San Francisco Dance Company's Original Ethno-Classical Ballet to be Streamed This Saturday, June 27th, in the 75th Anniversary Celebration of the UN Charter Signing

SAN FRANCISCO, June 23, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Presidio Dance Theatre's "The Little Lantern Ballet©" has been selected by the United Nations Association and United Nations Foundation as the culminating event in the 75th anniversary celebration of the signing of the UN Charter, on June 27th, 2020.

On June 26th, the United Nations Association SF and United Nations Foundation will host a live streamed reading of its Charter. The following day, June 27th, the UNA-SF Partners, United Religions Initiative and Grace Cathedral, will host an interfaith service at Grace Cathedral, followed by a screening of "The Little Lantern Ballet©." Both events will be broadcast online.

The Charter of the United Nations was signed on June 26th, 1945, in San Francisco at the conclusion of the UN Conference on International Organization. Presidio Dance Theatre's two decades of commitment to cross-cultural dialogue, preservation of intangible heritage, women's empowerment, human rights, and social justice make the organization a perfect fit for the event. "Dance becomes a common language, a shared language of the soul," says Presidio Dance Theatre's Executive and Artistic Director, Sherene Melania. Melania was appointed ambassador to the western region of the U.S. by UNESCO's Conseil International de la Danse in December of 2019. She founded CID West in January 2020, only the second U.S. CID location in UNESCO's CID history.

In 2006, Melania fell in love with Ghassan Kanafani's children's story, "The Little Lantern", and its ability to present how collaboration, despite gender, social standing, or pre-existing borders, transcends difficult circumstances and unifies us. Melania created a dance adaptation that exposed audiences to the rich cultural traditions of the Near and Middle East, and generated an appreciation for our mutual humanity. With a captivating score by composers George Somi and Fathi Aljarah, and featuring the Aswat choir, The Little Lantern Ballet© is interspersed with narration and audience participation. Showcasing costumes and sets designed and created by artists of the Mariinsky Theatre, St. Petersburg, Russia, this fusion of Near-Middle Eastern folkloric music and dance with classical ballet has thrilled audiences since its premiere in 2014.

Registration for the event is available at https://www.un75-sf.org/.

Media Contact: Zina Goodall
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(510) 421-0919

SOURCE Presidio Dance Theatre