For Immediate Release
415-305-1102(c)


andrew@sfiaf.org



PLEASE NOTE UPDATED INFORMATION

San Francisco International Arts Festival

Celebrates its Sixth Anniversary

Artists from 10 Countries

Arriving to Join the Party!

May 20 – 31, 2009

For more information: www.sfiaf.org <http://www.sfiaf.org/>

Box Office: 1-800-838-3006



For photo images go to http://sfiaf.org/pressdownload



CALENDAR LISTINGS (in Chronological Order)



>From Wigman to Waltz. Pre-Festival Film Series



WHO: Multiple Artists

WHAT: SFIAF From Wigman to Waltz Film Series

WHERE: The Goethe-Institut, 530 Bush Street

WHEN: Tue. April 28, May 5, 12, 19 and 26. 7:00pm

TICKETS: FREE , Donations Requested

For information please call 415 263 8760 or go to www.sfiaf.org
<http://www.sfiaf.org/> or www.goethe.de/SanFrancisco
<http://www.sfiaf.org/2009/artists/film/www.goethe.de/SanFrancisco>

In conjunction with SFIAF's 2009 presentation of German choreographer Sasha
Waltz's Travelogue 1, the Goethe-Institut will show a series of films
depicting the roots of German Dance Theatre. Starting with Mary Wigman, the
mother of Ausdruckstanz, and continuing with her pupils Dore Hoyer and Kurt
Jooss, the program will conclude with Germany's most renown dance theatre
choreographers Pina Bausch and Sasha Waltz.



SFIAF Opening Reception





WHO: Multiple Artists

WHAT: SFIAF Artists’ Welcome Reception

WHERE: The Green Room, Veterans Building, 401 Van Ness Avenue

WHEN: Wed. May 20 6:00pm-7:30pm

TICKETS: FREE with RSVP. RSVP on SFIAF Website. www.sfiaf.org

SFIAF’s traditional opening reception welcomes international artists who
have travelled to San Francisco to participate in the Festival and
introduces them to their local counterparts. Presented by SFIAF





SFIAF Opening Night Performance





WHO: The Earplay Ensemble

WHAT: Earplay 24: Lyrical Kaleidoscopes

WHERE: Herbst Theatre, Veterans Building, 401 Van Ness Avenue

WHEN: Wed. May 20 7:30pm


TICKETS: $20 General Admission. Series Discounts Available


SFIAF 2009 will kick-off with a performance by the Earplay Ensemble, SFIAF’s
longest running presenting partners, having contributed performances to all
six festivals. The international program will include a new commissioned
work by the ground breaking Greek composer, Nicolas Tzortzis, the winner of
this year’s Earplay Donald Aird Memorial Composition Competition. Tzortzis
will travel from his home in Paris to attend the world premiere of the
piece. There will also be a new commissioned work by French Canadian
composer Linda Bouchard, who will be in attendance. Compositions by Elliot
Carter and Olivier Messiaen will complete the evening. Presented by Earplay.






Week One Performances





WHO: Various Artists

WHAT: Jewels in the Square

WHERE: Union Square

WHEN: Daily May 21-31 Noon

TICKETS: FREE. Go to www.sfiaf.org <http://www.sfiaf.org/> for more
information

Come to Union Square for free site specific shows and outdoor sneak previews
of performances by various local and international artists performing as
part of SFIAF. The performances include participants in SFIAF’s newest
program, titled MASH. This year’s MASH artists are The Riley Dance Project,
Shah & Blah Productions and Gretchen Garnett & Dancers. The full line-up is
to be announced. Presented by MJM Management and SFIAF.



WHO: Smita Nagdev

WHAT: Classical Indian Sitar Concert

WHERE: The Asian Art Museum, 200 Larkin Street

WHEN: Thur. May 21 7:00pm

TICKETS: FREE with museum admission.

North Indian classical music's rising sitar player Smita Nagdev delivers her
American debut performance. A protégé of the legendary sarod player Ustad
Amjad Ali Khan, Smita draws from a deeply nuanced, improvisatory musical
tradition in order to craft an experience of awakening and peace through
music. She is accompanied on the tabla by Debopriyo “Bubai” Sarkar.
Presented by SFIAF, the Sangati Center and the Asian Art Museum.



WHO: Cho-In Theatre

WHAT: The Angel & The Woodcutter

WHERE: The Cowell Theatre, Fort Mason Center

WHEN: Thur. May 21 8pm, Sat. 23 6:30pm

TICKETS: $25 Reserved Seating, $20 in advance. Series Discounts Available.

BOX-OFFICE: www.sfiaf.org <http://www.sfiaf.org/> or 800-838-3006


These performances mark the U.S. debut of this South Korean ensemble with a
fascinating physical theatre piece based on the traditional folk tale of the
same name. Cho-In Theatre perform entirely without words, using body
movements, puppets and music they tell complex stories that have a powerful
anti-war message. Their productions are rich in Korea’s history and
culture. All Koreans know the angel and the woodcutter story but they have
never seen it take this format before and the plot has been dramatically
altered in a major way. It is truly an international piece of theatre that
uses Korean symbols and folklore to highlight the universal human condition.
Presented by SFIAF and the Korean Cultural Center.



