. The dancers themselves raised some of the
flowers blooming in their hair.
Ha- lau o Keikiali‘i is a Hawaiian cultural and dance group based
in South San Francisco since 1994. With public presentations,
classes and workshops, and other cultural events, they
perpetuate the rich culture of the Hawaiian people. Their primary
focus is on cultural traditions, including hula kahiko (classical
dance), hula ‘auana (contemporary dance), oli (chant), mele
(traditional songs), h-imeni (songs), na- mea hula (arts, crafts,
implements), lole hula (hula attire), ‘o-lelo (language), and
mo‘olelo (stories). Kumu Hula (artistic director and choreographer)
Kawika Keikiali`ihiwahiwa Alfiche. www.keikialii.com
Peru
Del Africa hasta esta tierra, mujer negra . . .
Di de mamar a sus hijos, los cuidaba
Les presto mi risa, Les presto mi fuego
Les presto mi ritmo, Me celebro!
From Africa to this land, the black woman . . .
I nursed their children, I cared for them
I lend you my laughter, I lend you my fire,
I lend you my rhythm, I celebrate myself!
Mujer Negra—Black Woman, pays tribute to Peru’s independence
(1821), and to the contribution of Peruvian women of African
descent. It is a unique all-women performance of the AfroPeruvian zamacueca, traditionally a courtship dance. De Rompe
y Raja honors the femininity and authoritativeness of African
women, and their joy in political freedom.
In the 1950s and ’60s era, Peruvian folkloric pioneers Jose
Duran Flores and Victoria Santa Cruz revived the zamacueca
and choreographed it for stage. Today’s performance is in
this post-revival style, emphasizing the African elements of
syncopation, conga, cowbells, exaggerated pelvic movement,
and call and response song. The cajón box drum was ingeniously
invented by African dockworkers; the guitar and vocals are
Spanish; the pentatonic harmonies are indigenous Andean.
The post-revival costume is also by Duran and Santa Cruz,
inspired by Pancho Fierro’s 1800s era watercolors of original
zamacueca dancers. The hats are from the colonial plantation;
white and red handkerchiefs poke fun at the Spanish fandango
and also represent Peru’s life’s blood.
Gabriela Shiroma created Mujer Negra in 2010. She learned the
dance in Peru from Enrique Barrueto, Julio Casanova, Marlo
Melgar, and Lalo Izquierdo, and she has researched this nearlydisappearing form for fifteen years.
De Rompe y Raja was founded in 1995 as a cultural organization
dedicated to preserving and promoting traditions and culture
from the coastal region of Peru, where the music and motifs of
European, African, and Indigenous peoples intersect.
www.derompeyraja.org
Dance Origin: Coastal Peru • Genre: Afro-Peruvian • Title: Mujer Negra
Artistic Director/Choreographer: Gabriela Shiroma • Dancers: Eleana
Arizaga, Fernanda Bustamante, Roxana Ferreyra, Mariela Herrera, Zhayra
Palma, Sylvia Pestana, Erica Sarmiento, Gabriela Shiroma, Tyese M. Wortham
Musicians: Jose Roberto Hernandez (guitar), Javier Nunton (cajón), Alberto
Palomino (conga), Davis Rodriguez (cow bell), Pedro Rosales (cajón), Rosa
Los Santos (lead vocalist), Miguel Sisniegas (donkey’s jaw), Javier Trujillo
(guitar), Daniel Zamalloa (guitar), Federico Zuñiga (bass)
JULY 1, 2 & 3 NOVELLUS THEATER / YBCA
Zamacueca is known as the Mother Dance of the Americas,
a dance of celebration, gallantry, romance, independence,
identity, and struggle. Its folkloric children include the Peruvian
marinera, Argentine samba, Chilean and Bolivian cueca, Mexican
chilena, and several California Gold Rush dances. Lima’s
mostly-African population created the form in coastal Peru in the
late eighteenth century Colonial period. For the Afro-Peruvians,
it was a New World interpretation of Spanish affectation; for the
European classes, it became the dance of dubious societies.
