On Saturday, a number of local Hayes Valley cultural organizations will come together to perform in PROXY, next to Patricia's Green. The event, titled The Cultural Corridor, will include work by the African-American Shakespeare Company, SFJAZZ, SF Ballet, the SF Conservatory of Music, AfroSolo, SF Bay Area Theater Company, All Stars Project, Alumni of the SF Symphony Youth Orchestra, The Medea Project and SambaFunk.
"From Fillmore to Hayes Valley, this unique pathway houses San Francisco’s most supreme arts organization," states the event's website. "Yet there has never been a joint performance of these groups within their own neighborhood."
With so many different groups included, the lineup will be diverse, ranging from small groups of local dancers to professionals from the ballet. To get things rolling, the Talent All Stars (a group made up of youth ages five to 25) will be performing hip-hop dance, followed by a welcome from District 5 Supervisor London Breed.
The African-American Shakespeare Company, which is based on Fulton and Webster, will be performing scenes from its upcoming plays, including Romeo and Juliet and Cinderella.
2014's Cinderella production. (Photo: African-American Shakespeare Company)
Two local groups will also be teaming up for a unique collaboration: The SF Jazz High School All-Stars (an advanced training program for talented young musicians) will be working with the SF Ballet for an improvisational performance of Dave Brubeck's "Take Five."
"SFJAZZ is pleased to join not only the African-American Shakespeare Company, with whom we share partners and performance spaces, but all of the greater Hayes Valley organizations participating in the Cultural Corridor event," said a spokesperson for SFJAZZ in a press release. "These creative partners are promoting and presenting some of the most vibrant art forms at the highest level, and we are pleased to present our young artists to the community at large while highlighting our shared spirit of collaboration."
SFJAZZ High School All-Stars Orchestra. (Photo: SFJAZZ)
The Cultural Corridor is largely the work of Sherri Young, the Executive Director of the African-American Shakespeare Company. "This is something I've been thinking about for the last two years," she said in a press release. "I'm so glad to finally be able to pull all our organizations together like this, and look forward to making it an annual tradition."
The full schedule for the day is as follows:
11:50 am - Talent All Stars (Opening Event)
12:00 pm - Welcome by Supervisor London Breed
12:10pm – African-American Shakespeare (Romeo and Juliet scene)
12:15 pm - Alumni of the SF Symphony Youth Orchestra
12: 35 pm - The Medea Project
12: 55 pm – African-American Shakespeare Company (Cinderella scene)
1:05 pm – SFJAZZ
1:25 pm – SF Ballet
1:50 pm – SF Bay Area Theater Company
2:10 pm – SF Conservatory of Music
2:30 pm – African-American Shakespeare Company (The Colored Museum)
2:40 pm – SambaFunk (Ending of the Event)
The performance is free, and will take place in the PROXY event space next to Patricia's Green (which will also see its first outdoor movie screening on Friday night). We'll see you there.
