i want to also take a moment and give a shout-out to the men, the vagina friendly warriors standing here with you. thank you for being here. and i want to take a moment of reflection. 12 years ago there was an immigrant woman named clair tempongko, who was brutally murdered. and i want to thank you the domestic violence committee that came together and said no, we must come together. our work is not done. let me tell you that the latest report shows that our domestic violence centers 29% more calls. and our district attorney has had prosecute 88 more cases in the last two years. and i want to thank my

colleagues to the board of supervisors, this week we voted to put in more money to the domestic violence work. thank you, colleagues. in closing, this past month we celebrated the 50th anniversary of martin luther king's i had a dream speech. and we all have a dream. look around you, we represent the diversity not just of san francisco but the world. and we have a dream that some day that every woman and child in this world won't have to wor about violence. we will take care of our children. and this is a dream that if we all rise, not just san franciscans but one billion citizens around the world. thank you for being here. >> hello, san francisco!

i have a voice. so i am rising. my voice can save a life. can your voice save a life? imagine if each voice could save a life. we can't do it alone. but as our entire city. we have so many innovative programs in san francisco. it takes the commitment of our mayor and district attorney and the law enforcement. thank you to the board of supervisors for the additional funds so that the agencies can serve all the women that need help in san francisco. can i hear a voice standing up for women. san francisco serves the world,

we provide services to 165 languages. women are turned away because we don't have the funding. so thank you for the funding, board of supervisor. and san francisco has received funds from the federal government. president obama has recognized the great effort that san francisco has started and want to continue. so we can eradicate violence here in san francisco and start a global movement. everyone here is touched by domestic violence. if you say you don't know, it may be your co-worker. or your sister that doesn't want to speak out. it could be your mother or grandmother. i do this in memory of a fellow co-worker, laura sweat, who was murdered by her husband. and in that moment two young children were left without a

mother. i do this in her memory and in hope that the world will see no more violence. thank you for joining one billion rising. you have the power to save lives. [applause] thank you, julie chu, from the commission of women. there are vaginas around? i am marily mondejar. i am one of the organizers of the event tonight. and i am a survivor of domestic violence. i rise tonight because when i was 22 years old i did not know that i could leave my abusive marriage. i rise tonight because when i was 26 years old i did not know

that there were countless other women suffering like me. i rise tonight because i did not know that my children and i could have a life without fear and violence. i rise tonight because it took me many, many years with the help of community members before i was able to tell anyone about the violence and to ask for help. i rise tonight because tonight i know that what happened to me was not my fault. [applause] i demand tonight and every night that we as a community of loving and caring people speak up and extend help when we see or hear about violence against women and girls. i demand tonight and every night that we as a community, we as a community of loud and strong activists will shout enough.

enough. stop the violence now. i demand tonight and every night that we as a community confront a problem such as violence against women with continuous and rigorous analysis of existing protocols with creative thinking and with courage to introduce new paradigms like what eve and v-day has done today with one billion rising worldwide. an action that has shifted our consciousness about violence against women and girls. i demand tonight and every night that a community of mothers and fathers and aunts and uncles and grandmas and grandpas and sons and daughters and friends, that we create a true change and stand together with women and girls of san francisco. and i dance tonight in the memory of claire joyce

tempongko, a 28-year-old filipino woman that was murdered in front of her two young children. and i dance tonight in memory of terance casko that was beat by her iraq boyfriend on her birthday because she wanted to leave her abusive marriage. i dance tonight in memory of marisa who was stabbed to death by her husband, after he completed his battered program. and i dance for nicole who was abused by marines. i ask you to dance with me and say no to domestleic violence a to rape crimes, and to say no to human trafficking. and tonight for every victim and survivor here in san francisco.

but most importantly, let us dance tonight for those who still need to find the courage to leave abusive relationships and seek help. and i will keep rising and i hope you do, and i will keep demanding. and i will keep dancing until every woman and girl in san francisco can live free and clear of violence. say it with me. i rise. thank you. >> there are so many cases, and many that occur in the world. one out of three will be raped and abused. one billion women dancing is for revolution. and we have men here, thank you. one billion rising is a global

call to action. and one billion rising is a celebration. this is how we celebrate the help that all of those women can receive from all of us. we can do something and we can only do it together. right now i am going to introduce janice. she's a missionary. she's an activist. she's a leader and she's a poet. she will read a poem from eve ensler. who started with this movement, she started collecting situations, and experiences. and memories of so many women around the world and she created the vagina monologues, and that led to this. >> thank you. hey, you are beautiful. this is a beautiful, beautiful

billion rising voices. one billion rising is more powerful than the thunder over the mountains. or the unchanged sea. let our voices reach the bedrooms of san francisco. the streets and the alleys for the homeless women and the poor. let our voices reach the worlds of violated and murdered women and the women that continue to be endangered by war and men who are haters. i am honored to be invited to read my hero's poem, eve ensler entitled rising. this was written for the women in india who lead the way. this could have been anywhere and was.

