THE BLACK CHOREOGRAPHERS FESTIVAL Returns 2/17 - 3/4

The African & African American Performing Arts Coalition and K*Star*Productions are pleased to announce the program for the Black Choreographers Festival: Here and Now 2018 (BCF), which takes place over three consecutive weekends, February 17 - March 4, in San Francisco and Oakland. Following the opening weekend at Dance Mission Theater in San Francisco, the festival moves to SAFEhouse Arts at 145 Eddy Street for weekend two, with a final program at Laney College Theater in Oakland, March 3 - 4. All performances begin at 7:30 p.m.

This season BCF presents its "Next Wave Choreographers Showcase" spotlighting emerging and mid-career artists from the Bay Area and Los Angeles. Featured artists include Delina Patrice Brooks, Alex Diaz, Chris Evans with Byb Chanel Bibene, Ashley Gayle and Noah James, Shawn Hawkins, Kai Hazelwood, Cherie Hill, Joslynn Mathis Reed, Nkechi Njaka, Chris Scarver, Natalya Shoaf, Dazaun Soleyn, Phylicia Stroud, Latanya d. Tigner, Meagan Uriah Wells and Jamie Wright.

"BCF celebrates the rich heritage of black dance while also working to raise up the next generation of African American choreographers," said Kendra Kimbrough Barnes, director of K*Star*Productions, who together with Laura Elaine Ellis directs BCF. With the vision of galvanizing the arts community around the contributions of African and African American choreographers, Ellis and Barnes have curated this season's events with attention to "new voices" and "new works" between seven and 15 minutes in length.

"Among the talented new voices we're excited to present this season is Kai Hazelwood, currently based in Los Angeles," said Ellis. Hazelwood's recent credits include choreographing for Martz Contemporary Dance Company in Barcelona, Spain, and for Theatre Dybbuk in Los Angeles. In 2016, she danced with Oakland-based Axis Dance Company while on tour.

BCF will present Hazelwood's chamber piece for four dancers, titled Seeking.... Set to an original score performed with live musical accompaniment by Alexander Millar, Seeking... plays with blindfolds as a metaphor for the challenges people face in making their way through the world. Seeking... will be performed both evenings over the first weekend, February 17 - 18. To see a trailer video of Seeking... visit vimeo.com/214616198.

Two returning artists this season are Joslynn Mathis Reed and Dazaun Soleyn. "We've been big fans of them for a while, and it's exciting now to see these artists begin to receive the recognition they deserve," continued Ellis.

Reed is preparing a solo in collaboration with singer-songwriter Itoro Udofia, while Soleyn is preparing an evening-length work, titled Metamorphic Existence, which will premiere this spring at Dance Mission Theater. BCF will present an excerpt from the work-in-progress, a piece inspired by code-switching, especially as it's practiced by African Americans. Joining Soleyn as a performer are Giordan Cruz, Claire Fisher, Suzette Sagisi and Linda Steele. Reed's and Soleyn's works will receive showings on both the first and final weekends this season.

The second weekend, February 24 - 25, is presented in partnership with SAFEhouse Arts. Featured artists include Shawn Hawkins and Cherie Hill, who received dual residencies in support of the development of their new works. SAFEhouse Arts awarded them each a RAW (Resident Artist Workshop) residency, and BCF awarded them an AMP (Artist Mentoring Program) residency. Both residencies provide free rehearsal space, mentoring and guaranteed public performance opportunities. Hawkins' mentor is Gregory Dawson; Hill's is Raissa Simpson.

Past AMP artists include Ramon Ramos Alayo, Byb Chanel Bibene, Rashaad Pridgen, Reed, Simpson, Soleyn and Amara T. Smith, among many others.

Each weekend of the Festival will include a number of special events from master classes to film screenings to panel discussions with the artists. For more information, visit bcfhereandnow.com.

Tickets this season range from $10 to $25 and may be purchased online at Brown Paper Tickets via direct links at bcfhereandnow.com.

