27th Annual San Francisco International Hip Hop DanceFest Set For November
The event runs November 8 and 9, 2025.
By: Stephi Wild Aug. 20, 2025
Micaya will present the 27th Annual San Francisco International Hip Hop DanceFest, November 8 and 9 at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco. The SFIHHDF is an iconic event featuring a highly curated selection of performances by prestigious dance companies from around the globe. This year's global convergence of hip hop dance artistry features artists from Belgium, The Netherlands, Norway, North Carolina, Oakland, and San Francisco, and showcases works drawing from hip hop, krumping, threading, dancehall, and waacking, in addition to other dance styles. Tickets go on sale August 19. Performances are Saturday, November 8 at 7pm and two shows on Sunday, November 19 at Noon and 5pm. For tickets and information, go to www.sfhiphopdancefest.com
“I love these artists and what they bring from all around the world to Bay Area audiences, their love, their innovation and their incredible artistry. We're proud to demonstrate our respect for dance professionals by providing flights, lodging, food and massage services to all performers,” says Micaya. ”I'm thrilled to be presenting the SF International Hip Hop DanceFest for the 27th year. There is literally nothing like it anywhere. ”.
SPECIAL EVENTS
Freestyle Dance Contest, Saturday, November 8, post 7pm performance
Included in the ticket is a freestyle dance contest, SoulTrain style, onstage after the show. Any audience member is welcome to enter. Hosted by Telice Summerfield. Prizes for first place ($200), second place ($150), third place ($100) and fourth place, ($50).
Kids Freestyle Onstage Session, Sunday, November 9, post 12 noon performance
Included in the ticket is an all-kids freestyle session onstage after the show. All audience attendees receive a SFIHHDF keepsake item.
Included in the ticket is the SFIHHDF Afterparty in the lobby immediately after the show. Party includes light bites, beverages, awards ceremony, DJ and a performance.
ABOUT THE ARTISTS AND THE WORKS
Cie Konzi, founded in 2017 and based in Brussels, Belgium, places great emphasis on musical work by integrating a composer, a beatmaker and two musicians to create authentic soundtracks mixing krump with other sounds or by integrating sound effects.
Born respectively in Belgium and Liberia, the two dancer-choreographers of Blind have been able to rediscover themselves in the Krump culture. Lives impacted by political conflicts in their countries of origin have opened their eyes to the cyclical nature of history and the importance of political discourse in our contemporary society. Blind thus places five krumpers from Belgium, Spain, France and Senegal in a situation where they are confronted with the same story in different parts of the world. The dancers worked blindfolded in order to develop their other senses including touch, the key element of the piece.
Oakland-based Destiny Arts Youth Performance Company (DAYPC) is a dynamic, audition-based company of teens (ages 13–18) who create original dance-theater productions blending hip hop, spoken word, and contemporary movement with themes of social justice and personal storytelling. DAYPC members collaborate with professional artists to develop powerful performances that reflect their lived experiences and visions for change. The company performs locally and nationally.
We Represent the Bay Area is a gritty and heartfelt love letter to the Bay Area, blending original spoken word, dance, and music to honor the region's legacy of resilience, creativity, and cultural innovation. Set to a pre-recorded version of an original poem, They Say, But We Know, the piece explores identity and pride through movement, while spotlighting the music of mainstream and underground Bay Area artists.
Ibrah Silas Jackson is a director and choreographer of CREATE 4 from Rotterdam, Netherlands. Jackson is a maker of short movies and videoclips, a dancer of Ghetto Funk Collective and choreographer of theater pieces since 2021. Recently Jackson performed in the Breakin' Convention Netherlands Tour and participated in the Back to the Lab at Breakin' Convention. In his work, The Hereditary, he and CREATE 4 explore toxic masculinity, which is passed on from generation to generation. The older they get, the more they are troubled by the absence of their fathers. The Hereditary is a physical conversation in which they share their memories and learn from their differences and similarities.
