Founder of ABD Productions, a performing arts company committed to inspiring social change through the arts, Anne Bluethenthal’s choreographic language troubles the paradigm of western dance in service of choreographies that face difficult issues with eloquence and passion. After building a repertoire of original works over 3 decades, Bluethenthal initiated the Skywatchers program, rooted in the belief that relationship is the first site of social change. A multi-ethnic mixed-ability, community-based performing arts ensemble of Bay Area artists and Tenderloin residents, Skywatchers’ work emerges from the talents, wisdom, stories, and concerns that animate ensemble members’ lives. Bluethenthal’s community engaged practice also produced ANDARES, a durational collaboration with survivors of the Salvadoran civil war, contributing to the historical memory movement of that country. Among the honors Bluethenthal has received are the Guggenheim Fellowship, Artist Legacy Award from the SF Arts Commission, Award of Recognition from El Teatro Nacional de San Salvador, YBCA 100, SF Chronicle’s Best of 2001, SF Weekly’s Black Box, the SF Bay Guardian’s Goldie Award for Achievement in Dance, and the Rhinette Award for Choreography from Theatre Rhinoceros.

Since 1979 Joanna has been creating work that uses natural, architectural, and cultural environments as points of departure for movement exploration and narrative. Her stages have included grain terminals, a clock tower, the pope’s palace, military forts, and a mile of urban neighborhood streets in the South Bronx. Her work has been commissioned by many arts institutions, including Dancing in the Streets, Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival, Walker Arts Center, SF Exploratorium Museum, National Black Arts Festival, and Festival d'Avignon. She has also been honored with the Guggenheim Fellowship, Cal/Alpert Award in Dance, US Artist Fellowship, New York Bessie Award, and the esteemed Doris Duke Performing Artist Award. Joanna has had the privilege to mentor many extraordinary young artists internationally at the National École des Arts du Cirque in France, the Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance in England, Spelman College, the Institute for Diversity in the Arts at Stanford University, San Francisco Circus Center, and at Zaccho Studio. Most recently, Joanna was awarded the Artistic Legacy Award by the San Francisco Arts Commission in 2020 and the Individual Artist Fellowship by the California Arts Council in 2021.

Deborah Vaughan is the co-founder and Artistic Director of Dimensions Dance Theater (DDT), a professional dance company and school that was founded in Oakland in 1972 to promote the knowledge and appreciation of African-derived dance. Their mission is to create, perform, and teach dance that reflects the historical experiences and contemporary life of the African Diaspora through an African American lens. Under Vaughan's continuing leadership for over 50 years, DDT has become widely recognized for its presentation of both traditional African dances and contemporary choreography drawn from African, Jazz, and modern dance idioms. Deborah has received several National Endowment for the Arts awards. The diversity and inclusiveness of DDT’s repertoire is unique to the company, and has contributed greatly to its reputation for innovative dynamism. DDT has also become known for its cross-cultural and issues-oriented collaborations — bridging cultural, social justice, racial equity, and ethnic differences through the arts. She also established a youth program Rites of Passage, which brings the transformative power of the arts to youth in Bay Area communities. Deborah has received a Jefferson award, Isadora Duncan award, she is a member of the Women’s Hall of Fame for Alameda County. The company has toured throughout the U.S. and represented America in Festival of Tolerance in Germany, The Jerash Festival in Jordan, Festival de Fuego in Cuba and recently in the International Association of Blacks in Dance Festival in Canada.