Ballet Afsaneh Art And Culture Soci Ety

Programs: Outreach and educationclasses and workshops are offered in the san francisco bay area to the general public in community settings by aacs for both children and adults through the afsaneh dance academy in two bay area locations, and through the danceversity youth program. Artists who are experts in the fields of dance, music and culture of central asia and other world cultures teach workshops and ongoing classes. Student ensembles perform for community cultural events and educational institutions. Young students participating in ongoing classes also have the occasional opportunity to perform with the professional company. Afsaneh dance academy central asian dance study for adults and teens, ongoing weekly classes in berkeley, and san jose. Danceversity multi-cultural dance and arts education. Ongoing year round classes in an after school setting (ashkenaz music & dance community center, berkeley), in-school residencies throughout the bay area, outreach performances in schools & community events. Full time 2-week intensive summer program. Generated $12,000 of aacs earned income in 2016-2017 fy. Provides teaching jobs for 4 core artists of ballet afsaneh, and an additional 4 traditional dance artists. Aacs staff provides mentorship for program development, and administrative support. Total annual participation 2016-2017 for the sf bay area outreach and education programs was approximately 2,000 teachers, artists, students, volunteers and audience members.

production and performanceballet afsaneh art and culture society presents performances and publications in video and print media of the traditional dance, music and poetry of the cultures along the historic silk road in central asia. Traditional classical and folkloric repertoire includes selections from the countries of uzbekistan, iran, tajikistan, afghanistan, armenia, azerbaijan, chinese turkistan and northern india. The traditional repertory of the professional performance ensemble, ballet afsaneh, is presented along with creative original work inspired by both cultural heritage and universal themes, as well as current social issues facing central asian communities in the diaspora. A 10-member core collaborative group of artists, is joined for some performance programs by up to 25 auxiliary performers. Performances are also published through online videos. Major performance highlights, 16-17 season for ballet afsaneh professional performing arts ensemble:nowruz celebration city hall rotunda, san francisco ca annual festival persian new year festival at san francisco city hall engaged the participation of 4 professional performing arts ensembles. 100+ volunteers participated in marketing and production. Asia week san francisco dance culture and regalia of central asia public performances and costume exhibitions studio azul berkeley castudio showcase series three public performances were produced by the organization at studio 12 in berkeley ca, performances of new work by the ballet afsaneh professional performance ensemble, as well as the senior students of the afsaneh dance academy. 15 community event performances: traditional dance, music, and cultural information. 4 family performances presented in libraries, schools, and senior centers. 11 performances for community festivals and events. Estimated audience for professional performances during 16-17 season: 8,000. Estimated audience for local community performances 3,000.

note: development and strategic planningfocus on infrastructure stabilization, diversification of earned income sources and increased public support. Investment in dance education programs to increase community participation, volunteer base and artistic excellence. Activities accomplished during 16-17 included:leadership and technical training program instituted for emerging leadership and staff. Subsidized attendance for staff, board and young leadership at dance field conferences and trainings in 3rd quarter. Crowd source funding campaign and donor cultivation. Succession planning component of the organiztions 3-year strategic plan moving forward. Emphasis was placed in 16-17 fy on the training and mentorship of promising candidates from within the organization to fulfill leadership roles.