March 16, 2026
For immediate release
Contact:
Andrew Wood: 415-399-9554 (o) 415-305-1102 (c) [email protected]
Lucho Ramirez: 415-425-0445 [email protected]
Alyssa Morales: 916-838-4236 [email protected]
SFIAF Celebrates Asian and Asian-American Artists and Voices
Outstanding artists representing the Indian, Filipino and Chinese / Taiwanese Communities Featured at the 2026 Festival Program
Full Calendar HERE
Who: Multiple artists
What: San Francisco International Arts Festival
Where: Multiple venues in the Mission District
Dates: April 29 - May 10, 2026.
Tickets: FREE - $60. Five Show Passes: $100
Box Office and Information: https://www.sfiaf.org or 415-399-9554.
Photos Available on Request
February 25, 2026, San Francisco: San Francisco International Arts Festival (SFIAF) is pleased to announce that this year's program will continue to build on our track record of presenting Asian and Asian American artists. Projects span the disciplines of dance, music and theatre and feature artists from the Chinese, Indian, Filipino and Taiwanese communities.
There will be two distinct dance programs focusing on traditional Indian dance.
Bharatanatyam artists Nikitha Sreekant and Kalakshetra Reshma Rajeev will perform Nada-Jyoti. This bill will also be shared with dancers Pooja Ganesh and Eve Salonen, who will present Tatkar y Taconeo: Steps of Two Worlds, a blend of India's Kathak and Spain's Flamenco.
Oneness - The Blossoming by The Oneness Collective brings together dancers trained in multiple types of indian classical dance traditions.
Music will focus on the Chinese, Afro-Filipino and Indian communities.
In music, John Calloway honors and interprets Afro-Filipinx identity and heritage by bringing together a wonderful cast of performers in The Afro Filipino Project "New Voices."
Ramya Shankar's Ensemble in The Human Experience: Emotion in a World of AI challenges the audience to engage with the performers as they explore human behavior and emotions.
Another ensemble cast, Melody of China, with Amir Etemadzadeh and Aydin Shaterian, is dedicated to showing beautiful Chinese and Persian musical traditions and instruments that reflect how musicians in diaspora interpret the cross-cultural dialogues in A Night of Chinese and Persian Music.
Theatre will feature three Chinese / Taiwanese projects.
Taiwanese artist Eddie Jen performs an intriguing autobiographical story titled Seeking a Penpal for the End of the World. STRONG LIKE BAMBOO 3: Stories of Resilience from Across America tells a story of a diverse group and their pursuit of equality by the Asian American storytelling non-profit Eth-Noh-Tec.
Funding Credits: San Francisco International Arts Festival is made possible in part by the support of Americans for the Arts, Creative West (formerly WESTAF with funds from the National Endowment for the Arts), California Arts Council, San Francisco Grants for the Arts, Sam Mazza Foundation, Culture Ireland, Conseil des Artistes Quebecois and generous individual donors.
CALENDAR LISTINGS
DANCE
Nikitha Sreekant and Kalakshetra Reshma Rajeev (USA, India)
Nada-Jyoti (2025 - San Francisco Premiere)
Thu Apr 30, 7:30pm; Sat May 2, 2:30pm
30 mins (w/out intermission).
Shared bill with Pooja Ganesh and Eve Salonen
Total Duration: 70 mins. Tix: Gen Adm: Early Bird: $20, Advance $25, Door $30.
Theatre of Yugen/NOH Space, 2840 Mariposa St, SF CA 94110
A two-act Bharatanatyam presentation exploring the eternal interplay between sound and light, Shiva and Shakti, and consciousness and energy—the twin forces that shape creation.
Pooja Ganesh and Eve Salonen (USA)
Tatkar y Taconeo: Steps of Two Worlds (2025)
Thu Apr 30, 7:30pm; Sat May 2, 2:30pm
30 mins (w/out intermission).
Shared bill with Nikitha Sreekant and Kalakshetra Reshma Rajeev
Total Duration: 70 mins. Tix: Gen Adm: Early Bird: $20, Advance $25, Door $30
Theatre of Yugen/NOH Space, 2840 Mariposa St, SF CA 94110
An electrifying cross-cultural performance blending India’s Kathak and Spain’s Flamenco, highlighting intricate rhythms, expressive storytelling, and percussive footwork of these dance forms, presented by Pooja Ganesh and Eve Salonen.
