DAVID HERRERA PERFORMANCE COMPANY
Celebrating 16 years of innovative, thought-provoking dance;
Promoting Latinx Voices via modern American Movement
2007 -2023
Voted Best Dance Company-Runner Up 2022 by "Best of the Bay"
DHPCo. Past Events
The Tip of My Tongue (premiere)
Z Space, SF
March 31-April 2, 2022
The Tip of My Tongue examines how non-English or mixed-English minority communities in the United States use language and communication practices as tools for cultural visibility, perseverance, and connection to other cultures. The work also challenges the "This is America, Speak English!" mindset seen via viral videos and held by a dominant English speaking culture set on assimilation and erasure of non-English languages.
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Director David Herrera, guest choreographer Antonine Hunter, and the 6 dancers all represent multi-lingual, bi-lingual, minority, and immigrant communities. This includes Latinx, Black, Japanese, Mixed-Race, Indigineous, Immigrant, and Deaf individuals. Associated languages within the artistic team include Spanish, Portuguese, ASL, Japanese, Italian, Spanglish, and English.
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September 24, 2021
"Embodying Latinidad: Diverse Dance Practices of Intersectional Latinx/a/o Artists in the U.S."
Presented by: National Dance Education Organization
Panelists: Kiri Avelar, David Herrera, Michelle Manzanales, Kennyth Montes De Oca, Sandra Rivera and Milteri Tucker.
Moderator: Deanna Lynn Martinez
NDEO is proud to present an esteemed panel of educators and artists within the Hispanic and Latinx/o/a communities. This panel prioritizes the voices of artists of color with an importance on intersectionality of identity as we recognize Hispanic Heritage Month. Come hear these educators talk about their perspectives, and personal and professional journeys. They will discuss the embodiment of Latinidad in their diverse dance practices within pedagogy, scholarship, choreography, authorship, advocacy, and arts administration. This session will focus on creating cultural awareness, sensitivity and accountability and bringing to the forefront thoughtful conversations on equity in dance.
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September 17, 2021
DANZACUENTOS: VOZ, CUERPO Y RAÍCES
Danzacuentos is rooted in the question: What can we learn when we listen to the lived experiences of Latinx, Hispanic, and Indigenous artists? Guided by a desire to introduce new narratives for how Latin-American and Indigenous heritage influence dance practice, the site features in-depth interviews with each artists alongside artifacts (videos, photos, playlists) from their creative processes.
Featuring interviews with Snowflake Calvert, Dulce & Marianna Escobedo, Cinthia Pérez Navarro, & Lyvan Verdecia. Co-Curated by Mario Ismael Espinoza, David Herrera, & Karla Quintero.
Part of the HMD Bridge Project Anti-Racism in Dance Series.
To register : DANZACUENTOS
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August 4, 2021
Z Space's Civic Conversations - Dance Community Talk
Z Spaces hosts artists David Herrera, Jes Deville (Openhaus Athletics), Eric Kupers (Dandelion Dancetheater), and Raven Malouf-Renning and asks them to hold conversation on returning to live performances, practice, art making through an EDI and Anti-Racism lens.
February 13 & 15, 2020,
Dancing Around Race: Interrogating Whiteness in Dance
This is Also Me
Asian Arts Museum (SF)
New solo work on David Herrera bringing to the surface movement styles present in Herrera's life prior to "formalized" training.
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The event, is imagined as an open letter to the dance ecologies of the Bay Area. With works by Gerald Casel, Yayoi Kambara, Raissa Simpson, and Sammay Dizon. The cohort interrogates the dynamics of equity in performance, specifically how the structure and systems of dance presentation are affected by race. Includes talk by Casel and panel discussion moderated by Bhumi Patel.
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AUDITIONS: January 12, 2020, ODC Commons, 4pm-6pm
David Herrera Performance Company (DHPCo.) seeks dancers of any gender for their upcoming home season, The Tip of My Tongue at Z Space. Dancers of bi-lingual, multi-lingual, immigrant, and POC backgrounds are highly encouraged to audition. Dancers should have a developed background in modern, contemporary, contact/partnering, and improvisation, and ideally poses the ability to work quickly in a collaborative environment. Potential performances opportunities in throughout 2020 and into 2021. All rehearsals and performances are paid. For sign up:https://odc.dance/thetipofmytongue
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September 2019
David Herrera was a awarded the 2019-2020 Hope Mohr Dance Community Engagement Residency via the Bridge Project. The residency and honorarium will go towards assisting DHPCo's newly launched LatinXtensions: Mentorship & Networking Program.
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September 21-22, 2019
PUSHfest
ODC Theater, SF
The yearly PUSHfest (hosted by Push Dance Company) has become a cornerstone in the fall dance line-up and is one of few purposefully multi-cultural, multi-style dance festivals in San Francisco. DHPCo. is excited to be one of the presented companies.
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November 22-23, 2019
Festival Of Latin American Contemporary Choreographers Festival
UC Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive
Celebrating its 6th Annual festival featuring resistant, queer, indigenous, and hybrid choreographers of the Latinx diaspora. With 2 weeks of performance, master classes and panel discussions, Bridges & Bones is replacing ideas of borders and walls that separate and erase Latinxs in the US, by creating cultural bridges, honoring ancestors and building artistic alliances that unify 15 dance companies over 2 weekends at Dance Mission Theater and Berkeley Art Museum & Pacific Film Archives(BAMPFA).