WHO: Cheryl E. Leonard, Marielle Jakobsons, Kevin Shea Adams

WHAT: Sounding Out California

WHERE: the Luggage Store, 1006 Market Street

WHEN: Thur. May 21 8pm

TICKETS: $6-$10 sliding scale at the door

Embracing the notion of hybridity, Sounding Out California was originally a
NEXMAP 2007 state wide competition that invited composers from a wide range
of musical traditions to send in their music. The result was a full CD
featuring five emergent artists launched in 2008. This concert proudly
presents three of its winners. Presented by NexMap.



WHO: Gamelan Sekar Jaya

WHAT: Larassanti: Three Evenings (and Thirty Years) of Balinese Music and
Dance

WHERE: The Cowell Theatre, Fort Mason Center

WHEN: Fri. May 22 8pm, Sat. 23-Sun. 24 2:00pm

TICKETS: $25 Reserved Seating, $20 in advance. Series Discounts Available.

BOX-OFFICE: www.sfiaf.org <http://www.sfiaf.org/> or 800-838-3006


Joined by Guest Artists-in-Residence, I Dewa Putu Berata (musician) and
Emiko Saraswati Susilo (dancer) from Bali, Gamelan Sekar Jaya—acclaimed
internationally for its innovative work with the music and dance of
Bali—performs a dazzling array of pieces as it celebrates thirty years of
artistic interchange with Bali. Spanning works both centuries old and newly
created, GSJ will focus on themes that have helped define the fifty-member
"Bay Area treasure" (Dancetera): balance, harmony, and collaboration across
cultures. Presented by Gamelan Sekar Jaya and the Asian Art Museum.



WHO: ROVA Saxophone Quartet

WHAT: Rovaté 2009: Fissures, Futures

WHERE: Jewish Community & Cultural Center, 3200 California Street

WHEN: Fri.-Sat. May 22-23 8pm

TICKETS: $25 Reserved Seating, $20 in advance. Series Discounts Available.

BOX-OFFICE: www.sfiaf.org <http://www.sfiaf.org/> or 800-838-3006


An ambitious improvisational music project sees ROVA joined by a team of
composer-musicians and Berlin media artist Lillevan that will use digital
animation to create “visual music.” The project is a continuation of Rova’s
recent foray into employing the visual arts as either an inspiration for, or
an actual tool in the creation of original music. Special guests include
analogue electronics genius Thomas Lehn from Germany, and avant-garde viola
master Charlotte Hug from Switzerland. Additionally USA-based
musician/composers, Carla Kihlstedt (Oakland, CA) and Lisle Ellis (New York
City) have also been invited as guests. Presented by ROVA: Arts.



WHO: Scott Wells & Dancers

WHAT: What Men Want

WHERE: CounterPulse, 1310 Mission Street

WHEN: Fri.-Sun. May 22-24, Thur.-Sun. May 28-31

TICKETS: $25 General Admission, $20 in advance. Series Discounts Available.

BOX-OFFICE: www.sfiaf.org <http://www.sfiaf.org/> or 800-838-3006

Scott Wells presents new dances and macho ballads with aggressive overtones
and romantic undertones. The program includes a premiere with two world
class jugglers and the recent Litquake collaboration with writer, Michelle
Tea, which was described as “an aesthetic-pleasure-overload fantasy” SF
CHRONICLE. What men Want—a dance for eight men who will be “bouncing off
walls and flying in your face…an electrifying style of contact!” SF WEEKLY.
Presented by Scott Wells & Dancers



WHO: Ranferi Aguilar, Ana Nitmar & Ixim Tinamit

WHAT: Music of Guatemala

WHERE: The Cowell Theatre, Fort Mason Center

WHEN: Sat. May 23 9:00pm

TICKETS: $25 Reserved Seating, $20 in advance. Series Discounts Available.

BOX-OFFICE: www.sfiaf.org <http://www.sfiaf.org/> or 800-838-3006


Ranferi Aguilar comes to the San Francisco Bay Area with his new group Los
Hacedores de Lluvia (The Rain Makers). The group focuses on traditional and
fusion music that reconstructs the sounds of the Mayan culture with melodies
created for traditional wind and percussion instruments blended with the
guitar creating new arrangements of ancient sounds. His fusion of modern and
pre-Hispanic sounds proposes a subjective communion with the spiritual
world. Ana Nitmar will begin the evening along with Berkeley based Ixim
Tinamit (People of Corn) Marimba Ensemble. Guatemalan musician and teacher,
Julio Landoni will present a wide variety of musical genres that will be
played by his marimba ensemble. The performance promises to display the
marimbas versatility, featuring musical genres as diverse as the waltz,
bolero, cumbia, 6X8, vocal arrangements as well as the Son Guatemalteco.
Presented by Martin Productions and SFIAF.



