culture, and i know everything to her, so thank you. -- i owe everything to her. [applause] 7 next up, i think we are going to have -- are you guys performing, or no? you guys are ready to go? -- so next up. i will wait for you to get down the stairs, and we are going to have a performance by ---

brazil. ♪ >> [singing in foreign language]

♪ ♪

[applause] >> again, ginga brasil. supported by -- [applause] i can dance samba. i will not do it in a bikini, and i cannot do it in high heels on a slick floor. you have no idea how hard that was. [applause] so i have got three quick announcements, and then i will have a board member announce our new king and queen. first, i just want to give two quick fade use, because there are a couple of unsung heroes --

i want to give a couple of quick thank-yous. there is our producer and our contingent's coordinator, and those are nice titles, but they do so much brightwork, and we really, really do appreciate that. next, one of our board members is not here tonight, because his father passed away, so we want to send our prayers to rudy and his family, and lastly but not least we -- leastly, but dannty -- danny glover, he has agreed to be one of our grand marshals this year. we are very pleased to have

danny. so without further ado, i want to introduce isabelle barassa. isabelle? >> sorry, i just got lipstick on him. he is all pissed now. i am not been with microphones, but i do want to give a shout out. everybody works very, very hard, and they are getting ready for a beautiful carnaval parade. pass the word around. it is the best show on the west coast. i also want to say hello to the mission cultural center, which is the contingent's i will be dancing with. without further ado, we have a wonderful king and queen of the

carnaval contest, and i want to introduce them. one has been dancing hula professionally for five years. i am sorry, i will pronounced this as best as i can. under the direction of patrick. he has been practicing yoga for six years and is a certified massage therapist. he participated in his first carnaval with latin dance grooves at the mission cultural center. a dancer and teacher in the san francisco bay area. she holds a bachelor of arts degree from san francisco university and recently won the

isador dunkin award for performance. they are sponsored by the rhythm and motion contingent's, so without further ado, i want to introduce our king and queen for 2011. ♪

[cheers and applause] ♪

[cheers and applause] ♪ [cheers and applause] >> thank you to everyone who has participated, all of the

contingent's that came out. we wanted to make a couple of announcements op-ed and also think someone -- make a couple of announcement and also think someone -- thank someone. i also want to remind you that you're giving away a ticket to brazil for two, so please make sure we have the tickets. we also have libation and snacks available, so, by all means, please help yourself, and thank you again for all of the participants. say hello to the giants' trophy which will also be in the parade.

>> i just want to say thank-you. all of your welcome to participate in carnaval. [applause] >> again, we have food and drink available, please help yourself, and thank you for coming.

>> the san francisco ethnic dance festival is one of the jewels on san francisco sculptural crowns. this is in its 32nd year of showcasing the celebrated dance troupes. this year will be one of the past with four new works representing kondo, afghanistan, china, mexico. -- congo, afghanistan, china, mexico. more than a hundred 30 ensembles and soloists auditioned in january for a slot in the

ethnic dance festival. in the end, 37 companies were selected to perform. 26 of those performances are world premieres. >> each year, we assembled a panel of dance experts that is made up of academics, scholars, researchers. people have been working for decades in the field. many of them came to this country in the seventies and have trained the next generation of dancers. they are proud to see many of these students at the these masterful levels. this was one of the best panel'' we have ever had, extraordinary people. at the end of the process, they rank their top groups which are

then merged into a master list. >> performers are judged on stage presence, costumes, and innovation. >> the four programs are created around an exciting and dynamic range so the soloists and groups selected each weekend will have enough dynamic range to be a society overall to are experience. >> hundreds of dancers from different countries need each other, compare stuff, and make new friends. this has resulted in new cross- cultural collaborations'. >> one of the extraordinary things is that it really only happens here in the san francisco bay area. all of the dancers that we are presented -- presenting are from

the area. they have full-time jobs and they spend their weekends nurturing their passion to sustain these extraordinary dance forms from around the world. the audience cannot help but be inspired. >> this year, the festival will feature a special collaboration that celebrates the mexican bicentennial and commemorates the 100th anniversary of the mexican revolution. >> one of the great area biographers has stepped out of that role and we asked them to create a special work working with 6 x ordinary dance companies that we have assembled dancers from all of these companies to present a united work in celebration of