World Arts West Dance Festival Returns 9/7

San Francisco, CA (August 5, 2025) — After two powerful weekends of global movement and cultural celebration, the 2025 World Arts West Dance Festival presents its third and final weekend at the Presidio Tunnel Tops. This culminating event is a free, family-friendly celebration of traditional and contemporary dance forms from around the world—brought to life through healing rituals, immersive performances, and hands-on workshops.

This year’s festival theme, Dance as Health and Healing, invites the community to explore the role of movement in fostering wellness, cultural resilience, and connection. “This year we close the gap between artists and audience members where the public gets to create, move and sing right along with the artists,” said Andréa Spearman, associate programs and community engagement manager, World Arts West. “They get to leave with something tangible.”

“After 47 years in San Francisco, our festival continues to evolve to serve the timely needs of our diverse cultural artist community,” said Dr. Anne Huang, executive director of World Arts West. The Presidio—a national park site beloved by locals and tourists alike—has hosted World Arts West for four consecutive years. This year, the partnership is stronger than ever. “We are honored to welcome World Arts West back to the Presidio,” said Aya Tacdol, community partnerships manager, Presidio Trust. “The festival celebrates the richness of global dance traditions and reinforces our shared commitment to making the Presidio a welcoming, inclusive space for all.”

The Final Weekend Celebration Lineup Includes:

• Lakbai Diwa – A powerful Filipino Diasporic Spirit Cultural Ceremony
• Dimensions Dance Theater – A live presentation from one of Oakland’s most iconic Black dance companies
• Haitian Dance Workshop with Laurie Fleurentin – A community-centered, high-energy movement session honoring Haitian tradition.

In addition to the performances, the final weekend will include community activations rooted in this year’s healing theme, as well as highlights from the broader festival, such as Hawaiian lei making, Kalimba music workshops, and Afro-Cuban healing rituals.

The first two weekends of the 2025 World Arts West Dance Festival (July 12-13; August 16-17) feature movement workshops, artist dialogues, intergenerational activities, and public events across the Bay Area—uplifting voices and traditions often overlooked in mainstream arts programming. Highlights include Hawaiian lei making, Kalimba music workshops, Zimbabwean dance, Indigenous Movement as Medicine, Bharatanatyam Dance, Dance and Health panels, and Afro-Cuban healing rituals.

About the Festival

The World Arts West Dance Festival has long been a cornerstone of cultural celebration and education in the Bay Area. In 2025, the festival evolves into a movement of healing—prioritizing accessibility, cultural wellness, and community connection. Featured companies include: KULARTS, Dimensions Dance Theater, Halau o Keikiali’i, Herencia Guantanamera, Chinyakare Ensemble, and many more artists from the Bay Area’s diverse dance community. This is more than a festival, it’s a call to heal, gather, and move together.

About the Presidio

The Presidio is one of America’s most visited national park sites, located within the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Its Presidio Tunnel Tops opened in July 2022, adding 14 additional acres of parkland over the top of highway tunnels, with unparalleled views of the Golden Gate Bridge, and visitor amenities. With input from many community groups including World Arts West on site design, activation, and programming, the Presidio regularly co-presents events and welcomes many groups. Presidio Tunnel Tops has seen 5M visits to date and opened a new extension, the Outpost Meadow, in July 2025. For the entire event season and other activities in the park, see presidio.gov/events.

Weekend Three, Festival Details:

Date and Time: Sunday September 7, 1-4pm
Where: Presidio Tunnel Tops, East Meadow, 210 Lincoln Blvd, San Francisco, CA
Cost: FREE and open to the public
RSVP and more information at this link.