B L A C K C H O R E O G R A P H E R S
F E S T I V A L: H E R E & N O W
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BCF is Celebrating 20 Years!!!
AWARDED ~BEST OF THE BAY
- SF BAY GUARDIAN 2009
RECOGNIZED BY THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA
FOR PRESERVING THE LEGACY OF BLACK DANCE
IN THE BAY AREA, 2019 & 2025
"Every milestone naturally brings reflection, but the Black Choreographers Festival's 20th anniversary slated for February is powered by something far more profound than nostalgia." -Rachel Howard Read more
20th Anniversary Events
Spirit of Sankofa: Bridging the Legacies of BCM and BCF Featuring: Archival Exhibit, Panel, & Performance Read more
SF Chronicle article features BCF for events to see in 2025
Black Choreographers Festival: Here & Now
Celebrating 20 years!!!
BCF Concerts
in association with Dance Mission Theater
Saturday, February 22 & Sunday, February 23 @ 7:30p
Dance Mission Theater, 3316 – 24th St., San Francisco
Featuring the works of:
Byb Chanel Bibene
$20 Adv/Students/Seniors
$25 General at the door
$35 VIP - Reserved Seating
2 - Performances Pass @ $30 ($15 per performance date)
San Francisco Dance Film Festival @ BCF
The San Francisco Dance Film Festival presents a special screening at the Black Choreographers Festival, featuring three powerful films that explore themes of struggle, resilience, and liberation. The program highlights include Flower starring Misty Copeland, Free by filmmaker Yoram Savion, and Every Second by Antwan Williams, whose work is deeply connected to local creative communities. This selection showcases the Bay Area’s rich dance and film culture, bringing together artists who use movement to tell compelling and transformative stories.
Doors open @ 7:15p for Film screenings - Free with admission to BCF
Every Second (Sat. 2/22)
“Every Second” is a poignant short film that delves into the life of a man who has just been released
from prison but finds himself struggling with the reality that he will never be free from his experience of prison.
Director: Antwan Williams, Maurice Reed, Reyna Brown
Choreographers: Antwan Williams, Amie Dowling, Maurice Reed, Reyna Brown
FREE (Sun. 2/23)
The stigma of criminality haunts a young Black man in “FREE,” a poignant short film narrated from
inside his mind and brought to life through his body.
Director: Yoram Joseph Savion
Poetry: Marc Bamuthi Joseph
Music: Daniel Bernard Roumain, Producer: SOZO Impact
Flower (Sat. 2/22 & Sun. 2/23)
Flower is a short episodic film series starring world-renowned ballerina and trailblazer Misty Copeland
with co-stars Babatunji Johnson and Chrisiina Johnson, that tells a powerful story through dance and movement.
Director: Lauren Finerman
Choreographers: Alonzo King, Rich + Tone Talauega
Music: Raphael Saadiq
SAVE THE DATE
SFDFF 2025 Festival Dates: November 6-9 at Brava Theater and streaming on MarqueeTV
New Voices / New Works
in association with Dance Mission Theater
Saturday, March 1 & Sunday, March 2 @ 7:30p
Dance Mission Theater, 3316 – 24th St., San Francisco
Tara Bucknor (Sat)
Gabriele Christian
Clarissa Dyas
William Brewton Fowler Jr (Sat)
dominique lesleyann
Sriba Kwadjovie (Sun)
Aja Randall, Patricia West, Damara Vita Ganley - DAP
Justin Sharlman
Natalya Shoaf
Dazaun Soleyn - dazaundance
Tamara Williams-Xavier - Moving Spirits (Sun)
$20 Adv/Students/Seniors
$25 General at the door
$35 VIP - Reserved Seating
2 - Performances Pass @ $30 ($15 per performance date)
Sunday, March 2, pay-what-you-will (PWYW)
Tickets will be available beginning in December
*Programming subject to change
More 20th Anniversary Events
March 22 (Sat @ 2p) – BCF @ SFPublic Library, Koret Auditorium
50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Dr., San Francisco, CA
Spirit of SANKOFA! - Bridging the Legacy of BCM & BCF
Featuring: Archival Exhibit, Panel, & Performances
Black Choreographers Festival: Here & Now (BCF) brings its vibrant energy to the Koret Auditorium. Cultural Bearer Dr. Halifu Osumare moderates a panel of arts leaders and dynamic solo performances by BCF Artists will activate the Koret Auditorium stage, highlighting the history and legacy of two iconic Bay Area festivals: Black Choreographers Moving Toward the 21st Century (1989 – 1995) a national dance initiative founded by Dr. Halifu Osumare, and Black Choreographers Festival: Here & Now, co-founded by
laura e. ellis and Kendra Kimbrough Barnes, celebrating 20 years of presenting Black dance, art & culture.
Moderator: Dr. Halifu Osumare
Panelists: Dean Beck-Stewart, L. Martina Young, Kendra Kimbrough Barnes, and laura e. ellis
BCF Artists: Natalya Shoaf, Byb Chanel Bibene, Justin Sharlman, and dominique lesleyann
Lobby Exhibit: Spirit of Sankofa: Bridging the Legacies of BCM & BCF, Archival Exhibit
An artful archival display that depicts the narrative of two iconic SF Bay Area Festivals: Black Choreographers Moving Toward the 21st Century (BCM), founded by Dr. Halifu Osumare and presented from 1989 – 1995, and Black Choreographers Festival: Here & Now (BCF) co-founded by laura elaine ellis and Kendra Kimbrough Barnes, premiered in 2005, celebrating 20 years of presenting BCF! Designed by Visual Artists: Pete Belkin and Tiersa Nureyev
FREE EVENT
May 3 - June 21 @ Minnesota Street Project - Spirit of Sankofa – Panel & Performances
Different Panels and Performances featured for each event!
The Black Choreographers Festival: Here and Now – is made possible by the on-going support of the San Francisco Arts Commission, City of Oakland Cultural Arts Funding Program, the Zellerbach Family Foundation, community partners Dance Mission Theater and Dimensions Dance Theater.