WORLD PREMIERE
JULY 1, 2 & 3 NOVELLUS THEATER / YBCA
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Dance Origin: Hawai’i • Genre: Hula ‘Auana • Title: Na- Pilina Aloha • Artistic
Director/Choreographer/Musician: Kumu Hula Kawika Keikiali‘ihiwahiwa
Alfiche • Dancers: Raymond Alejandro, Kalei Alonzo, Julie Apana,
Courtney Chung, Kahaku Desai, Margaret Edralin, April Espaniola, Tiffany
Evangelista, Valerie Evangelista, Kawika Fernandez, Leilani Fernandez,
Cati Flannery, Carina Florendo-Duque, Cristin Fong, Kellee Hom, Ka‘imi
Horuichi, Darla Ippolito, Pi‘iali‘i Lawson, Tess Lush, Leimomi Mabanta,
Lulu Masaganda, Kia‘i Maurille, Kaleipua‘ena Monce, Maile Morris, Antonio
Nunez, Raena Orozco, Gabrielle Pabonan, Anjal Pong • Musicians: Kumu
Hula Kawika Keikiali‘ihiwahiwa Alfiche (’ukulele), Kale Ancheta (upright
bass), Lehua Yim (guitar)
De Rompe y Raja
Cultural Association
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In the 1800s, when Mexican Spanish vaqueros and Portuguese
immigrants arrived in the islands, Hawaiian musicians adopted
the ‘ukulele, guitar, bass, and western melodic structure. Their
This performance made possible, in part, thanks
to the generosity of Margarita and Herbert Rosenthal
50
Charya Burt
Cambodian Dance
Cambodia
In Caressing Nostalgia, master Cambodian dancer Charya Burt
expresses a nostalgia for her revered past. This new choreography honors Cambodian tradition with a grounded fluidity and
stance of bent knees and flexed toes. It also adds clarity and
expression to classical gesture and movement, and adds some
Cambodian folk dance steps. In place of the tight-fitting golden
royal Khmer dress, Charya dances in contemporary simplicity;
retaining only some temple jewelry and a traditional hairstyle.
She replaces the traditional Pin Peat court orchestra with a cellist,
playing a contemporary composition and a song adapted by
Ms. Burt from Cambodian classical poetry.
Oh Magnificent Angkor, standing in such sublime splendor
Built by the magical hands of our ancestors
Symbolizing the Golden Era of our precious Khmer Civilization
Your ancient beauty inspires my newfound dreams
Charya says, “Nostalgia means that in my heart I carry Cambodia
of the ninth century, and yet I live in the twenty-first century. The
ancient temple dancers were able to create such powerful art
work, and those dances still speak to me.”
years, as traced in ancient carvings. Khmer dancers offered
prayer and prophecy, retelling legends of origin with ceremonial
performances of dance, graceful hand gestures, and stunning
costumes. The Royal Ballet practically ceased to exist when the
Khmer Rouge murdered most master dancers and musicians.
After Pol Pot’s defeat in 1979, survivors have revived the ancient
repertory. Classical Cambodian dancers train intensively for
years to master this sacred and symbolic tribute to Cambodia’s
cultural legacy. The form also evolves, as Charya Burt says,
“one step at time.”
Nostalgia was created by Charya Burt in 2010. The music is from
Blue Roses, written for solo cello by Alexis Alrich, performed
by noted cellist Samsun van Loon.
Charya Burt Cambodian Dance was established in 1994. As a
traditional artist and a former dance faculty member of the Royal
University of Phnom Penh, Charya is dedicated to the promotion
and preservation of traditional Cambodian dance through
instruction, performance, and the creation of new works.
www.charyaburt.com
Dance Origin: Cambodia • Genre: Classical Contemporary • Title: Caressing
Nostalgia • Artistic Director/ Choreographer/Dancer/Vocals: Charya Burt
Musician: Samsun van Loon (cello)
Chinyakare Ensemble
Zimbabwe
Chinyakare Ensemble presents Mbakumba, a harvest celebration
from the Karanga subgroup of the Shona people, who originate
from the Masvingo Province in southeastern Zimbabwe. The
choreography uses playful theater to tell an ancient story, a
sort of AA meeting from the African bush. Baba Bigee neglects
his harvesting, following celebrations around, drinking way too
much beer. His loving family takes away his beer pot and warns
him of the dangers of drink, so Baba sobers up.
