Zaccho Dance Theatre’s Black Futures Artist-in-Residence Fellowship is open to diverse voices, emerging and established, called to express the Black experience through an arts practice that inspires dialogue and builds community. Our goal is to support artists at all points of their process and to give them an opportunity to conduct in depth research without the pressure of presenting a completed work by the end of the fellowship.
Zaccho Dance Theatre is thrilled to announce the 2024-2025 Black Futures Fellowships awarded to six outstanding San Francisco and Bay Area performing artists.
The Black Futures Artists in Residence Program offers a monetary stipend, free studio space, production and marketing support, mentorship, and community engagement opportunities.
Destiny Muhammad is a Recording/ Performing Artist | Band Leader | Composer & Producer. Her genre ‘Celtic to Coltrane’ is cool and eclectic with a feel of Jazz & Storytelling to round out the sonic experience. Destiny collaborations, curations and commissioning include: Grace Cathedral Christmas Concert Series The Healdsburg Jazz Festival Black History Month Artist in Residence, Santa Cruz Symphony Recital Series, a San Jose Jazz Fest Jazz Aid Commissioned Artist, UC Berkeley Othering & Belonging Conference Guest Artist. Destiny is an Elected Governor of the The Recording Academy, San Francisco Chapter, SFJAZZ Teaching Artist, ASCAP Songwriter Awardee, Chamber Music America/ Doris Duke Foundation Performance Plus Awardee and California Arts Council Legacy Fellow. Whether interpreting jazz standards or her original tunes, Muhammad turns every piece into a soulful adventure.’ Yerba Buena Gardens Festival ‘While certainly inspired by Alice Coltrane, Muhammad brings her own unique touch to the strings, as well as a contemporary melodic style that is exacting, whether she is working solo or accompanied’ Denise Sullivan | DownBeat Magazine 'Destiny Muhammad is a masterful, exploratory musician.'
Gabriele Christian (b. 1991) is a San Francisco-based conceptual artist and descendent of stolen folk experimenting within somatic practices, language, performance composition, video production and community arts facilitation to locate and center BlaQ (Black and Queer) experience, vernaculars and aesthetics as wellsprings for radical futurity. They are a founding member of Bay Area performance collectives and land projects: RUPTURE; OYSTERKNIFE; and BlaQyard.
They’ve presented and collaborated internationally in multimedia productions and processes with choreographers, collectives and companies like NIC Kay, jose e. abad/fugitivity labs, LXS DXS, Sherwood Chen, Lenora Lee Dance, SAMMAY, Skywatchers (ABD Productions), Kim Ip, Cornelius Sigourney/OX Productions, Robert Woodruff, Joe Goode Performance Group, Jess Curtis/Gravity, WePlayers, Larkin Street Youth Services, Destiny Arts Center, et hella al. Along with this experience, they've empowered the work and stories of Blind and Visually Impaired (BVI) folk, black and brown youth, Tenderloin residents, and LGBTQ+ elders. At the heart of all of their work, they strive to excavate oral tradition and movement as conduits for urgent and equitable conversations around belonging, spirit, desirability, abundance, and care.
Conni’s journey as an artist and advocate has shaped the evolution of her work across dance, theater, psychology, education, filmmaking, and photography.
Conni released her first film, “Set Me Free,” in 2021. The dance film was featured in the San Francisco Dance Film Festival and other festivals globally. That same year, she co-directed "Lungs of the Earth," a short film showcased in the Bay Area Shorts Festival and the 'All that you touch' exhibit at Thatcher Gallery.
In 2023, Conni directed "Flow," an immersive experience exploring flow states and environmental connection, culminating in a multi-room exhibition and dance performance as part of the Dresher Ensemble Artist Residency (DEAR) with New Performance Traditions. Earlier this year, Conni coordinated the inaugural ABUNDANCE workshop series during her BASE residency with PUSH Dance Company. This pilot project combined embodiment and community engagement, welcoming five BIPOC artists to challenge the scarcity mindset perpetuated by capitalism. It culminated in a performance featuring personal storytelling and diaspora dances from her ancestral lineage, with plans underway for a second iteration.
Her latest project, “Borrowed,” is a site-specific dance performance and nature immersion experience prompting audiences to examine humanity's use of Earth’s resources. This project, funded by the CAC Impact Grant, premiered in Joshua Tree, California in May 2024, and is designed for replication in various locations across the United States. Currently, she is producing the second chapter of “Borrowed” in San Francisco with funding from the San Francisco Arts Commission.
Phaedra Tillery Boughton (she/her) is a multi-hynaphte creative artist. Phaedra was awarded the 2022-23 Theatre Bay Area Arts Leadership residency award in Residency at SFBATCO. She continues to expand her artistic range as an Associate Producer and Casting Manager at SFBATCO , and Co-Host of Creatively Shaded. Her past theater productions include Crowns as Mable (CenterRep), Clybourne Park (Director), AintMisbehavin’ as Armelia McQueen, The Color Purple (Hillbarn Theatre), Caroline or Change, Little Shop of Horrors (Ray Of Light Theatre), She consistently challenges the concept of traditional theatre and finds new ways to push the boundaries of creativity and inclusion in the theatre community.
William Brewton Fowler Jr.
William Brewton Fowler Jr. is a Christian freelance dancer and emerging choreographer from Augusta, Georgia. He studied contemporary dance at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. While in New York, he worked with Gallim Dance under the direction of Andrea Miller and performed with Stephanie Batten Bland’s Company, SBB. He also freelanced in Missouri with Dramatic Truth Ballet Theatre, where he performed the roles of Archangel Michael and God, The Father, which deepened his faith. In the Bay Area, as a member of the Oakland Ballet Company, he choreographed "I'll Love You from Here" for OBC’s 2023 Rainbow Dances and participated in a BAMPFA installation for TinyPistol under the direction of Maurya Kerr. He also worked for Gregory Dawson’s company, dawsondancesf, and had the opportunity to co-choreograph a duet with Frankie Peterson for the Black Choreographers Festival. Additionally, he worked with SFBATCO for the musical "Sign My Name to Freedom" and began his journey into aerial work led by Joanna Haigood. He's looking forward to continuing his training at Zaccho Dance Theatre under Haigood's tutelage. Most recently, he worked with Mia Chong for the first season of Eight/Moves as a performing artist and is excited to continue working in the Bay Area.
Terrence Paschal
My name is Terrence Paschal. I have been dancing professionally since 2012. My movement is inspired by dance styles such as Bruk up, Flex'n, Ballet. I have also trained in I have appeared in the Works of Push Dance company and Embodiment Project where I learned and honed more of my skills around dance and theater. I look to expand the boundaries of street dance by bringing it to a theater space and incorporating elements and themes that are not commonly found within street dance today but roots that travel back to the source. I am deeply connected to the street dance culture in the bay area, from organizing to entering battles to test myself. In addition to that I am also a full time art educator and have been teaching dance in the bay area since 2017. Through teaching I hope to spread my love of dance and creativity to the younger generation and beyond.