mexico city. manila. manhattan. night-time men waiting like wolves, drooling for prey. paying nothing but a couple of dollars or euros or pesos to have her. enter her. eat her. and devour her and throw away her bones. this could have been anywhere and was. a buddhist trying to stay dry for the night. a woman leader speaking out against a repressive government. a young woman traveling with her boyfriend. one lost her voice, the other her following. the last one her life. this could have been anymore and was. pink wooden crosses, a stack of

stones. red wilting coronations. empty chairs in a square. ribbons swaying in a sultry wind. i ask anna and nehat, and monique and emily, why? why? [speaking foreign language] >> because they were women. because they were women. this could have been anywhere. and was. for she got fired for being too beautiful. fined for drinking after he was raped. a serious offer to marry her rapist. got told it was legitimate but not enforceable. this could have been anywhere. they could do such a thing when the girls go for fire wood.

step into a lonely man's car. drink a little too much at the college party. wake up with their uncle's finger inside. run from the screaming machetes and guns. taken at sunrise, get a bullet in the brain for learning the alphabet. be stoned for falling in love. be burned for seeing the future. i am done cataloging these horrors. two million women raped and tortured. one out of three. a woman raped every minute. every second. one out of two. one out of five. the same. one. one. one. i am done counting. and recounting. it is time to tell a new story. it needs to be our story.

it needs to be outrageous and unexpected. it needs to lose control in the middle. it needs to be sexy. and in our hips and our feet. it needs to be angry. and a little scary. the way that storms can be scary. it needs not to ask permission. or to get permits or to set up offices. or to make salaries. it won't be recorded or bought or sold. or counted. it needs to just happen. it's not a question of inventing but remembering. buried under the trauma and sorr sorrow, and beneath the semen.

vagina and labios shredded and retract retracted. it's not about asking and waiting. it's about rising. raise your arms, my sister, my brother. raise your one billion. your one heart. you're one of us. i used to be afraid of love. it hurt too much. what never happened or got ripped away. the rape. the wounds. and love. i thought it was (inaudible). but i was wrong. i was wrong. step into the fire. raise your arms. raise your one billion. one. one.

one. rising. rising. rising. rising. yeah! >> one more story, one of many millions that happen every day. and i bet each one of us know an example. a real experience like this. so we can stop that. and we are here because of susan b. anthony. she had a dream as well. one billion rising. san francisco is closing this world-wide event. and we are going to do a dancing. for right now i would love to bring back to the stage here to the microphone, mayor lee for the pledge. we have to get committed.

>> are we ready for pledge? if i can ask all of you raise the hand with the one billion. and repeat after me: i am one of the one billion rising. and i pledge that today, february 14, 2013, i will make violence against women and girls a priority of our time. and help to end it in my family. my school. my workplace. my community.

and in san francisco, california and beyond. one billion rising. thank you all very much. if you can, now turn to the person next to you and tell them out loud your personal pledge. >> so you want to dance? i didn't hear you. you want to dance? one billion rising. one billion rising. let the world hear you.

one billion rising. we are closing this moment. one billion rising. let the music begin. thank you very much for being here and joining us. i will ask a big favor of you. some people will be dancing, but some people will not and cannot dance. would you be so kind to open up some space for this to fill up. more space to dance. gather round. you can go all the way to the street. where you are more comfortable. spread around.

♪ we need more space on this side. ♪ ♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ we are beautiful creatures ♪

(music) >> herb theatre,open rehearsal.

listen to the rehearsal. i think it is fun for them, they see our work process, our discussions, the decisions we make. it is good for us. we kind of behavior little bit when we have people in the audience. msk (music) >> we are rehearsing for our most expensive tour; plus two concerts here. we are proud that the growth of the orchestra, and how it is expanded and it is being accepted. my ambition when i came on as music director here -- it was evident we needed absolutely excellent work. also evident to me that i thought everyone should know that. this was my purpose. and after we

opened, which was a spectacular opening concert about five weeks after that the economy completely crashed. my plan -- and i'm absolutely dogmatic about my plans --were delayed slightly. i would say that in this very difficult timefor the arts and everyone, especially the arts, it's phenomenal how new century has grown where many unfortunate organizations have stopped. during this period we got ourselves on national radio presence; we started touring, releasing cds, a dvd. we continue to tour. reputation grows and grows and grows and it has never stopped going forward.

msk(music) >> the bay area knows the orchestra. you maybe take things for granted a little bit. that is simply not the case will go on the road. the audiences go crazy. they don't see vitality like this on stage. we are capable of conveying joy when we play. msk(music) >> any performance that we do, that a program, that will be something on the program that you haven't heard before. string orchestra repertoire is pretty small. i used to be boxed into small repertoire. i kept constantly looking for new repertoire and commissioning new arrangements.

if you look at the first of the program you have very early, young vibrant mendelson; fabulous opener and then you have this fabulous concerto written for us in the orchestra. is our gift. msk(music) >> and then you have strauss, extraordinary piece. the most challenging of all. string orchestra work. 23 solo instrument, no violin section, now viola section; everybody is responsible for their part in this piece. the challenge is something that i felt not only that we could

do , absolutely could do, but i wanted to show off. i can't tell you how aware i am of the audience. not only what i hear but their vibes, so strong. i have been doing this for a long time. i kind of make them feel what i want them to feel. there is nobody in that audience or anywhere that is not going to know that particular song by the fourth note. and that is our encore on tour. by the way. i am proud to play it, we are from san francisco.