WHO: Smita Nagdev & New Directions in Indian Classical Music

WHAT: Classical Indian Concert for Sitar, Percussion & Voice

WHERE: Cowell Theatre, Fort Mason

WHEN: Sun. May 24 7:00pm

TICKETS: $25 Reserved Seating, $20 in advance. Series Discounts Available.

BOX-OFFICE: www.sfiaf.org <http://www.sfiaf.org/> or 800-838-3006


Indian sitarist Smita Nagdev will be joined in a second joint concert by a
Bay Area ensemble commissioned in 2009 by the San Francisco Foundation
entitled New Directions in Indian Classical Music featuring the celebrated
2008 Miles From India Tour's energetic drumming talent, Anantha R. Krishnan
on the South Indian mridangam barrel drum, along with the ecstatic vocal
style of Sangati Center founder Gautam Tejas Ganeshan accompanied by tanpura
drone lutes. The ensemble will be accompanied on the tabla by Debopriyo
“Bubai” Sarkar. Presented by SFIAF, the Sangati Center and the Asian Art
Museum.







Week Two Performances





WHO: Various Artists

WHAT: Jewels in the Square

WHERE: Union Square

WHEN: Daily May 21-31 Noon

TICKETS: FREE. Go to www.sfiaf.org <http://www.sfiaf.org/> for more
information

Come to Union Square for free site specific shows and outdoor sneak previews
of performances by various local and international artists performing as
part of SFIAF. The performances include participants in SFIAF’s newest
program, titled MASH. This year’s MASH artists are The Reilly Dance Project,
Shah & Blah Productions and Gretchen Garnett & Dancers. The full line-up is
to be announced. Presented by MJM Management and SFIAF.



WHO: Sasha Waltz & Guests

WHAT: Travelogue 1: Twenty to eight

WHERE: Cowell Theatre, Fort Mason

WHEN: Wed. May 27 8:00pm, Thur. May 29, 6:00pm

TICKETS: $25 Reserved Seating, $20 in advance. Series Discounts Available.

BOX-OFFICE: www.sfiaf.org <http://www.sfiaf.org/> or 800-838-3006

Headlining the Festival, in what will be the company’s only appearances in
the U.S. in 2009, is German tour de force Sasha Waltz & Guests with the
Northern California premiere of the evening length Travelogue I - Twenty to
eight. The company celebrated its 15th anniversary in 2008 and has re-staged
its first ever work on a new generation of dancers (it is the Americas
premiere of this version of the piece). Originally choreographed by Sasha
Waltz in 1993, Travelogue I - Twenty to eight is a dance classic, having
lost neither volatility nor relevance with the passing of the years. Waltz
portrays the lives of room-mates with humour, aggression and sensuality. A
co-production of Sasha Waltz & Guests and Grand Theatre Groningen, NL. With
friendly support of the Berlin Government Dept. Cultural Affairs, Funds of
Performing Arts, Initiative Neue Musik Berlin e.V. Sasha Waltz & Guests is
supported by Hauptstadtkulturfonds. Presented by SFIAF and the Goethe
Institute.



WHO: Bond Street Theatre with Exile Theatre of Kabul

WHAT: Beyond the Mirror

WHERE: Cowell Theatre, Fort Mason

WHEN: Fri. May 29 9:00pm. Sat. May 30, 9:00pm, Sun. May 31 1:00pm

TICKETS: $25 Reserved Seating, $20 in advance. Series Discounts Available.

BOX-OFFICE: www.sfiaf.org <http://www.sfiaf.org/> or 800-838-3006

The San Francisco debut of New York’s Bond Street Theatre in collaboration
with Exile Theatre of Kabul from Afghanistan. Titled Beyond the Mirror, the
piece was written collectively by the Bond Street Theatre and Exile Theatre
ensembles, and directed by Mahmoud Shah Salimi and Joanna Sherman.
Referencing the past 20 years of Afghan history, woven through myths and
memories, family histories and first-hand accounts, traditional dances and
live music, story-telling and filmed montages, Beyond the Mirror weaves an
intricate tapestry of events, both desperate and hopeful. Presented by Bond
Street Theatre.



WHO: The Akhe Group

WHAT: Gobo.Digital Glossary

WHERE: Cowell Theatre, Fort Mason

WHEN: Sat. May 30, 6:30pm, Sun. May 31 5:00pm

TICKETS: $25 Reserved Seating, $20 in advance. Series Discounts Available.

BOX-OFFICE: www.sfiaf.org <http://www.sfiaf.org/> or 800-838-3006

Making a triumphal return to the SFIAF stage is the AKHE Group from St.
Petersburg, Russia who will present the US premiere of their new work,
Gobo.Digital Glossary. Audiences, artists and critics raved about the AKHE
Group the last time they performed at SFIAF in 2005 and this year’s
performance is a much anticipated occasion by the leading exponents of what
they have dubbed “Russian Engineering Theatre.” Presented by SFIAF.