Rhythms of Belonging: Western Arts Alliance 2026 Showcase
Allelulia Panis Dance Theatre [APDT] a KULARTS project
APDT performs LinLin Aktibista an excerpt from 2026 Burden of Proof. Directed and choreographed by “Manai” Alleluia Panis, original score by Joshua Icban, illustration by Raf Salazar and text by 2024 San Diego Poet Laureate, and scholar, Jason Magabo Perez is an immersive multimedia dance work inspired by the true story of Jason’s mother, Leonora Magabo Perez and Filipina Narciso, who were wrongfully convicted and incarcerated in the 1975 deaths at the VA Hospital in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Set in the near future, Burden of Proof follows the fictional Calinao immigrant family as they navigate the afterlife of wrongful conviction. The work explores how injustice fractures memory, how trauma blurs the line between nightmare and history, and how families inherit what the courtroom cannot undo.
Available NEFA touring subsidies.
Joti Singh (Co-director of Duniya Dance and Drum Company)
Joti Singh’s Ghadar Geet: Blood and Ink merges dance, poetry, and live music to chronicle the Bay Area’s Ghadar Party, a revolutionary force in India’s fight for independence from British rule. Rooted in her training in Bhangra and Gidda–traditional Punjabi dances that embody both celebration and resistance–Joti Singh pushes the boundaries of these forms to depict the enduring legacy of anti-colonial struggles. Drawing inspiration from her great-grandfather, Bhagwan Singh Gyanee, a prominent Ghadar leader and prolific poet, Joti infuses her own poetry with her grandfathers, illuminating the personal inheritance of her family’s legacy of art revolution and resistance. This project is funded by the New England Foundation for the Arts, National Dance Project, with touring subsidies available. [Facebook, Instagram]
La MezclaLa Mezcla presents excerpts from Ahualulco: A New Dance and Music Work Connecting Veracruz, Cuba, and Rhythms of Resistance. Through percussive dance, live music, and layered choreography, Ahualulco traces shared histories of African and Indigenous resistance across the Gulf of Mexico and brings those histories into conversation through the body, rhythm, and sound. La Mezcla is a San Francisco–based dance company and cultural arts organization rooted in Latinx, Chicanx, and Indigenous traditions that advances social justice through performance, education, and community engagement. A female-run, BIPOC-led organization, La Mezcla expands representation, arts access, and professional opportunities for Latinx and BIPOC communities by amplifying overlooked histories and voices through dance, music, mentorship, and cultural programming. [Facebook, Instagram]
Michael SakamotoInterdisciplinary artist Michael Sakamoto performs solo excerpts from "time/life/beauty", a performance created in collaboration with composer-musician Paul D. Miller aka DJ Spooky, also featuring dancer-choreographer Mohammed Smahneh aka Barges. Fusing butoh dance theater, hip-hop mixology, new music and multimedia, "time/life/beauty" is inspired by the music, interdisciplinary collaborations and environmental and anti-war commitments of famed composer-musician and activist Ryuichi Sakamoto (1952-2023). Available for booking in solo, duo, and trio formats. The project can tour as an evening-length program of trio, duo and solo works, as an evening-length solo by Sakamoto, or in lecture-demonstration format by Sakamoto and Miller for a variety of venues and budgets. Currently touring with National Dance Project touring subsidy available. [Facebook, Instagram]
Nava Dance Theatre presents excerpts from Rogue Gestures/Foreign Bodies, a dance and live music production that celebrates the labor and lived experiences of immigrant women in the US. Created by Nadhi Thekkek and collaborators, the work weaves bharatanatyam, dance theatre, and original raaga-based music to show that we are stronger together, transforming our joy, labor, and grief into collective power. Initially inspired by oral histories of Malayalee community aunties who arrived to work as nurses after the 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act, Rogue Gestures celebrates the breadwinning, culture-bearing, determined generosity of our femme elders, insisting that the only way forward is together. The project can tour with live or recorded music, can be performed in part or in full, and is often accompanied by school or other community engagements. Nava Dance Theatre is NEFA National Dance Project Awardee, with touring subsidies available. [Instagram]
ParangalThe Philippine countryside is a land bestowed with endless beauty and many think of it as the true Philippines. This may be why the dances of the rural farmers that inhabit these areas are the most famous of all Filipino dances. After a hard day’s work, the rural people gather in their barrios and perform many impromptu and lively dances as a form of relaxation. These dances personify their joys in their work, in their surroundings, and in living among the simple country people. Dances for today's program have been selected to give tribute to the Filipino Farm Workers based on their origin in the Philippines in Ilocos and Batangas. [Facebook, Instagram]
Trío GuadalevínTrío Guadalevín explores the musical dialogue between Indigenous, European and African cultures which define Latin American identity. With memorable stories and an incredible array of instruments from the Americas, Africa and Europe, the trio weaves together a tapestry of music, languages, culture, history and geography. Bouncing across continents and centuries - from Muslim and Sephardic Jewish music of medieval Spain and North Africa to the son huasteco of central Mexico, Zapotec music from Oaxaca and Afro-Mexican son jarocho, we believe music has a unique ability to illustrate the complex ways in which our cultures, languages and stories intersect. We work to engage communities multi-lingually through education and events as much as concerts. [Facebook]
