STELLA ADELMAN
Program Director
Dance Mission Productions / Adult Program / Theater Rentals / Press
stella[@]dancemission.com
415-826-4441
Born and raised in San Francisco’s Mission District, Stella holds a Bachelors in World Arts and Cultures and a Masters in Education. She lived in Havana, Cuba and studied at La Universidad de la Habana and at El Instituto Superior del Arte before moving to New York to teach Middle School math in the South Bronx. Adelman is currently the Managing Director at Dance Mission Theater, an artist driven space dedicated to equity and social justice that creates, produces, presents, and teaches feminist and multicultural dance/theater. Having worked there since 2005, she has produced events/programs such as the award winning D.I.R.T. Festival, Mission Youth Arts Festival, Choreographers Showcase, Baile Colectivo, sii agua sí, Following the Road to Ose Tura, and Raíces et Résistance, to name just a few. She has also worked with Carnaval San Francisco and CubaCaribe Festival of Dance and Music as a producer and continues to collaborate with both organizations on selected projects.
As a performer and dancer, Adelman has had the honor of working with the legendary Rhodessa Jones and Krissy Keefer, and highly celebrated Cuban, Haitian, and Brazilian companies, including Arenas Dance Company, Aguas da Bahia, Alayo Dance Company, and Las Que Son Son, among others. She was a YBCA Fellow and a former member of the Isadora Duncan Dance Awards Committee and sits on Calle 24 Arts and Culture Committee.
She was recently received an Isadora Duncan Dance Special Award in recognition of her transformative 20-year leadership at Dance Mission Theater. Her multifaceted contributions as teacher, student, dancer, administrator, director, advocate, and activist have championed culturally-specific dance and its vital role in education and wellness throughout San Francisco and beyond.