Nyarara iwe, Nyarara ucha zviona . . .
It’s okay, everything will work out
Stop whining, you will see at the end
And please don’t feel ashamed
There are no problems too big or small for us to solve together
Mbakumba is noted for the jeketera, a polyrhythmic conversation
between dancers and musicians. The story marks a time of rest
and recovery after the harvest, when the community celebrates
together. As Karangan philosophy says: “I am because we are”.
Choreographer Julia Tsitsi Chigamba is from a long line of Shona
musicians, dancers, and storytellers who lived in poverty for
decades under British rule—1800s to 1960s—protecting
and carrying forward ancient Shona traditions. This performance
is a poignant testimony to that lineage: Julia’s children dance
today with Chinyakare, recently arriving from Zimbabwe where they
performed with the Mhembero Dance Company and under the
tutelage of ceremonial mbira master Tute Chigamba, Julia’s father.
Zimbabwean costumes evoke the earth: green is for crops, gold
for minerals, black for peace, and red for energy. The women
This performance made possible, in part, thanks
to the generosity of Bekris Gallery
hold tswanda—baskets of seeds. The men’s clay pots (hari)
carry ceremonial beer, ritually brewed, blessed by the matriarchs,
shared in friendship.
The deep earthiness of Shona music “fills up” listeners and
opens a space for the ancestors to join. The ngoma drum—a
carved tree trunk and cow hide—carries the conversation with
the dancers. Hosho (gourd shakers) and marimbas (introduced
in Zimbabwe in 1960) play circular cross-rhythms.
Chinyakare Ensemble presents authentic Zimbabwean music
and dance, and merges powerful traditional art forms with
innovative movement and soulful form. Native Zimbabwean artist,
dancer, and choreographer Julia Tsitsi Chigamba founded
Tawanda MuChinyakare (“We Are in the Deep Traditions of Our
Ancestors”) in 2000. The group welcomes all who seek healing
and spiritual experience through dance and music.
www.chinyakare.com
Dance Origin: Zimbabwe
Genre: Traditional • Title: Mbakumba
Artistic Director/Choreographer:
Julia Tsitsi Chigamba • Dancers:
Augusten Basa, Gerald Basa, Julia
Tsitsi Chigamba, Kanukai Chigamba,
Casey Daliyo, Ronnie Daliyo, Delisa
Nealy, Marsha Treadwell • Musicians:
Duncan Allard (marimba), Russell
Landers (marimba), Hector Lugo
(drums), Kelly Takunda, Orphan
Martinez (drums), Tom Melkonian
(marimba), Sara Noll (hosho)
JULY 1, 2 & 3 NOVELLUS THEATER / YBCA
JULY 1, 2 & 3 NOVELLUS THEATER / YBCA
Khmer Classical Dance—Royal Ballet of Cambodia—was
closely associated with the Khmer court for over a thousand
WORLD PREMIERE
This performance made possible, in part, thanks
to the generosity of Joyce Clark
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Bal Anat
Egypt
Bal Anat presents a suite of Middle Eastern dance. The title of
the piece, Ghawazee, means “invaders of the heart” and it refers
to an Egyptian ethnic group known as itinerant entertainers. In
the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the Ghawazee lived
in settlements along the Nile and in Cairo. They traveled from
city to city, performing centuries old Middle Eastern dance and
music. They danced for marriages and births, and in the streets,
at fairs, and in military camps, where western travelers became
fascinated by the sensuous female dancers. This suite includes
the introductory Procession, is followed by Sword Dance and
Raks El Zagat: Dance of the Finger Cymbals.
Suhaila Salimpour choreographed the dramatic sword dance for
today’s stage, and her mother created the dance. In the 1960s,
Jamila Salimpour—dancer, choreographer, and scholar of
Middle Eastern dance—found inspiration in an 1870s painting by
the French academic painter, Jean-Léon Gérôme. Gérôme had
traveled to Egypt and one of his paintings shows a Ghawazee
dancer balancing a sharp sword on her head. The title of the
final number, Raks El Zagat, refers to the oldest forms of Middle
Eastern dance. This piece showcases Jamila Salimpour’s
brilliant finger-cymbal technique. In her book, From Cave, to
Cult, to Cabaret, Salimpour links the cymbals to ancient times:
had a magical significance in communicating with the
(Anatolian) Goddess Cybele, after whom they were named.
