24th Annual San Francisco International Hip Hop DanceFest Returns in November

Micaya will present the 24th Annual San Francisco International Hip Hop DanceFest (SFIHHDF), and to announce a return to live performances this November 11-13, 2022. This year's SFIHHDF features five world premiere works commissioned by the festival, and welcomes artists from Paris, Norway, Los Angeles, Vacaville, Oakland, San Jose, San Mateo, San Francisco, and New York.

Under the umbrella of hip hop, this year's festival showcases work that draws from b-boying, breaking, popping, locking, whacking, boogaloo, clubbing, housing, and urban choreography in addition to other dance styles such as modern, salsa, merengue, and Afro-Cuban dance. This year's featured works reflect on a number of timely topics including mental health, isolation, politics, healing, racial justice, and the meaning of freedom-with several artists creating work dealing directly with the pandemic. The featured companies include:

Bliss Dance Company (Vacaville, Ca)

Compagnie THT (France, Norway)

Friidom (Los Angeles)

INQ (Oakland,Ca)

Krazy 8 (San Mateo,Ca)

Playboyz Inc. (San Jose, Ca)

Prince Ali Freeze (San Jose, Ca)

Sun Kim Dance Theatre (New York)

TURForce (Bay Area)

Versa-Style (Los Angeles)

Four performances featuring two programs will take place Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Following the Sunday matinee at 12pm, the festival welcomes kids onstage for the SFIHHDF Kids Freestyle Circle. On Thursday, November 3 the Festival will present its annual fundraiser, One Love at Brava Theater, which will feature food and drinks; a screening of the short film Juggernaut featuring youth dance company Feline Finesse; an awards ceremony; an interactive graffiti mural art project; and a raffle.

In 1993, dancer, choreographer, teacher, and producer Micaya began producing grassroots hip-hop dance shows in the heart of San Francisco's Mission District. Those shows quickly sold out, and led up to the creation of the first ever SFIHHDF in 1999 at Theatre Artaud. Micaya's vision was to move hip-hop dance from the street and studio onto a proscenium stage, and to create a festival that honored both the artistry and diversity of hip-hop dance in a non-competitive environment. Now presented at the Palace of Fine Arts Theatre, the festival attracts companies from all over the globe, and has firmly placed San Francisco on the map as a premier presenter of hip-hop dance.

The program follows (subject to change):

Program A

Compagnie THT (France & Norway), Cherche en Corps Part 1

Friidom (Los Angeles), Stimulus et Reparations

INQ (Oakland, Ca), Bloom, World Premiere/Commissioned work

Krazy 8 (San Mateo,Ca), Heaven is Here

Prince Ali Freeze (San Jose, Ca), Her Work, World Premiere/Commissioned work

TURForce (Bay Area), TURForce Co-Lab, World Premiere/Commissioned work

Versa-Style (Los Angeles), Rebirth/Spirit of The Bones

Program B

Bliss Dance Company (Vacaville, Ca), Funk on Site, World Premiere/Commissioned work

Compagnie THT (France & Norway), Cherche en Corps Part 2

Friidom (Los Angeles), Exiistence's The 3rd Movement

Playboyz Inc. (San Jose, Ca), '81 til Infinity, World Premiere/Commissioned work

Sun Kim Dance Theatre (New York), Lost and Found

Versa-Style (Los Angeles), Soldiers Assemble/Extinction

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