In 1982, Dancers' Group was founded by a highly respected group of teachers, choreographers, community activists and students. Of this group three primary founders emerged providing the vision and skills to create a new entity. The founders were Vernon Fuquay, executive director, Aaron Osborne, teacher, choreographer, artistic director and Wayne Hazzard, dancer and school/facility manager. The facility that the organization occupied was known to many as Footwork Studio and to a later generation of artists, students and the general public, Dancers' Group Studio Theater. The initial ideal was to have Dancers' Group, the non profit entity, support choreographers and present performances while the school, Footwork, would offer educational opportunities to dance artists. In its first ten years, Dancers' Group emerged as a highly respected school and presenting organization aiming to unify, strengthen, and amplify the contemporary dance community in San Francisco. Working with Artists For the next 18 years the beautiful studio that occupied the corner of Mission and 22nd Street was a vital performance space that presented master artists from around the world and showcased the growing talents of Bay Area choreographers. Dancers' Group developed three presenting series that allowed choreographers to present work at our studio theater or in larger theaters throughout San Francisco. The Local Choreographers Series was the first to be established in 1982. Presented quarterly, this series allowed dance artists to present their first work and encouraged seasoned artists to try something new. Rounding out our three-tiered presenting series, The Edge Festival began in 1986 and the Bread & Butter Series in 1988, both designed to support and encourage those artists who are creating new vocabulary from non-traditional sources, and to present highly original and personal works. Responding To Our Community In 1992 with the demise of Dance Bay Area, then the only service organization for dance in San Francisco, Dancers' Group stepped forward to ensure that several of Dance Bay Area's vital services would remain. These services to the dance community continue today and are: The Parachute Fund, Fiscal Sponsorship and In Dance. New Programs Dancers' Group forged ahead as a school, presenter and now a service entity for dance artists. Given its new role in the community it continued to institute partnerships that provide needed advocacy and visibility for dance. Out of a small meeting in 1998 emerged Bay Area Celebrates National Dance Week. This week long event brings to the attention of the general public the depth and breadth of Bay Area dance. Furthering its mission to support artists at all stages of their career, Dancers' Group collaborated with Theater Bay Area in 1999 on a funding program called CA$H (Creative Assistance for the Small (company) and Hungry (artist)). CA$H continues to provide financial support for Northern California's professionally oriented theatre and dance artists and small companies. In 2006, we teamed up with CounterPULSE to present 2nd Sundays, a series of free monthly salons that invites a look into the works of four artists, immediately followed by a lively discussion. Any artist may apply to present work through the series, which is curated by Dancers’ Group and CounterPULSE. This program has proven itself to be an ideal opportunity for artists to gain useful feedback about works-in-progress, or to re-visit and delve deeper into completed work. Having forged a presenting partnership with CounterPULSE through 2nd Sundays, we readily agreed to further our collaboration through the new Dance Discourse Project (DDP), an ongoing free public series of open discussions, featuring dance artists talking about dance. Changes Are Inevitable Dancers' Group was evicted from its home at 3221 22nd Street in the Mission at the height of the space-crisis that erupted from the dot-com boom in 1999. The loss of our physical space allowed Dancers' Group to investigate its mission and services to the dance field. After much reflection and over a year of community meetings the organization emerged stronger and with a renewed sense of direction for supporting dance in the Bay Area. In August of 2007, with the organization continuing to grow and new needs arising from the community, Dancers’ Group moved to our current location in the SOMA district. This arts-rich environment provides an accessible location close to numerous dance studios and venues and on-site facilities for community workshops and meetings. And The Beat Goes On... Today, Dancers' Group is thriving and continues to change to meet the growing need of an ever-evolving community. We sponsor more than 80 artists in our Fiscal Sponsorship Program. The Summer Dance Festival has grown from one workshop in 1985 to multiple workshops in dance-theater, contemporary techniques, contact improvisation, new movement modalities, hip-hop, butoh and apparatus based study. In addition to workshops and panels, we present special events for a local, national, and international community of artists and audiences. In 2002 the organization co-created with Theatre Bay Area a Joint Membership Program to offer discounted publications, directories, workshops, and information to dance and theater artists. We continue to provide the vital assistance of the Parachute Fund, and host annual community meetings, career development workshops, and technical assistance for artists. Dancers' Group and its founders have received notable acclaim for their work in the rich, unique Bay Area dance community. Some Pats On The Back Recognition for our work include a 1996-97 Isadora Duncan Dance Award for Special Achievement for the presentation of the Dedication Project, a tribute to Ed Mock, one of the Bay Area's most influential artists who died from complications resulting from AIDS in 1986. Subsequently, in 2000, executive director and co-founder Wayne Hazzard received a Sustained Achievement Award from the San Francisco dance community. Thanks To You As in any recounting of one's history there are many important people to acknowledge. We have compiled an edited list highlighting artists and teachers that have shaped the organization and whose work make up our history: Aaron Osborn, Bayan Jamay, Elvia Marta, Rosa Montoya, Ed Mock, Lucas Hoving, Emily Keeler, Karen Steele, Jan Van Dyke, Joan Lazarus, Anne Bluethenthal, Joanna Haigood, Joe Goode, Cheryl Chaddick, Jon Weaver, Mercy Sidbury, Deborah Hay, Priscilla Regalado, Tim Miller, Anna Halprin, Robert Moses, Cathleen McCarthy, Sara Shelton Mann, Mary Armentrout, Kim Epifano, Mae Chesney, Evangel King, Stephen Pelton, Mary Reid, Mary Carbonara, Ken James, Cynthia Adams, Lea Wolf, Keith Hennessy, Maxine Moerman, Emma Lou Huckabay, Susan Whipp, Rachel Kaplan, Chris Black, Scott Wells, Ruth Zaporah, Jill Togawa, Kevin Clarke, Monique Jenkinson, Micaya, Jo Kreiter. Dancers' Group continues to welcome and support a reflective mix of the myriad racial, cultural, and socioeconomic groups of the San Francisco Bay Area dance community.