Review: Black Choreographers Festival: Here & Now 2026 – Week 2, Feb. 28-March 1, 2026, Dance Mission, San Francisco

When the Black Choreographers Festival is in the house, Dance Mission Theater is the place to be! That is if you can get a ticket to these sold-out shows. Celebrating their festival’s 21^st birthday founders laura e. ellis (African & African American Performing Arts Coalition) and Kendra Kimbrough Barnes (K*Star*Productions) present two distinct programs over two weekends in late February.

Showcases are places of discovery for the artist and audience. Often uneven, as not all experiments succeed, and some emerging artists struggle as they take on greater challenges,  this is not the case with Week 2 of BLACK CHOREOGRAPHERS FESTIVAL: HERE & NOW (BCF) which displays a wealth of talent.

The greatest discovery of the evening for me is Olutola Afolayan, whose ritual storytelling work, The Crossing: My Trips to the Well, gives me goosebumps. Dressed in a simple cotton dress and head scarf Afolayan’s dancing draws from the African diaspora and contemporary performance. Casting her spell by appealing to our many senses, Afolayan’s original text, music, and supple dancing, play against projections of sepia-toned historic photos of African people and landscapes. Vicariously, we feel the cool cleansing of the water she scoops over her head and face. In poetic stanzas worthy of publication, she speaks of “a time before borders,” of languages being swallowed by seas, of experiencing a “migration from doing to being undone.” As it comes too quickly to its conclusion, I want nothing more than to experience it once more, to share it with others, to champion this artist to presenters near and far.

Olutola Afolayan in The Crossing, My Trips to the Well choreographed by Afolayan. Photo by Greg Bridges

Multi-talented and multidisciplinary artist Styles Alexander the clever writer, choreographer and performer of 50leven (Part One) is DJ Nightmare. Broadcasting from The Void, which operates on the “Negronium” frequency in a post-apocalyptic world, DJ Nightmare works for the only station taking calls from the living and the dead.  Earth is uninhabitable except underground.  All food is grown on Mars and transported to Earth by Amazon.  Everyone gets an emotional support animal, but choose wisely, as when food is scarce you might need to eat it.  What did we do as a society to deserve this? Nothing, we did nothing…

As the R&B tunes start to roll, think Patrice Rushen “Forget Me Nots,” Styles leaves his host desk to become star soloist of the club floor for a time, before interruptions in transmission cause a physical collapse.   Rising from the ashes, Styles transforms once more. This time, standing resolutely atop a high pedestal, draped in a discarded wedding dress, they read the U.S. Declaration of Independence as a dystopic Statue of Liberty.

Styles Alexander in 50leven (Part One). Photo by Isabella O'Brien

222: divine timing, in which two art forms work in tandem, is the most experimental piece of the evening, bound to have both fans and detractors.  I find myself in both camps at different times. Pairing dance by dominique lesleyann on one side of the stage and the ceremonial painting practice of Adelf Uti on the other, creates a unique dynamic.  Uti stands, back to us, drawing a figure in vibrant color upon a large black board. Inspired by a photo clipped to the board, she is unhurried. Her constancy suggests she is channeling pre-ordained shapes.  Meanwhile, balancing on her sacrum, with trembling limbs extended lesleyann births herself into earthly existence.  Much of 222: divine timing is performed against the poignant close-up video of Nina Simone singing “Stars,” about the fleeting nature of fame and the personal struggles that accompany it.  Heightening the lyrics, lesleyann moves with urgency and also some humor, as she throws a coy look over her jutting hip as Simone sings “some women have a body men want to see.” Lesleyann’s whips through space, while Ufi, her eyes hidden under a veil of her braids, is meditative. This contrast in energies causes me to explore my own expectations and areas of comfort/discomfort.

dominique leselyann in 222, divine timing. Photo by Greg Bridges

Memorable moments abound in the various works. Drawing away from each other while grasping the strings of the other’s hoodie, choreographer/performers Clarissa Rivera Dyas and brooke terry become long snouted creatures whose faces are eclipsed by the gathered fabric in their work-in-progress showing of tyTyrone.  Fearing their taunt string umbilicals might snap from the strain of the duo’s orbiting, we are transfixed.

Clarissa Rivera Dyas and brooke terry in tyTyrone directed by Dyas. Photo by Greg Bridges

In darkness, a person jumps. A long lag time between the sound of feet hitting the floor implies the extreme height and power of the jumps. The slow introduction of light finds performer Eli Shi launching himself upward while drawing his knees up to his shoulders.  Landing in deep plié, he slaps himself, before rising into a controlled side arabesque. Moments of stillness, an exhausted figure lying starfish-like, a man sitting head in hands, are punctuated by abrupt forays, one of which sends the chair tumbling loudly across the stage. Choreographer William Brewton Fowler Jr.’s An Act of Trying seems to speak to frustration of artistic pursuits.

