When Kendra Kimbrough Barnes and Laura Elaine Ellis cofounded the Black Choreographers Festival: Here and Now, they wanted to bring communities together and to nurture and cultivate aspiring Black artists by giving them a safe space to create inspirational works.
That kind of artistically encouraging environment will be evident Feb. 7 through June 21 as the African & African American Performing Arts Coalition and K Star Productions present the 20th anniversary edition of the festival with numerous events in San Francisco.
The festival opens at the Museum of the African Diaspora on Feb. 7 with a free talk, “Throwback to the Future: Dance Artists in Dialogue,” moderated by Halifu Osumare, professor emerita of African American and African Studies at University of California, Davis, with Joanna Haigood, Robert Moses, Raissa Simpson and Dazaun Soleyn on the panel. The choreographers of different generations will discuss what it means to be Black in the Bay Area dance scene, both now and since 1989, when Osumare founded Black Choreographers Moving Toward the 21st Century.
The event also offers a hint for what motivated curation of the 2025 festival.
“It was about the bridging of our predecessor—it had been exactly 10 years since BCM had ended when we started in 2005—and so we wanted to do work with Dr. Osumare and have us focus on the legacy of artists that have come through that festival or have been participating in our festival,” Barnes explains. “And then we start to see the legacy of some of those artists who are now presenting works and mentoring other artists.”
Accompanying the MoAD talk is “Spirit of Sankota: Bridging the Legacy of BCM and BCF,” a free exhibit of photos, videos, artifacts and memorabilia curated by Pete Belkin and Tiersa Nureyev. The exhibit will move to the San Francisco Public Library on March 22 and then to the Minnesota Street Project from May 3 to June 21.
On Feb. 8, Soleyn and Algin “Align” Ford appear at MoAD in an expanded version of their duet “Healing Intimacy.” Immersive performances at noon, 2 and 4 p.m. are billed as a response to the exhibition “Liberatory Living: Protective Interiors & Radical Black Joy,” a showcase of contemporary interiors by 16 designers and artists reflecting on home as a place of action, joy and rest.
More performances, both new pieces and revivals of favorites from past festivals by 16 choreographers, take place over two weekends from Feb. 22 through March 2 at Dance Mission Theater. Programming reflects the festival founders’ support for and rapport they have with the choreographers, who are encouraged to innovate.
“We curate artists, but we don’t curate works that they are bringing,” Barnes says. “We have such a relationship with the artists that there is a certain amount of trust in the work they will bring, and we allow them to experiment, bring new works, and bring works that they are currently just exploring.”
On Feb. 22-23, the program includes new dances by Byb Chanel Bibene, Gregory Dawson, Moses (founder of the San Francisco troupe, Robert Moses’ Kin) and Simpson, as well as revivals by Portsha Jefferson, celebrating 20 years with the festival, and Deborah B. Vaughan, co-founder and artistic director of Dimensions Dance Theater in Oakland.
Barnes points out that Dawson, a former dancer with LINES Ballet, and Simpson both came through the BCF mentoring program.
On March 1-2, the “Next Wave Showcase” offers premieres by emerging artists, including Tara Bucknor, Gabriele Christian, Clarissa Dyas, William Brewton Fowler Jr., Sriba Kwadjovie, dominique lesleyann, Justin Sharlman, Natalya Shoaf, Soleyn and Tamara Williams.
Moving forward, Barnes would like to see the festival tour throughout California, which she believes will further its objectives and its future.
“Mentoring is a huge part of our mission,” she says. “So being able to train other arts administrators can help to carry on the legacy of BCF here in the Bay Area and is why we would want to venture out into other communities.”
The Black Choreographers Festival: Here & Now runs Feb. 7-8 at the Museum of the African Diaspora, 685 Mission St., S.F.; Feb. 22-23 and March 1-2 at Dance Mission Theater 3316 24th St., S.F.; free exhibitions are at San Francisco Public Library’s Koret Auditorium 100 Larkin St., S.F.; and Minnesota Street Project, 1275 Minnesota St., S.F. Tickets are $20-$35 at bcfhereandnow.com.