MUNA (Movers Uniquely Narrating Authentically) from Greensboro, North Carolina was formed in September 2022 to create shows and performances that give the world something entertaining and whimsical using dance and creativity. As a company MUNA stands for authentic, truth, elegance, power, culture, and artistry. Jiāoxiǎng Héxié (Symphonic Harmony) is MUNA's piece about a being named Héxié (Harmony) that brings the beauty of balance to the world through the creation of harmony. Harmony has two entities dwelling within them, named Rèqíng (Passion) and Jìlü (Discipline), that are able to materialize, and together these two entities help Héxié to create.
Son of Iran, Navid (Navid Rezvani) is one of Norway's leading dancers and performing artists, with a strong foundation in Hip Hop and Breaking. His 25-year career has taken him to national and international stages, from classical opera houses to contemporary street culture platforms, including the Norwegian National Opera & Ballet and the Norwegian Touring Theatre (Riksteatret). Rezvani has been a long-standing member of acclaimed dance groups Frikar, Floorknights, and Kingwings Crew. He reached a global audience by winning Persia's Got Talent (produced by MBC Persia and viewed by over 30 million people internationally) and he finished as runner-up on Norske Talenter (Norway's Got Talent) in 2012.
Nafas (the Persian word for breath) is a solo dance work that embodies the resilience, defiance, and enduring spirit of Iranian women. Rooted in the chant "Zan, Zendegi, Azadi" (Woman, Life, Freedom), the performance explores breath not only as a symbol of life, but as a quiet act of resistance; the breath that remains when the voice is silenced, the breath that rises when the body is bound.
Known for its powerful presence and stylistic versatility, Micaya's SoulForce Dance Company has captivated audiences on stages across the Bay Area and beyond, from live performances and video productions to high-energy corporate events. Their repertoire ranges from deeply moving, thought-provoking pieces to electrifying, feel-good works . With a commitment to authenticity and artistry, SoulForce continues to push the boundaries of hip hop dance choreography.
SoulForce performs Whitney Wonderland, a playful, heartfelt piece that takes a look at the universal desire to be accepted and the sometimes misguided, over-the-top ways we try to fit in. This work blends humor, vulnerability, and bold choreography to explore how chasing approval can lead us down surreal and absurd paths. With a wink and a groove, Whitney Wonderland reminds us that being true to ourselves is the real key to belonging.
Founded in the Bay Area in 2012, Str8jacket practices creativity, grit, and growth, while developing economic, social, and philosophical change for our communities through dance, collaboration, and collectivism. Str8jacket strongly supports the Bay Area Streetstyle and Clubstyle dance communities. Through their piece, Abject/Accept, Str8jacket approaches Otherness at the marginal line between it and our Self. Otherness, or the idea of the Other, refers to an entity that is perceived as separate from oneself. But as much as we reject this outside object, we depend on it to create our ideas of Self, as to say “I do not like that, I am not that,” and thus, “I am this.” Our abjection of the Other stems from the line it crosses between disgust and desire, rejection and reliance.
Threading Theatre, founded by Justin de Jager in 2023, is a Dutch platform orientated around threading, a movement style derived from breakdancing, involving passing one part of the body through another to create loops, openings, and transitions. Jager is a pioneer of translating threading into a theatrical dance language and has performed with his company at several renowned festivals, including RIDCC, Breakin' Convention, Tansecraz and Urban Dance Days. Threading Theatre bases their practice around the hip hop philosophy, “each one, teach one,” and maintains the slogan, “exploring the collaboration between holding on and letting go.” Jager's work Brothers focuses on the theme of brotherhood, presenting a journey through entanglement, competition and struggle, but also intimacy, connection and collaboration.
San Francisco / Bay Area Awards - Live Stats
Best Musical - Top 3
1.
URINETOWN (Ghostlight Theatre Ensemble)
17.4% of votes
2.
THE DAY THE SKY TURNED ORANGE (San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Company / Z Space)
8.3% of votes
3.
SWEENEY TODD (Cabrillo Stage)
8.1% of votes
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