Every January, many ethnic dance companies gather at the Palace of Fine Arts to compete for a coveted space in the San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival. It's a Bay Area tradition that dates back several years and is unique to this particular community of dancers. While there is obviously a competitive nature at the event, the focus is on seeing old friends and watching peers perform.
2008 marks the 30th anniversary of the San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival, and dance companies are hoping to be among the 36 groups chosen for this year's festival. Groups representing dance traditions from around the world will audition over four days, and the performances are open to the public. Artists present their best work in full costume, many with live musical accompaniment. The auditions offer the public a rare opportunity to see a hundred dance companies that span the globe, including flamenco, Indian dance, hula and many other dance forms. The program is designed so anyone can watch for a minimally priced ticket, and some audience members make it a marathon, while others bring their children for shorter periods.
"The Festival is an unparalleled opportunity to see many of these performers at one venue. It is also a fascinating way to experience both the diversity and commonality between cultures. At first, the audience notices the wonderful variation from group to group and culture to culture," said Julie Mushet, Executive Director of World Arts West. "The range of movement, costuming, and music is vast and varies enormously, but then there will come an incredible moment when you suddenly notice a hand gesture or step that both the Indian kathak performer and the flamenco dancer use. How did that happen? Well, history, religion, politics and the movement of people from place to place have an enormous influence on the performing arts, and the convergence of cultures can be revealed in the flick of a wrist. It's very exciting to sense these deeper stories behind the dances being performed on the Festival stage."
Some of the groups that are participating this year include:
Gamelan Sekar Jaya This Indonesian group is performing a new work, based on traditional forms, that combines Balinese dance with an Indonesian martial art form called pencat silat. Musician Mickey Hart (Grateful Dead) donated a set of special instruments called a Jegog orchestra. The 14 musicians play a set of enormous bamboo tubes like marimbas that have deep resonant tones. This is the only active Jegog orchestra in the US.
El Tunante and De Rompe y Raja Two Peruvian groups are teaming up to collaborate on a unique dance form called la marinera, a flirtatious, quick-footed dance that started in the lower classes of Peruvian society and eventually became popular among aristocrats. La marinera eventually became Peru's national dance, and it's performed differently in various regions. This performance will be an excellent example of how the festival encourages experimentation with traditional forms and collaboration between artists.
Chinese American International School Dance Troupe will premiere a folk piece from the Xinjiang region of China titled Maiden in the Vineyard. The dance company is composed primarily of younger children taught by the same teacher who trained Zhang Ziyi from Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.
Sukay is a Bolivian musical group that has toured extensively for 30 years. They will be collaborating with the San Francisco Circus Center, directed by master trainer Lu Yi (Nanjing Acrobatic Troupe, People's Republic of China). The Carnaval of Bolivia features music written by Eddy Navia, a world master of the charango, a native Bolivian stringed instrument. The new work will have movement designed by the Pachamama Dance Troupe and acrobatics in the style of the famous Bolivian Carnaval of Oruro.
"Many people think that traditional dance forms are static, but the truth is that fabulous new works are being created by dancers working in traditional forms all around us," Mushet said. "This year's auditions illuminate the fact that traditional artists are contemporary artists as well, and many of the artists on the Festival stage are simultaneously preserving traditional dance forms and experimenting in exciting and unprecedented ways."
30th Anniversary San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival Auditions, Sat.-Sun., Jan. 12-13 & 19-20, 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Palace of Fine Arts Theatre, 3301 Lyon St., SF. $7 per day (includes in-and-out privileges). For complete list of participating artists, see www.worldartswest.org. Call (415) 474-3914 for general info.