Suhaila Salimpour’s choreography is based on traditional Middle
Eastern folkloric steps and rhythms. The costumes reflect
traditional Bedouin dress, made of rare Bedouin assuit, a netted
fabric with inlaid hand-pounded pieces of silver, dating back to
the Pharaohs. The dancers also wear jewelry such as Bedouin
women collect for their dowry. Traditional North African folk
songs are played on traditional tribal instruments including the
mizmar, oud, nai, bagpipe, deff, tabla, riq, muzhar, and karkaba.
Bal Anat was formed in 1968 by Jamila Salimpour out of a need
for an organized presentation of the various Middle East dances
at the Renaissance Pleasure Faire in Northern California. This
provided Jamila a means to present her many years of research
on traditional Middle East folkloric dances. The current company
members train under artistic director Suhaila Salimpour who
resurrected the company in 2000. www.suhailainternational.com
In Revolución: Tierra y Libertad, CMBA presents a suite of Mexican
folkloric song and dance. The time is 1910-1920, during the
Mexican Revolutionary War. The setting is a small town piazza in
northern Mexico where a group of traveling musicians sings war
ballads (corridos), the CNN reports of the time. The songs—
“Corrido del Norte”, “La Cucaracha”, “Jesusita de Chihuahua”,
and “La Adelita”—describe revolutionary figures, key battles,
and the proximity of the troops, and the town’s folkdancers
illustrate the stories.
In 1910, the Mexican working class began their long battle
for land reform against wealthy landowners and the corrupt
government of Porfirio Díaz. The folk songs we know as “corridos”
emerged from this struggle. Corridos carry symbolism and
hidden political meanings, and they are presented in three parts:
a welcome, a poetic story with a moral, and a farewell. They are
performed by conjuntos—small musical groups with singers,
accordions, guitars, electric bass, and drums.
The dancers wear the traditional ranchera style clothing from
the era. Men wear striped pants, white shirt, zarape (blanket-like
shawl), bullets, straw hat, and black boots. The women have
added bullets and rifles to their colorful daily wear to represent
their struggle for justice.
Compañía Mazatlán Bellas Artes (CMBA) was founded in 1994
by Yolanda Colosio. The Sacramento-based organization is
under the artistic leadership of Steven Valencia, one of the
company’s principal dancers. Together, Compañía Mazatlán
Bellas Artes (CMBA) and its teaching Instituto (IMBA) are a highly
valued cultural and artistic resource throughout the western
U.S. and internationally, teaching and performing traditional
Mexican folkloric dance and indigenous ceremony, and original
contemporary choreography. www.imbasac.com
Dance Origin: Mexico • Genre: Folkloric • Title: Revolución: Tierra y Libertad
Artistic Director: Steven Valencia • Choreographers: Carlos Antunez,
David Lopez-Mancilla, Steven Valencia • Dancers: Dominique Adams,
Rebecca Almanza, Zulema Balderas, Erik Diaz, Monica Diaz, Christian
Flores, Israel Flores, Omar Flores, Alejandra Godinez, Alejandro Hernandez,
Elizabeth Lizardi, David Lopez-Mancilla, Claudia Martinez, Mario Miramontes,
Bryan Patiño, Ricardo Piña, Janette Perfecto, Jessica Ramos, Roberto
Robles Jr., Steven Valencia, Leah Wargo • Musicians: Eddie Gonzalez,
Eric Guerrero
JULY 1, 2 & 3 NOVELLUS THEATER / YBCA
“La Cucaracha” talks about revolutionary leaders Francisco
(Pancho) Villa and Emiliano Zapata. “La Adelita,” the most
famous corrido, is about a woman who followed her lover into
battle. “La Adelita” is now known as the archetype of the woman
warrior, the soldadera who cooked and cared for the wounded
and fought alongside her brother, son, or husband. Her story
allowed for the perception of the Mexican woman to change, and
today the name “La Adelita” refers to any strong and fearless
women. This performance is dedicated to the women who have
devoted their lives to change and freedom in Mexican society.
