through dance and the bay area has one of the most diverse communities in the world and wade range and diversity the annual ethnic dance festival. nothing matches this event where the stapling is the world and a collaboration of cultures. here is don sanchez with a story from last year's festival. ♪ >> san francisco is the only city in the world to seamlessly blend so many cultures in one place. its true oh ace of intensity. sim possibly yum of styles and common denominator of dance. this is the dance company in rehearsal. they go back 2,000 years. they spoke through an interpreter. >> it's called the last empress

and i went to historical references to part of history. >> it's the story of the queen and bringing her kingdom into modern times in the 19th century. the costumes are you a then the tinge her zres based on a photograph. >> because they is such a rich culture she wanted to make details authentic like the hair. >> it's like wearing a crown. they look at the festival as a chance of discovery. it's not about competition but it's about sharing. >> it's a microcosm of the world so i realized this is an opportunity to show korean dance is very important and dramatic

part of history. ♪ >> this is one of of 26 world premieres at the ethnic festival and for many it shows the diverse of the bay area. ideally, maybe it's a way to lead to understanding through dance. >> the ethnic dance festival runs every saturday and sunday for the next four weekends through july the 1st. it's so much fun. here with me the executive director of the show and producer of san francisco ethnic dance festival. julie it's so much fun you have to love this? >> it's more fun than i have had in my life. working in these people brings more joy into my life. this year on record of 50 groups

from all over northern california. this is a dance from bali and this is a dance from egypt. this is peruvian. and this is from korea. >> it's beautifully lit and i've gone the last three to four years and i absolutely love it. what do you do as the executive director? >> there be many moving parts. there are 3,000 artists and artistic directors and stage diners designers all working important six months to make it happen. i have to make sure it stays on schedule and make sure all the bills get paid. >> you just don't show up that day. how stiff is the competition? >> it's getting tougher each

year you because the dance community gets better and better. so it's open to the public, in january, standing room only. you have thousands of children coming and parents are encouraging to them hit the dance floor. and ballet is the dance form for little girls but after they see the other works, they choose other forms. >> i was raised with ballet and tap and that is it. it really takes you around the board. i want to talk to you about the aloni tribe receiving a special honor. how significant is this? >> this was the land of the aloni people, they were here 13,000 years before the span yards arrived. because of what happened in 18

30s most of them fled the area. one of the tribes kept the tradition alive down in southern california and they are coming back for the first time to show the music back at a homeland and on the stage at yerba buena's theater. >> we talked about the many different cultures and other cultures. >> we have it every year. cultures from the west coast of africa and also east coast this year. this is a tribal ritual tradition. the community mostly in oakland keeping the dance here in the bay area. it's unparalleled and it's really lovely place to learn traditions from cultures that you might not be familiar with. all of the cultures i know of currently welcome people, but welcome them to learn their dances and songs.

>> ticket prices? >> they range from $18 to $58 to half price for all the matinees and you can bring a whole bunch of kids for $9 a kid. they are available at u.c. berkeley or easy to go to our website. >> we're going to talk much more about the festival. but we have to take a break. julie will be staying with us. when we come back, we'll meet with the talented artists. stay with us. don't go away. we'll be right back.ñ/ñ/ñ/ñ/ñ/ñw

welcome back to beyond the headlines, i'm cheryl jennings, we're talking about the ethnic dance festival and importance of preserving a sustaining culture of dance and music. julie and also the principal

dancer a dance company. tell me about your mother. >> it started over 30 years ago. after my mother came to this country initially to study nutrition but also got together with other families from india and they wanted to reconnect. and they asked them to treat classical dance. my mother had been a professional dancer and toured all over india. >> can you describe it? >> its classical dance from south india which is over 2,000 years old. it started in the temples of south india. it retains a very strong connection to behind uiism and to mythology and a lot of the --

hinduism and so it's a great way back in the 1980s for them to reconnect through this dance. >> and it's a family affair? >> yes. >> so my mother started the company and both myself and my younger sister both perform and my sister also plays the cymbals in the eric stra. -- orchestra. >> is it technical to do the dancers? >> quite a bit. even to learn it many students start when they are seven or eight and it takes about 8-10 years before you are considered ready to do a solo debut. at that point you have learned all the pieces that are required for a soloist. that debut is what we consider to be a beginning. oh after eight years, you only

begin to become an zblaurt it's like being a doctor. >> definitely. the greatest thing there is no age whether to perform this. you keep evevolng and some of the best practitioners are in the 60s and 70s. >> julie, have you seen changes in this? >> all the time. and the piece they are doing this could year in the festival is breaking all kinds of boundaries. its collaboration and i've never seen anything like it. it's beautiful. >> i never would have imagined how well the two forms fit together and create a new look how would you describe it. >> it's very percussive and that

is what we sought to the highlight in this piece. i'm also in the sense of community and spirits and fine interplay between the two art forms. i would like to also mention that while we are doing this we are not straying from our traditional art forms. we are keeping very close to what our art form is traditionally so this coming together is finding commonalties within the tradition. >> i notice you have artwork on your face, can you describe it for you? >> so typically, what i'm wearing is indian casual wear. we decorate our face with decorative, it's called bindi and it's just a deck did ra active symbol. >> we look forward to see you -- decorative. >> but we have so much more to talk about. we're going meet another

performer so stay with us, we'll be right back.