The Oneness Collective (USA, India)
Oneness - The Blossoming (2025 - San Francisco Premiere)
Sun May 3, 7:00pm
90 mins (w/out intermission). Tix: Gen Adm: Early Bird: $30, Advance $35, Door $40
Dance Mission Theater, 3316 Mission St, SF CA 94110
Six dance styles. A plethora of emotions induced by the advent of Spring. A variety of movements. But one message: Oneness! Beyond differences and beyond boundaries! This production is a powerful dance-theater collaboration with a stunning ensemble of six Indian classical dance forms: Bharatanatyam, Kathak, Kuchipudi, Manipuri, Mohiniattam and Odissi.
MUSIC
John Calloway (USA)
The Afro Filipino Project: New Voices (2026, Work-in-Progress)
Fri May 1, 7:30pm
90 mins w/out intermission. Tix: Gen Adm: Early Bird: $20, Advance $25, Door $30.
Monkeybrains, 933 Treat Ave, SF, CA 94110
Led by artistic director John Calloway’s continued research into Afro Filipino heritage, the concert highlights four Afro Filipinx artists—Ting Alvarez, Umali Horne, Jasmine Miller, and Jojo Thompson—exploring their dual identity through creative work. The ensemble will also perform music that honors the legacy of past Afro Filipinx artists.
Ramya Shankar (USA)
The Human Experience: Emotion in a World of AI (2026, Work-in-Progress)
Sun May 3, 2:00pm
75 Mins w/out intermission. Tix: Gen Adm: Early Bird: $20, Advance $25, Door $30.
Community Music Center, 544 Capp St, SF, CA 94110
Ramya Shankar conceptualizes an interactive vocal and sonic journey exploring emotion as energy in motion. Through raga-inspired phrasing, cross-genre soundscapes, and audience participation, the performance traces stages of anger, grief, rejection, and relationships—inviting discovery, presence, and deep listening in an AI-shaped world.
Melody of China with Amir Etemadzadeh and Aydin Shaterian (USA)
A Night of Chinese and Persian Music (2026, World Premiere)
Sun May 10, 7:00pm
80 mins w/out intermission. Tix: Gen Adm: Early Bird: $17, Advance $25, Door $30.
Community Music Center, 544 Capp St, SF, CA 94110
A concert that blends Chinese and Persian traditional aesthetics with contemporary rhythms and tonality to give voice to the changing tides of global culture. The program will include selections from traditional Chinese repertoire including "Silk Road" music. While the Persian component of the project focuses on the Daf and Dumbek.
THEATRE & PERFORMANCE ART
Eddie Jen (USA)
Seeking a Penpal for the End of the World (2025, US Premiere)
Sat May 2, 7:30pm; Sat May 9, 6:00pm
60 mins w/out intermission. Tix: Gen Adm: Early Bird: $20, Advance $25, Door $30.
The Marsh Studio, 1062 Valencia St, SF CA 94110
What makes English teachers so memorable? In the aftermath of January 6th, 2021, an Asian immigrant drag queen from San Francisco began writing to his retired, Republican, White, English teacher from Bountiful, Utah. They kept this penpal friendship going… right up to Trump’s election in 2024. Genuine. Relatable. Absurd. Funny.
Eth-Noh-Tec (USA)
STRONG LIKE BAMBOO 3: Stories of Resilience from Across America (2026)
Saturday May 2, 1:00 PM
120 mins w/out intermission. Tix: Gen Adm: $1 - $20 Sliding Scale
The Marsh Studio, 1062 Valencia St, SF, CA 94110
Speaking to the preamble of the US Constitution, seven nationally renowned storytellers from across the many diverse peoples of America share their stories of resilience as they have maneuvered challenges in their pursuits for equality, and how they have been able to find hope, strength and resilience in the process.
K. Sid Zhang with Moon Dog (China & USA)
Postmortem II
Sat May 2, 7:00 PM; Sat May 9, 4:00 PM
45 mins w/out intermission. Tix: Gen Adm: Early Bird: $20, Advance $25, Door $30.
Monkeybrains, 933 Treat Ave, SF, CA 94110
Toying with detective fiction with a bizarre twist, the Postmortem series traces the investigations by a detective duo as they roam amidst vast memories and existential oblivion. An absurdist, SF-inspired physical theatre performance, Postmortem II visualize a post-apocalyptic world at the convergence of abstraction and mundanity, of robots and dinosaurs.
Calendar Editors Please Note
Full Calendar HERE
Who: Multiple Artists
What: San Francisco International Arts Festival
Where: Multiple Venues in the Mission District
Dates: April 29 - May 10, 2026.
Tickets: FREE - $60. Five Show Passes: $100
Box Office and Information: https://www.sfiaf.org or 415-399-9554.
~XXX~