The piece was created with the help of Carlos Antunez, Ballet
Folklórico de Mexico de Amalia Hernandez, Mexico City. Steven
Valencia and David Lopez-Mancilla choreographed today’s
performance in 2010.
JULY 1, 2 & 3 NOVELLUS THEATER / YBCA
|
Dance Origin: Upper Egypt • Genre: Belly Dance • Titles: Procession,
Sword, Raks El Zagat • Artistic Directors: Jamila and Suhaila Salimpour
Choreographer: Suhaila Salimpour • Dancers: Alicia Altair, Laura LopezAyllon, Rachel Duff, Ginger Gowan, Anna Horn, Patti Kjonaas, Cheryl Lee,
Melanie Lee, Lisa Price, Johanna Prink, Andrea Sendek, Tina Toy, Angelica
Wu, Lucille Ynosencio
Mexico
This performance made possible, in part, thanks
to the generosity of Tacos San Buena
|
53
The cymbal, originally an instrument used in (Mesopotamian)
ritual. . . The sound of the cymbals, as they clashed together,
CompañÍa MazatlÁn
Bellas Artes
54
WORLD ARTS WEST STAFF
Founded in 1978, World Arts West is a non-profit organization working to broaden appreciation of world dance and music
forms and help local artists sustain their cultural traditions, building bridges of cultural understanding.
This support helped to create the most vibrant and diverse dance community in the world.
Festival Host
Committee:
HONORARY CHAIR
Mayor Edwin M. Lee
Consul General of Brazil
The Honorable
Bernardo Pericás Neto
Consul General of China
The Honorable Zhansheng Gao
Consul General of India
The Honorable
Susmita Gongulee Thomas
Consul General of the Republic of
Indonesia
The Honorable Asianto Sinambela
Consul General of Ireland
The Honorable Gerry Staunton
Consul General of Japan
The Honorable Hiroshi Inomata
Consul General of Korea
The Honorable Jeong Gwan Lee
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
BENEFIT EVENING HONORARY CHAIR
Fiona Ma, Speaker Pro Tempore, California State Assembly
Honorary Consul of Mauritius
The Honorable Jitu Somaya
Consul General of Mexico
The Honorable Carlos Félix Corona
Consul General of Peru
The Honorable Nicolás Roncagliolo
Consul General of the Philippines
The Honorable Marciano A. Paynor, Jr.
Consul General of Spain
The Honorable Jorge Montealegre
Patricia G. Hayes
Regional Director, Office of Foreign
Missions, San Francisco
William “Bill” L. Lee
Director of International Economic
and Tourism Development
San Francisco International Airport
Executive Director
Julie Mushet
Festival Manager
Arlene Kato
ADVISORY COUNCIL
Olga Milan-Howells
Brenda Berlin
David Lei
Patricia Arellano
Julia Molander
Bernard Boudreaux
Lynn Luckow
Julia Cheng
Cynthia Plevin
Blanche Brown
J. William Morris III
Elaine Connell, Secretary
Herbert Rosenthal, Vice President
Lanie Denslow
Magan Patel
Rudy Garcia
Susan Somaya, President
Dr. Jerry Duke
Bernardo Pedere
Philomena King
Diane Goldsmith
Kelly Trevethan
Esther Li, Treasurer
Dennis Jang
Sound Designer
Calvin LL Jones
Backstage Manager
Chijundu (Chi Chi) Okonmah
Audio Engineers
Derek Jones, YBCA Forum
Matt Jones, Zellerbach Hall
Deckhands
Kilian Farrell-Alvarado,
Zellerbach Hall, YBCA Novellus
Front of House Managers
Bill Fraser, Zellerbach Hall,
YBCA Novellus
Eyla Moore, YBCA Forum
Production Manager
Jack Carpenter
FESTIVAL SEASON
PRODUCTION TEAM
Videographers
Michael Rohde
Kirk Schroeder
Director of Education and
Community Engagement
Ma- healani Uchiyama
Festival Artistic Directors
Carlos Carvajal, CK Ladzekpo
Technical Director
Stephen Clifford
Program Book Writer
Patti Trimble
Interim Production Manager
KT Graham
Marketing & Public Relations
Marketing by Storm
Cara Storm, Principal
Scott Horton, Publicist
Stage Managers
Blake Manship, YBCA Forum
Kate Mattson, Zellerbach Hall,
YBCA Novellus
Graphic Design
Jason Fuges, Basic 8 Creative
Assistant Production Manager
Julie Jang
Lighting Designer
Patty-Ann Farrell
Assistant Stage Managers
Krista Lane, YBCA Forum
Aaron Stephenson, Zellerbach Hall,
YBCA Novellus
Director of Development
Rob Taylor
Office Manager
Vivian Chu
Programs Assistant
Micaela Nerguizian
Bookkeeper
Meryl Larsen
Interns
Leila Anglin
Samad Raheem Guerra
Samandar Pulodov
Amanda Almonte
Core Volunteers
Lauren Matley
Bobbie Mendes
Jane Revelo
Maria Verdan
Gloria Vlachos
Scenic Designer
Dan Sweeney
GRANTS FOR THE ARTS
STAFF
Director
Kary Schulman
Senior Program Manager
Khan Wong
The San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival is
presented in cooperation with the Grants for
the Arts / SF Hotel Tax Fund.