welcome back. i'm cheryl jenningstalking about talking about celebrating and sustaining world culture through dance and music. in the city is aaron, artistic director and julie. i want to start with you aaron because i am looking at great costumes and a t-shirt. tell me about your dance company

first. >> it's the next generation of tahiti. our t-shirts is lunar which is breaking out freedom of speech and costumes here. >> this is a collar piece and this is ending costume, being free, not seeing any type of color boundaries. >> it's very elaborate. your folks make these? >> yes, they make the head pieces. it's very time-consuming and expensive because all the products come outside the u.s. so we have them shipped in. it's very time-consuming. >> and it's northern dance. tell me about that.

>> you look at the art form, i express myself through our performing. performances are stories. it's about telling a story most of the time. having people understand what we're trying to say but through dance. >> this is from here. >> but great looking costumes and people. how did you get starred doing this? >> my mother and my sister started dancing when i was very young but curious boy with the arts. so i pretty much been raised around it. my ear has been trained to the culture and i kind of grew up with it. >> you've been doing it a long

time. >> i have. he gives me great hope for the future of dance. >> you said that normally when you bring people out to the show you are showcasing the young people? >> i am. all of them. they are young and brilliant and visionary and the danth they are creating are some of the best work i've seen in years. >> i understand that some of the dance moves are going to be controversial. >> the spees spees very controversial because we're talking about breaking boundaries. we do some traditional but our perform answers are definitely more in contemporary side. but we have traditional drumming and dance steps. once you watch the show, you'll know exactly what i'm talking

about. there is very modern and expressive. >> it's good to note, that the innovation is happening throughout the year. the dances that are being performed like they were years ago but it's nothing like that at all. >> they are embracing that and adding more things. >> yes. >> so i think people think everybody comes from out of the area. >> 450 dance companies that working there, thousands and thousands of dancers. we've not been able to count them but thousands. >> what do you want people to come away with from your dances. >> i would like them to have an open mind. realize that it is a new day. in order for tra diogs exist you have to have innovation. in order for contemporary you have to have traditional foundation.

have an open mind. >> a blend of all of that. >> thank you so much. >> very nice to see you. we do have to take another break. we'll see how a local man is hoping preserve a indigenous

welcome back to beyond the head lies, the san francisco ethnic dance festival is happening at zellerbach hall and yerba buena center of the arts for the remaining three weekends. we have eric an artistic director of a dance company. tell me the name of group -- okay, where are you from. >> we're based here in san

francisco. tribute to the philippines and what we do through dance is costumes and music to give tribute to our country philippines and their people. >> and indigenous people? >> yes. >> this is actually for us, they this is called it and these are coconut shells and these are made of leaves. for the people that are dancing in the festival. it will be showcasing and they use this and to ward off evil

spirits. >> i think we can use that every day. i understand that you keep studying about indigenous cultures and dances? >> yes. i look forward to go back every two years so i can learn more about my roots. so the indigenous people that week learn a lot from. from that process, we learn the dandz and come back here. we show it to our company and we have work shoplifts, middle school and high school and college where they have shows every year. this is how we get to pass on what we know. >> looking at clips here that we just ran, those are some of the samples we can expect to see? >> yes, this is from 2010.

this dance, after this dance the one that we learned from the philippines back in 2009. manita, nanana and we showcase at the festival this year and the practices and traditions. do you come up with the design and costumes and look? >> this is back to the indigenous people. the costumes are copied as much as possible because the in the dance form, so just to go back so it's possible. >> and julie, another young talented director.

you were talking about not just preserving culture but even more? >> great hope. and we invited some of the philippine leaders to come back and he videotaped the performance and brought hit back to his tribe. they were wearing blue jeans and watching arnold schwarzenegger movies and they say they are watching this. and kids are more interested in learning the dances they saw audiences giving standing ovations. >> that must have been a powerful moment for you to learn that? >> yes. i did actually learn from 2010, the kids there, from the tribal leader and we got to share that. most of our work, especially the rituals and we've been

privileged to have been part of it. >> we've got about 30 seconds left. what are the participatory programs? >> yes, after 25 years the center allowed to us create programs where the audience can join the artists for the first time. there are lots of information on the website about the dances. the world will come alive on our stage and invite everyone to join us. don't miss it. thank you so much for being here. we are out of time. special thanks to our guests for joining us today. that is it for this edition. for information about the san francisco ethnic dance festival and for our guests is available

on our website at abc7news.com. click on the community page. if you are looking for community resources in your neighborhood, dial 211 for help. i'm cheryl jennings, thanks so much. bye-bye for now.