San Francisco Hosts International Hip Hop DanceFest in November

Micaya presents the 18th annual San Francisco International Hip Hop DanceFest (SFIHHDF), showcasing 11 electrifying hip hop dance companies from around the world. The first ever festival of its kind that honors the artistry of hip hop dance in a non-competitive environment, every year the SFIHHDF presents some of the world's most sophisticated and skilled artists using hip hop dance forms.

This year's local companies include the San Francisco-based dance theater company The Embodiment Project; San Francisco's innovative The Tribe, Oakland's turf company TURFInc, andOn Demand. An all-female youth group from Oakland, On Demand features dancers ranging from 8-16 years, and they perform a work in which they pay homage to female musical icons such as Janet Jackson, Missy Elliot and Beyoncé.

This year's international performers hail from London, Paris, Rotterdam and Ho Chi Minh City. The all-female Paradox-Sal, an Afro-House group from Paris, combines popping, locking, hype, top rock, new style, waacking, dancehall and traditional African dance. Rotterdam's Amenti Collectiveeffortlessly blends a variety of dance styles from ballet to hip hop and modern to trump. S.I.N.E. Crew, an all-male ensemble from Ho Chi Minh City, perform stirring works incorporating breakdancing and other street styles. And London-based artist Shaadow Sefiroth brings his wide-ranging dance vocabulary to two solo performances.

From Denver comes Grass Roots Project, a street-dance theater company directed by hip hop dance legend Rennie Harris. The dancers of Grass Roots Project, trained across the disciplines of modern, ballet and street dance, combine forces to present fresh takes on popping and locking, breaking and b-boying. Among the works they will perform are three sections from Harris' evening-length pieceBeautiful Human Lies, a work inspired partly by Harris' upbringing in an African American community in North Philadelphia and also by current events, including police violence and the Black Lives Matter movement.

The festival also features two celebrated companies from Los Angeles: Groovaloos and Femme Fatales.

The San Francisco International Hip Hop DanceFest runs from November 11 - 13, 2016 at the Palace of Fine Arts Theatre.

Established in 1999 by Micaya, The San Francisco International Hip Hop DanceFest has earned an international reputation as one of the most prestigious presenters of hip hop dance. The SFIHHDF is the first ever festival dedicated to honoring the artistry and diversity of hip hop dance forms in a non-competitive environment. The SFIHHDF creates a convergence of global phenomena by presenting groundbreaking performances from professional dance companies from all over the globe. 2016 marks the 18th year for the SFIHHDF; presenting inspiring, electrifying and thought provoking works of art through hip hop dance forms.

Program A

Paradox Sal (France) Bounce

Groovaloos (Los Angeles) Find Your Groove

Femme Fatales (Los Angeles) Sisterhood

The Tribe (San Francisco) Year of the Tribe

On Demand Youth Company (Oakland) Divas

Amenti Collective (Netherlands) Cleanse

S.I.N.E. Crew (Vietnam) Straight Line

Shaadow Sefiroth (London) solo

Rennie Harris' Grass Roots Project (Denver) What-Dah?!!

Program B

Paradox Sal (France) Fighting Spirit

Groovaloos (Los Angeles) Lock it Up

Femme Fatales (Los Angeles) Light Up Dolls

TURFinc (Oakland) Turf group The Movement

Amenti Collective (Netherlands) Sinking

Embodiment Project (San Francisco) Seed Language

Shaadow Sefiroth (London), solo

S.I.N.E. Crew (Vietnam) Non La

S.I.N.E. Crew (Vietnam) Dream

Rennie Harris' Grass Roots Project (Denver) Beautiful Human Lies* (excerpts)

*parental discretion advised: violent subject matter

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