Associate Director
Renee Hayes
Senior Finance and
Operations Manager
Valerie Tookes
Hospitality Coordinator
Diane Theodorelos,
Cow Hollow Catering
Benefit Event Manager
Chau Lam, Chillipepper Events
Special Thanks
Alena Bell-Farrell
Rebecca Wolfe
ALL PHOTOS
BY RJ MUNA
Administration and
Communications Manager
Brett Conner
FROM THE PRESIDENT OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
A song can take you to another moment in time; a dance can bring
to life a story long forgotten. The San Francisco Ethnic Dance
Festival shares the beauty, energy and elegance of traditional
dance, illuminating the intangible cultural heritage being sustained
by thousands of Bay Area artists.
As I conclude my third year as President of the Board of World
Arts West, this could not be a more thrilling time to be a part of
the San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival. This year’s events have
expanded, for the first time ever, to performances at Yerba Buena
Center for the Arts and Zellerbach Hall, sharing what many call “an
inspiring event of civic pride” with the entire Bay Area. I thank the
Board of Directors for their work toward this vision.
These exciting additions to this year’s schedule could not be
attained without the amazing, talented, diverse artists in the
Bay Area. The Festival has grown to something bigger than we
ever dreamed as 3,000 dancers belonging to 130 dance groups
representing 45 cultures auditioned in January to audiences of
numbering over 7,000. This was a true testament to the bridging of
communities, cultures, artists, teachers, students, and families—
young and old.
I congratulate Tony Cerda on this year’s Lifetime Achievement
Award as he has led the Rumsen Ohlone Tribe on a journey back
to their homeland here in the San Francisco Bay Area. We are
proud to have the Rumsen Ohlone Tribe open the 2011 Season and
welcome the other California tribes who are participating for the
first time.
Thank you Cheryl Jennings and RJ Muna for documenting the Festival
artists on television and in stunningly beautiful photographs, and
for your ongoing support of the Festival.
FESTIVAL FUNDERS:
Columbia Foundation
With a great amount of admiration, I ask that you take a moment to
recognize the staff of World Arts West. Against an array of obstacles,
they have worked tirelessly with dedication, passion, hard work
and a lot of love to make this season exceptional. They are the BEST!
With this outstanding personal commitment and exciting developments
in hand, I believe the San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival has
earned the right to ask for your support—not only for this 2011
Season—but as we move forward, enhancing the long-term
sustenance and health of the Festival. With little corporate sponsorship
of the arts available, I reach out to EACH of you to become involved
with the Festival: Donate - Volunteer - Join a Board Committee or
the Leadership Council. Help make sure that this unique event can
continue to inspire and share the heritage of so many cultures. We
are all so lucky to have this treasure in our community.
I am honored to be involved with the San Francisco Ethnic Dance
Festival. It has been a great personal reward to be a part of this
multi-cultured, diverse, one of a kind event. I encourage you to
attend and participate often, and to make your support known.