Choreographer Marianna Hester’s Divine Timing offers moments in the life of a woman learning to trust her instincts, to be herself, and have faith in the divine timing of life.  The strong opening childhood sequence performed by Jayde Rose sets a high bar for the other women who embody our heroine’s growing and evolving self.  The explosive unison finale bringing together all 6 dancers, who have manifested a dimension of the protagonist, is joyful and satisfying.

There is an intriguing interplay of images between performers’ Jeremy Brooks, Ethan Dennis, and Erik K Raymond’s onstage personae and their video alter-egos, projected in the background of Raissa Simpsons Nova Power: Peons (work-in-progress).  Duality is at play not only in how the stage and film characters vie for our attention but in the interplay of earthly men in fedoras and the sparkling red galaxies they visit via virtual reality glasses.

Erik K. Raymond Lee, center, in Nova Power, Peons choreographed by Raissa Simpson. Photo by Isabella O'Brien

The program ends with may we heal? (work in progress) an offering or meditation by choreographer dazaun soleyn.  We begin by watching soleyn and Jordon Ellis Dabney assemble altars of candles and rose petals, with purposeful intentionality. We are more than 2 hours into the show, and my expectation of performative expedience is triggered, even as I know the insistence on a slower pace is the point. Can I be present with my own breath? My own thoughts? Can I open my heart to this offering? Dabney takes up the saxophone, Claire Fisher-Mendez and soleyn move in flowing echoes of one another. They gift us the present moment with softness and patience for our own impatience.

As all good birthday parties do, this evening ends with chocolate cake for all in the lobby. The only thing missing is a flute of sparkling wine, or water, to toast to the continued success of BCF, who this year will finally meet their long-term goal of touring some of these Bay Area artists works to venues around California and perhaps beyond.

Review by Jen Norris, published March 3, 2026.

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Production Credits

THE AFRICAN & AFRICAN AMERICAN PERFORMING ARTS COALITION & K*STAR*PRODUCTIONS PRESENTS BCF: HERE & NOW 2026

BCF: Here & Now 2026 New Voices/ New Works in association w/ Dance Mission Theater Saturday ▪ February 28, 2026 Sunday ▪ March 1, 2026

tyTyrone (work in progress)

Directed by: Clarissa Rivera Dyas

Choreographers/Performers: Clarissa Rivera Dyas and brooke terry

Sound Design: jose e. abad

Divine Timing

Choreographer: Marianna Hester

Performers: Zarah Barnes, Ebonie Barnett, Jayde Rose, Mariah Zancanero

Music: Time is Precious-Sault, Gimme the Rhythm-Mike Nasty, Chameleon-Cavemen, Les Fleurs-Minnie Riperton

Poetry Written by: Marianna Hester and read by Kristina Torain

An Act of Trying

Choreographer: William Brewton Fowler Jr.

Performer: Eli Shi Composer: Alex Kozobolis;

Music: Offline (Live at the Church)

222: divine timing (premiere)

Choreographer/Performers: dominique lesleyann and Adelf Uti

Music: Polegnala E Todora (Theodora is Dozing), Stars by Nina Simone (1976 live at the Jazz Montreux), Rainstick by Hannah Barbs, Chuncho by Yma Sumac, Full Moon by Eden Ahbez

Written Text: dominique lesleyann

Spoken Word: Adelf Uti

50leven (Part One)

Writer/Choreographer/ Performer: Styles Alexander

Music: L.T.D, RAMP, Patrice Rushen, Kool and The Gang, Deniece Williams, Max Roach/Abbey Lincoln

Costumes: Styles Alexander

Nova Power: Peons (work-in-progress)

Choreographers: Raissa Simpson Performers: Jeremy Brooks, Ethan Dennis, Erik K Raymond Lee

Music/Video: Raissa Simpson

Costumes: Raissa Simpson

The Crossing: My Trips to the Well (premiere)

Choreographer/Performer: Olutola Afolayan

Original Text: Olutola Afolayan

Original Music Composition: Olutola Afolayan

Music Production & Additional Percussion: Madiou Diouf Vocals: Olutola Afolayan, Muisi Kongo Malonga, Jessica Harden Diouf

Rehearsal & Creative Consultant: Muisi Kongo Malonga

Projection & Video Editing: Muisi Kongo Malonga & Khabral Muhammad

Audio engineer Nate Hendrix

Costume: Olutola Afolayan

may we heal? (work in progress)

Choreographer: dazaun soleyn

Performers: Claire Fisher-Mendez, Jordon Ellis Dabney, dazaun soleyn

Music: Jordon Ellis Dabney