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July 13, 2019
Yerba Buena Gardens Chorefest
DHPCo. participates during Yerba Buena Garden Festival ChoreoFest, curated by RAWdance. The company, along with a high caliber sampler of Bay Area dance makers, will create site-specific dance works in the gardens, highlighting the intersection of art, city life, and environment.
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July 19, 2019
San Francisco Movement Arts Festival
Grace Cathedral, SF
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April 5-13, 2019
Resurrection of Everyday People, premiere
Z Space, SF
Our newest home season production "Resurrection of Everyday People" premieres at Z Space in San Francisco. This audience immersive dance investigates how life altering loss, be it political, cultural, personal, emotional, or physical, can help us gain compassion and strength. How is empathy a tool to rebuilding ourselves and help in build bridges, rather than walls, between people from different walks of life?
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March 1-30, 2019
Sandbox Series -- Residency ODC
David Herrera has been selected as 1 of 3 choreographers for ODC's Sandbox Series. The residency is designed to harvest artistic exploration, risk, and imagination over a period of one month (4 weeks, twice a week, 3 hour sessions). The series will pair each choreographer with dancers whom they have not worked with before to challenge and spark new relationships and ways of generating movement amongst all participants.
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February 28, 2019
Dance Around Race -- Public Gathering w/ guest Thomas DeFrantz
Eric Quezada Center for Culture & Politics
518 Valencia St., San Francisco
Free, RSVP Required
Join David Herrera and the the Dance Around Race co-horts for the third installment community discussion revolving on racial equity
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November 9-11, 2018
Festival of Latino American Contemporary Choreographers
Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts
Fri & Sat 8pm, Sun 6pm
Tix: FLACC
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September 20, 2018
Dance Around Race
Humanist Hall
390 27th Street Oakland, CA 94612
Free, RSVP required.
David Herrera participates as a panelist and co-hort in this community engagement dedicated to the topic of cultural equity in modern dance. Lead Artist Gerald Casel and guest speaker Aruna D'Souza. Other panelist include Yayoi Kambara, Raissa Simpson, Sammay Dizon, and Khufi Ali Bhutto.
For info & tix: D.A.R.
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June 2016
ODC Walking Distance Festival
ODC Theater & company present their annual SF Walking Distance Festival whereby SF dance companies are commissioned to create work in and about the Mission neighborhood in the SF, the home to ODC. DHPCo. presents an piece about displacement and gentrification of lower income neighborhoods.
May 12-15, 2016
LEAST OF THEM, premiere
The Least of Them is the company's 9th home season. The 60minute work is an immersive dance theater exploration of unsettling biases and misunderstandings concerning skin color and race diving into how personal one-to-one relationships are affected. ​
March 2016
DHPCo. tours to Austin, TX to be presented as part of Austin Dance Festival hosted by Kathy Dunn Hamrick Dance Company and presented at AustinVentures Studio Theater.
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February 2016
DHPCo. tours to Orange County to present work at the SoCal Dance Invitational hosted by Nanette Brodie Dance Theater and Golden West College.
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September 25-27, 2015
A commissioned portion of last April's TOUCH will be revived during the Festival of Latin American Contemporary Choreogrpahers festival in San Francisco.
August 27-28, 2015
We were selected as one of few out of town companies to be represented in Hart Pulse Dance Company's MIX & MATCH Festival in Los Angeles. Now in its 9th season the event host the top dance companies in Souther California.
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April 2-4, 2015 SOLD OUT
TOUCH, premiere
DHPCo's home season premiered to sold out audiences at Z Space in SF.
February 7 & 8, 2015
The company performs its new touring work "Negotiations of Being Included" at the Spector Dance Choreographer's show in Marin, Ca.
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November 4, 2014
DHPCo is hosting and performing, alongside RAWdance at DOSA (restaurant) as part of Fall Into Dance at DOSA
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October 2014
Commission @ Marin School of the Arts
Choreographer David Herrera and company dancers have been invited to guest choreograph a new piece on the Marin School of The Arts advance dance class culmuniating in a performance in the Spring of 2015.
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September 27, 2017
DHPCo will partake in Levydance's "the Salon". Presenting a short preview of work-in-progress.
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September 13, 2014
DHPCo. has been awarded the prestigious Zellerbach Family Foundation's Community Arts Grant for the creation of their 7th home season "TOUCH"
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September 3, 2014
A preview of "TOUCH" was selected to be presented at the San Francisco WestWave Festival.
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May 31, 2014
DHPCo travels to Los Angeles to meet and workshop with IDEAS At UCLA who will serve as a collaborating and resource organization for the creation of TOUCH. In addition, the company will meet with potential invited dance artists who will join the cast for the premier of TOUCH.
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April 9, 2014
A Night with the Stars, SF Jazz Center
Choreographer David Herrera has been selected to serve as a mentor to a once homeless artist as part of a benefit and fundraising for Community Housing Partnership. This annual event highlights six very talented Community Housing Partnership benefactors. These talented individuals are paired with local artists who mentor them during months of preparation leading up to April’s performance at the SFJAZZ CENTER.
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February 12, 2014
Career Day at Capuchino High School, San Bruno, CA
David Herrera will serve as a presenter in Capuchino High School Career Speaker's Day. He will guide students interested in the field of art and performance through a series of talks, work samples, first hand accounts, and knowledge on how to persue the professional performing arts.