Please enjoy the 2011 Season of the San Francisco Ethnic Dance
Festival!
SUSAN SOMAYA
President, World Arts West’s Board Of Directors
MEDIA SPONSORS:
CORPORATE SPONSORS:
FOOD AND BEVERAGE SPONSORS:
Alex Sotelo Cellars • Amber Restaurant • Norman Hersch • Schoggi Chocolates
Thank
You
INDIVIDUAL DONORS (5/15/10 – 5/17/11)
This year’s Festival would not have been possible without the financial contributions of the many individuals
listed below. We urge you to consider making a tax-deductible contribution to allow us to present the
34th Annual San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival in June 2012. For details please visit www.worldartswest.org.
LEADERSHIP
COUNCIL
$5,000 - $9,999
Anonymous
$2,500 - $4,999
Patricia Arellano and Friends
Julia and Leo Cheng
Joyce Clark
Elaine Connell
Philomena King
Shirley King
Esther and Calvin Li
Olga Milan-Howells
Julia Molander
Cynthia Plevin
Kathleen Scutchfield
Tacos San Buena
Sara Zumwalt
$1,000 - $2,499
Amanda Almonte
Stephen Bicknese
Donald and Peggy Burns
Agneta and John Dupen
Diane and David Goldsmith
Linda and David Lei
Marie and Barry Lipman
Elaine McKeon
Magan and Judge Marilyn Patel
Steven Pinkoski
(matched by Hewlett Packard)
Michael Shpizner
Mary Lee Strebl
Paul Wintroath
$500 - $999
Audrey Barris and Randall Barkan
Levon Derbedrossian
Reverend R.G. Fabian
Lynda Gatti
Amanda Hamilton
Marilyn Jaffe
George Jauregui
$10,000 and above
Margarita and Herbert Rosenthal • Susan and Jitu Somaya
Karen Marcroft
David Martinez
Connie Matsui
Donna Milgram
Liz Myers
Carolyn Wright
Jasmine Claridad
Jessica and David Franklin
Daniel and Terry Jacobs
Angela Jolie and Daniel Morillo
Pauline Jue
Diane Karkiewicz
Susie and Sidney Kass
Keitaro Matsuda
(Matched by Union Bank)
Carmen Mendieta
Trudy Mierkey
Bill Moore
William Moore
Drs. Lynn and Andrew Newman
Bernardo Pedere
Venetta and John Rohal
Daniel Sullivan
Anne and Robert Taylor
Gerald Wolfe
Marvin Fischer
Ron Greenwald
Hai Yan Jackson Chinese Dance
Carmen Hermida
Norman Hersch
Adrienne Hirt and Jeffrey Rodmen
Timothy Humphrey
Julie Jang
Ryan Johnson
Helen Karr
Dean Knight
Wendy and Wellman Lee
Andrea Lewin
William Markley
Marsha Martin
Lynn McDonald
Marian Miller Buckhart
Wera Mitchell
Lisa Mitsunaga
Gertrud and Harold Parker
James Reese
Martin Scheir
Theresa and John Sculley
Carol Ruth Silver
Patricia M. Skala
Marion Snyderman
Pauline Vargas
$100 - $249
UP TO $100
Lee and John Aires
Jack Andrews and Katharine Kates
Ballet Folklorico Mexicano
Julian Blair
Charya Burt
Mirta Cali
Claire Carlevaro
Mai-Sie Chan
Ellen Cianciarulo
Yvonne Daniel
Patricia Dinner
Susan and George Fesus
Maurice Franco, M.D.
