Episode 28: Presidio Dance Theatre

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Dancers from Presidio Dance Theatre Performances

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“All of our programs really are also through the lens of social justice”

In this episode, our featured voice is Sherene Melania the Executive Director and Artistic Director of Presidio Dance Theatre of San Francisco. The Presidio Dance Theatre has a history of cultural and community engagement with a mission to use dance and the arts to educate, inspire, and forge connections between cultures.

For dance companies, December provides the opportunity to present the traditional holiday favorite The Nutcracker Ballet, and to generate a large percentage of their income. With Covid-19 closing down in-person live performances, dance companies have been forced to develop creative solutions to present their performances. I’ll let Sherene share with you how her team is presenting their annual holiday show.

Sherene Melania

Sherene Melania, Executive & Artistic Director of Presidio Dance Theatre, is an accomplished performing artist, choreographer and arts educator. She specializes in youth development and cultural diplomacy through dance. Sherene served as a San Francisco Arts Commissioner for 12 years, representing the fields of dance and arts education. Most recently, she was appointed by UNESCO’s International Dance Council (CID), as founding President of the UNESCO CID West Chapter, representing the western region of the Unites States.

From Harvard University, she holds a Master of Arts in Education; she has also earned a Certificate of Ballet Direction Specialty and Choreography from the Saint Petersburg State Conservatory in Russia, and a Bachelor of Arts summa cum laude from the University of San Francisco in Performing Arts and Social Justice, where she received the Dean’s Medal for Excellence in the Arts.

Sherene has performed and choreographed for dance companies at home and in Europe. She has been commissioned to present pieces for the United Nations, European Parliament, the International Red Cross, and PBS. Her work has been recognized by the press nationally in Dance Magazine and Dance Teacher, and internationally broadcast.

Having excelled in artistic creation and innovative forms of cultural preservation, Sherene has received a “Certificate of Honor” in recognition of outstanding achievements in the arts from the City and County of San Francisco. She is recognized by European Parliament for “merging art and social justice.” Melania is fluent in English, French, and Russian.

Presidio Dance Theatre of San Francisco

Presidio Dance Theatre is a highly acclaimed, multi-generational dance company, is widely recognized for its signature style of Ethno-Classical Ballet. The company tours nationally and internationally, supporting humanitarian causes, earning prestigious awards, including the U.S. State Department’s “Distinguished Service in Cultural Diplomacy through Dance.” Spurring youth development, Presidio Dance Theatre’s DANCEOUT! targets economically and educationally disadvantaged SFUSD students.

The Company is currently in its 23rd season and will be offering a special one-night only screening of Sherene Melania’s holiday ballet, “Beyond the Land of Sweets” on December 3 at the San Francisco Fort Mason Center for Arts and Culture Drive-In (Ft Mason Flix Drive-In). Sherene Melania was recently designated by UNESCO as the West Coast representative for UNESCO’s dance initiatives. Presidio Dance Theatre has also created several social justice dance programs teaching young individuals and adults about current topics including Black Lives Matter. The Company offers weekly virtual dance instruction.

Donation / Volunteer

In 1998, Judy Bretchneider, Robert C. Leefeldt, Nancy Johnson and Jeanne Shimmon founded the nonprofit Presidio Performing Arts Foundation (PPAF), to enable Presidio Dance Theatre to build community arts programming for San Francisco youth. Since then, PPAF has raised $5 million for children's arts education, performances and community outreach.

Each year, we depend on donations and grants to support PDT special programs, including DANCEOUT!, the Young Ambassadors Program and our free public performances.

Buy tickets to Beyond the Land of Sweets which is a lively spin-off of the cherished Nutcracker Ballet, Clara travels around the globe, celebrating holiday traditions across cultures and you can enjoy a special premiere of “Cracking the Nut”

Videos

To find out more about Presidio Dance Theatre and check out their videos:

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“I think dance is just an amazing way of bringing people together and learning to communicate even you know, verbally you are not able to, you don’t speak the same language, but there’s a very powerful connector in dance”

— Sherene Melania, Executive Director & Artistic Director of Presidio Dance Theatre

Our Sponsorship

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