ABOUT THE BLACK CHOREOGRAPHERS FESTIVAL
The Black Choreographers Festival: Here & Now (BCF), with scheduled events throughout the year is directed by Bay Area nonprofits AAAPAC and K*Star*Productions. Since 2005, BCF has served local, national and International Artists with over 150 public events, acknowledging the diverse artistic expression within the context of African and African American dance and culture. BCF incorporates live performance, mentoring, master classes, workshops and special events, and is made possible by the continuous support of the San Francisco Arts Commission, Cultural Arts Funding from the City of Oakland, the Zellerbach Family Foundation, the Kenneth Rainin Foundation, as well as community partners Dance Mission Theater, Dimensions Dance Theater, ODC Theater, and numerous small businesses and individual donors.

ABOUT THE AFRICAN & AFRICAN AMERICAN PERFORMING ARTS COALITION (AAAPAC)
A San Francisco-based, nonprofit organization, AAAPAC was founded in 1995 by a collective of artists looking to create better performance opportunities for African and African American performing artists, as well as produce shows that reflect the aesthetic and cultural representation of the African and African American experience. As AAAPAC's executive director, Laura Elaine Ellis has co-produced successful events such as the Labor of Love Dance Series, The Quilt Project: Pieces of Me, and the Black Choreographers Festival: Here & Now. Funding awards for past and current projects include: San Francisco Grants for the Arts, CA$H, The Creative Work Fund, The Irvine Foundation, Zellerbach Family Foundation, The Kenneth Rainin Foundation and The Walter and Elise Haas Fund.

ABOUT K*STAR*PRODUCTIONS
Formed in 1996 by Kendra Kimbrough Barnes, K*Star*Productions serves as a performing arts presenting organization for the Black Choreographers Festival and the Kendra Kimbrough Dance Ensemble. The mission of K*Star*Productions is to fearlessly cultivate a diverse environment that inspires, informs and supports the evolution of the arts through relationship building, mentoring, exploration, forming community partnerships and presentation. K*Star*Productions has received funding from the City of Oakland Cultural Arts Program, CA$H, The Irvine Foundation, the Zellerbach Family Fund, Alameda County Arts Commission, East Bay Community Foundation, California Arts Council, Sam Mazza, the Alliance for California Traditional Arts and The Walter and Elise Haas Fund Foundation. FACT SHEET WHAT:The African & African American Performing Arts Coalition and K*Star*Productions present the BLACK CHOREOGRAPHERS FESTIVAL: HERE & NOW showcasing "new voices / new works."

February 17 - March 4, 2018Saturdays and Sundays at 7:30 p.m. on all dates
Feb. 17 - 18 at Dance Mission Theater:Delina Patrice Brooks Alex Diaz Ashley Gayle & Noah JamesKai Hazelwood Joslynn Mathis Reed Nkechi Njaka (Saturday only)Christopher ScarverNatalya Shoaf (Saturday only)Dazaun Soleyn Jamie Wright (Sunday only)
Feb. 24 - 25 at SAFEhouse Arts:Shawn HawkinsCherie Hill Christopher Scarver
Mar. 3 - 4 at Laney College:Delina Patrice Brooks (Sunday only)Alex DiazChris Evans with Byb Chanel Bibene (Sunday only) Ashley Gayle & Noah JamesJoslynn Mathis Reed (Saturday only)Natalya Shoaf (Saturday only)Dazaun SoleynPhylicia StroudLatanya d. Tigner Meagan Uriah Wells

Dance Mission Theater 3316 24th StreetSan Francisco, CA 94110
SAFEhouse Arts145 Eddy StreetSan Francisco, CA 94102
Laney College Theater900 Fallon StreetOakland, CA 94607

TICKETS: $10 - $25Tickets may be purchased online at the following links:Weekend one: brownpapertickets.com/event/3323278Weekend two: safehousearts.org/event/6af5575a9d44c40750723fc9c325b096Weekend three: bcfoakland2018.brownpapertickets.com

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