Lorna Altshuler
Shirlaine Baldwin
Gail Barton*
Rhodonna H. Becker
Betty Bernstein
Lisa Borden and Karl Haas
Joan and Donald Bowden
Gillian Brown
David Castro
Jane Curtis
Sandra Del Rio
Magda Dennert
Wendy Dreskin
$250 - $499
Patricia and Rodney Garside
Gail Gelles
John Hagopian
Marilyn Hohbach
Kristina Holland
Glenda Hope
Terri Horiuchi
Teresa Jacobsen
Kathryn Supple Klein
Maka Langfeld
Miss Lee
William Z. Lidicker
Henry D. Luce
Peter Lungreen
Diane and Marland Madole
Richard Mar
Cayo and Fred Marschner
Joan McElroy
Barbara Mendes
James O’Connell
Anne and Jamie O’Connell
Harini Oken
Agata Opalach
Bruce Paquette
Michael Richardson
Elia and Glenn Sanjume
Vernice Scott
Anne Scott
Patricia Snyderman
Harry Stonelake
Yee Tom
Barbara VanderBorght
Janet and James Wenninger
Beany Wezelman
Florie Wezelman
Henrietta Wisniewski
Judith Tornese and Jerry Winters
Tyese Wortham
MATCHING FUND Do you know if your company offers a matching donation program for tax exempt 501(c)(3)
organizations? If it does, your donation to help support of the Festival could be doubled! Please visit our website
for a list of Bay Area companies with matching support programs: www.worldartswest.org.
THANKS
Alhambra Water • Bancroft Hotel •
Gail Barton • Liz Baqir • Jonathan
Chait • Dakota Chase • Steve Cho •
Zoe Christopher • Costco • Christina
Coughlin • Craigslist Foundation •
Dancers’ Group • Alissa ElegantMcCoy • Fashion Institute of Design
and Merchandising • Shaun Flanigan
• Fort Mason Center • Jose Maria
Francos • Friends of the Urban Forest
• Ray Greft • Hahn’s Hibachi • Hewlett
Packard • Island Creative • Frank
Jang • Cheryl Jennings, ABC7 • Mimi
Kwan, ABC7 • Kurty Photography
• Linda Lucero • La Mediterranee •
MJM Management • Harish and Ashi
Nimla • Noah’s Bagels • Peet’s Coffee
& Tea • Phoebus Lighting • Barbara
Rodgers, Comcast • Susan Scott •
Anne Smith • Gregg Solem • Stingray
Sound • stuf-inc. • Theatre Bay Area
• The Commonwealth Club • The
Flanigan Law Firm • Third Strand • UC
Berkeley Department of Theatre and
Dance Studies • UC Berkeley Music
Department • Venus Restaurant •
Ashraf Youssef • Isabel Yrigoyen
Rising Up musicians: Madiou Diouf
• Mohamed Kouyate
We would like to thank the Yerba
Buena Gardens Festival and Yerba
Buena Gardens Management for
their help with realizing the dancing
and ceremony on June 18.
Makrú: Diana Gameros • Javi Monge
• Vinicio Peñate • Bob Sanders •
Raúl Vargas • Isaac Weiser
© World Arts West 2011
FOR YOUR
PARTICIPATION!
The San Francisco Bay Area has emerged as the
cultural epicenter for dance from around the world.
Dance is thriving throughout our diverse communities
and the San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival is the
hub, often credited for being a key factor in creating
the vibrant dance environment.
The truth is that there are few stages in the United
States where dancers sustaining traditional dance
forms are presented with respect and professional
production standards. Most presenters who include
ethnic dance as part of their season’s offerings are
presenting dance companies touring from abroad,
rather than American artists who live and work right
here. Our local dancers, featured in this Festival,
are at the heart of our communities, and they are
doing important work beyond sustaining and sharing
beautiful cultural traditions.
Prominent Harvard professor Robert Putnam has
written that “the central challenge for modern,
diversifying societies is to create a new, broader
sense of we.” He advises that “to strengthen shared
identities, we need more opportunities for meaningful
interaction across ethnic lines where Americans
(new and old) work, learn, recreate, and live.”
The Festival is a portal that reveals the face of
America and serves as a beacon for creating a new,
broader sense of we that will serve the future well­
—strengthening our communities, our region, and
our country.
Please join us and consider supporting the Festival
in one of the following ways:
• Tell people about what you have seen at the Festival
—share this with friends, family, and co-workers
• Use the envelope inserted into your program book
to send us a donation to support our programs
• Become involved as a dancer, volunteer, or sponsor
Shannon Tse of Hai Yan Jackson Chinese Dance Company
For more information, please visit www.worldartswest.org
Building bridges of cultural understanding
Visit worldartswest.org
Thanks to State Bank of India,
the presenting sponsor of the Festival’s East Bay performances.