August 8 and 9 at 7:30pm, August 10 at 3pm
Urban Jazz Dance Company presents the 13th Annual Bay Area International Deaf Dance Festival (BAIDDF), featuring performances and workshops highlighting the artistry and important contributions of Deaf and Hard of Hearing (HoH) artists from around the world, such as CDK's Deaf Dance Beyond Collective from Jamaica, Corporacion Cultural y Artistica Sin Limites from Colombia, The Wild Zappers from New York and San Francisco's Urban Jazz Dance Company, among others. BAIDDF primarily features dance as well as theater, poetry and live music, along with a diversity of Sign Languages including, but not limited to, American Sign Language (ASL), International Sign Language, Colombian Sign Language, and Jamaican Sign Language. ASL interpretation and English voicing will be offered for all performances and special events.
"For many Deaf and HoH artists, the BAIDDF is their first experience being produced by a Deaf-led organization," explains BAIDDF founder and Urban Jazz Dance Company Artistic Antoine Hunter. To increase access for audiences, BAIDFF installs beneath the theater seats what's known as a "butt kicker," a device connected to the sound system enabling viewers to feel the beat of the music. BAIDFF also provides audio descriptions for Blind and Low-Vision audiences.
Also scheduled to perform are Bianca Ware, Sabina England (St. Louis, Missouri), Deaf Music Ensemble (New York, NY), Visceral Roots Dance Company (Oakland, CA), Jon Kastrup (Palm Springs, CA), Juliana Frick (Oakland, CA) and Anna Gichan (San Francisco, CA).
BAIDDF also features workshops in jazz dance, hip-hop, ballet, ASL Dance, and more, taught by international, domestic and local Deaf, Hard of Hearing and Hearing artists who sign fluently. These workshops will be taught for both youth and adult participants at Dance Mission Theater and CounterPulse in San Francisco and Shawl Anderson Dance Center in the East Bay. More information at https://www.realurbanjazzdance.com.
$15-$40.