This story aired in the August 11, 2025 episode of Crosscurrents.
We’ve been hearing a lot about cuts to federal funding, from education, to national parks, medical research and more recently to local media organizations, like us.
Funding dance programs has never been easy. And back in May, the National Endowment for the Arts canceled at least $1 million in grants to San Francisco nonprofits alone. Leaders in the Bay Area dance community say they’re now more strained than ever.
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Story Transcript:
MICAYA: Sticky, icky, icky, icky. One. boom, boom. Uh, don't turn too early.
REPORTER: The hip hop fusion dance company, Soulforce, is in tech rehearsals for their show, Mission in the Mix. There’s only one day left before opening night. The Dancers rehearse pops locks and squats. Directing them is their long-time leader, Micaya.
MICAYA: I only have one name and I'm a choreographer, dance teacher, consultant, producer, artistic director, and CEO. And if the trash needs to get taken out at a theater I'll do that.
Sound of dancers shuffling
REPORTER: They’re at Dance Mission Theater -- a multi use space for classes, performances and community events. Micaya has been working here for almost 40 years, before the Dance Mission’s official founding.
MICAYA: I actually even named this place Dance Mission
She still teaches here and rents the theater for shows like the one they’re rehearsing now.
Some of Micaya’s dancers have been in her company for two years others for as long as 17. But they all treat each other like family, joking around and teasing Micaya, even though she’s the boss.
MICAYA: I'm sweet.
DANCER: (Laughs) Yeah. I told you we’re super funny. She's funny, right? Yeah. She's the most hilarious.
MICAYA: I'm really good to them. I really am.
DANCER: Like a Sour Patch.
REPORTER: But she can dish it back on the dance floor.
MICAYA: You’re being dramatic, laughs
REPORTER: Micaya puts on Mission in the Mix every year to showcase local talent from her company, her classes, and other dancers from all over the Bay.
It’s a big show, so I ask her, who foots the bill?
REPORTER: Is this funded through any grants or funding…?
MICAYA: (Fakes a laugh) Like, this is called My Pocket.
Sound of Micaya directing
REPORTER: She also puts on a festival every November — The San Francisco International Hip Hop DanceFest. She brings renowned hip hop artists from around the world for three performances. It’s on its 27th year, but recently, she has had to reduce the number of programs and shows because of financial worries.
MICAYA: For 26 years, I've been struggling to, to try to get the funding, respect, and honor that hip hop dance deserves.
REPORTER: And it's been getting harder.
MICAYA: Especially since [the] pandemic, it has been almost the feeling of, "This could be our last year, this could be our last year. "
REPORTER: Micaya isn’t the only one with financial troubles. The theater itself is also funded through various revenue streams that have become more uncertain over the past few years. I talk to Stella Adelman who is the theater’s managing director.
STELLA : Which means in a nonprofit you unclog toilets and then write grants and produce shows.
REPORTER: Federal grants are just one type that Stella applies for every year, but now, she is no longer counting on them.
In 2024, Dance Mission got a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts for $75,000 to do performances and workshops at the 24th Street Mission BART, just across the street from their building. Like all of their programming, it focused on...
STELLA: I know you're not supposed to say, but, equity and diversity.
REPORTER: But in February, the NEA updated its website to say that it will no longer support programs focused on DEI. In May, Dance Mission lost the grant.
STELLA: We quickly had to figure out how to do it without that funding and how to make it a lot smaller.
REPORTER: According to Mission Local, at least 28 San Francisco arts organizations lost their NEA grants this spring. Since then, Dance Mission has had several theater rental cancellations, meaning even more revenue loss.
But federal funding cuts are just the tip of the iceberg.
State funds have decreased.
STELLA: So when we used to get a hundred thousand dollars a year from the California Arts Council, we might get like 20
REPORTER: San Francisco reduced the Arts Commission budget by two million dollars over the next two years. It’s also overhauling its grant program right now, so funding is moving slowly. Policy changes, like AB5, have made operations more expensive. Some private foundations have closed grant opportunities. Not to mention, arts organizations are still recovering from the financial hit of the pandemic.
STELLA : Now more than ever, we're needing to depend on individuals and really asking our private donors to step up.
REPORTER: Some people have given money, but it’s nowhere near what’s needed to fill the gap. Many who are asked for donations will say...
STELLA ADELMAN: "I wish I could, but I'm giving it all to the ACLU." Great, thank you for giving to the ACLU. They need it too. Yes. But if you have a friend who's not giving to the ACLU, please send them our way.
REPORTER: With more demands on her job and constant news of global catastrophes, Stella has had a hard time feeling optimistic about society.
STELLA: I've been so just like we deserve what we get. We've just destroyed it all. Forests are burning. The air is polluted. Oh, well that was fun. See you on the other side.
REPORTER: But then after she danced at the Carnaval festival in May, she felt a renewed sense of hope.
STELLA: And then to be like, there's still good in the world. Okay, here we go. Let's roll up our sleeves. It is worth fighting for.
REPORTER: Stella also finds inspiration in her work. She beams as she talks about the new ADA elevator and all-gender bathrooms that have been years in the making. She says she loves that the space is so dynamic, with all the different classes and events bringing in people from different walks of life
Sounds of a crowd chatting
Like Micaya’s show tonight. It’s the second to last performance of Mission in the Mix’s two week run. More than 100 audience members are packed into the theater for a show full of emotion: dance, comedy and drama.
Micaya comes to the stage throughout the show to introduce the next number. And sometimes she asks for donations.
MICAYA: (Speaking to audience) Dancers are severely underpaid. And severely under-respected. Did I say it loud enough for the people in the back?
REPORTER: As the next dance starts, she lets the audience suspend reality and encourages them to laugh.
MICAYA: The way to heal a lot of times is to laugh.
REPORTER: The performance starts off with no music, one dancer recites the lyrics to a pop song
DANCER: When the night falls, loneliness calls
REPORTER: The dancers march and sing together, but one of them keeps goofing off.
Sounds of stomping and singing on stage
REPORTER: Eventually, a dramatic scene unfolds with a dancer fighting the goof off in slo-mo. The crowd is eating it up!
Sound of audience laughing and applauding
REPORTER: For Micaya, dance - moving to music - is a way to get out of her head and into her body.
MICAYA: if I didn't do it, I think I would be even more insane than I am. It takes me in the moment, so that there's not a time to think about what's going on in the world or life.
REPORTER: While dancers and nonprofits are used to adapting to new models of funding, the battle is getting harder. But in a time where mental health is at an all-time low, maybe we could all use a bit more movement and laughter in our life.
