Presidio Performing Arts Foundation

Since our founding in 1998, Presidio Performing Arts Foundation (PPAF) has demonstrated a unique commitment to utilizing dance as a vehicle for merging art and social justice; transforming communities; preserving cultural traditions; and facilitating cross-cultural learning and community development. Our programming comprises live performance; dance, artistic, and sociocultural education; and youth development. We know that the arts are an essential vehicle for generating compassion, equity, and transformation, and we view and develop all of our programs through the interdependent lenses of community building and social justice.

PPAF's multi-generational dance company, Presidio Dance Theatre (PDT), was created in 2005 by Artistic Director Sherene Melania and is widely recognized for its signature style of Ethno-Classical Ballet. PDT tours nationally and internationally, promoting cultural literacy and offering artistic and fundraising support to humanitarian work.

PPAF’s outreach program, DANCEOUT!, engages dance as a pedagogy and practice for youth development, providing local youth with opportunities for sustained involvement with the arts. The program provides free, culturally relevant dance-based after-school enrichment education at multiple school and community sites throughout San Francisco. DANCEOUT! also offers free public performances, lectures, and community classes, reaching a broad scope of San Francisco residents.