NAKA Dance Theater
NAKA Dance Theater is a San Francisco-based non-profit performing arts organization, founded in 2001, that creates interdisciplinary dance, theater, and multimedia works addressing social justice themes, primarily through its Live Arts in Resistance program in partnership with EastSide Arts Alliance.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2001
- HeadquartersSan Francisco, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What NAKA Dance Theater does
NAKA Dance Theater is a non-profit performing arts organization founded in 2001 and headquartered in San Francisco, California, with an additional office in Tepoztlan, Mexico. The company creates interdisciplinary performance works — labeled "Navarrete x Kajiyama" after co-directors José Navarrete and Debby Kajiyama — that combine dance, theater, storytelling, multimedia installations, and site-specific environments, typically addressing political, environmental, and social justice themes such as racial profiling, state violence, gentrification, and environmental destruction.
The organization's flagship offering is the Live Arts in Resistance (LAIR) program, a partnership with EastSide Arts Alliance that produces performance showcases, artist residencies, and community town halls at the EastSide Cultural Center in Oakland. Since 2015, LAIR has produced seven major showcases and supported residencies for approximately ten artists of color, with the program having been formalized in 2013 when co-director Navarrete joined the EastSide Arts Alliance collective. NAKA also operates LAIR Virtual, a virtual programming series streamed via Facebook Live and Vimeo, and produces site-specific outdoor performances at locations including International Boulevard in Oakland.
NAKA's revenue model is hybrid and typical of small performing-arts non-profits: it combines earned income from ticket sales for live and virtual performances, individual donations processed through its website, and institutional/foundation grants from funders including the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, William & Flora Hewlett Foundation, California Arts Council, and Akonadi Foundation. The organization serves a diverse base of community arts audiences, artists of color seeking residency opportunities, and educational institutions partnering on social-justice arts programming.
NAKA Dance Theater firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- NAKA Dance Theater
- Legal name
- NAKA Dance Theater
- Website
- https://nakadancetheater.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2001
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- NAKA Dance Theater is a San Francisco-based non-profit performing arts organization, founded in 2001, that creates interdisciplinary dance, theater, and multimedia works addressing social justice themes, primarily through its Live Arts in Resistance program in partnership with EastSide Arts Alliance.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
NAKA Dance Theater industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Performing Arts
- NAICS
- Dance Companies (711120)
- SIC
- Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Dance Theatre (Narrative/Experimental) (MPAGADAC)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Contemporary & Modern Dance (MPAGADAB)
Keywords
Where NAKA Dance Theater is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- San Francisco
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices3 records
Markets served
NAKA Dance Theater business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- Performance Revenue: NAKA generates revenue through ticket sales for live performances, showcases, and theatrical productions presented at the EastSide Cultural Center and virtual events.
- Donations: The organization accepts donations through its website, supporting the Live Arts in Resistance program and general operations.
- Foundation and Institutional Grants: NAKA receives funding from foundations including the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, William & Flora Hewlett Foundation, California Arts Council, and Akonadi Foundation to support the LAIR program and artistic residencies.
- Artist Residencies and Collaborations: The organization produces artist residencies and collaborative performances with community partners, generating program support revenue.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels5 records
NAKA Dance Theater product offering
Product offeringCore offering
NAKA Dance Theater creates and produces interdisciplinary performance works combining dance, theater, storytelling, multimedia installations, and site-specific environments, led by co-directors José Navarrete and Debby Kajiyama. Its flagship programming is the Live Arts in Resistance (LAIR) series — a partnership with EastSide Arts Alliance that delivers performance showcases, artist residencies, community town halls, and virtual programming on themes of racial equity and social justice.
Product overview
NAKA Dance Theater is a performing arts organization founded in 2001 that creates experimental performance works using dance, storytelling, multimedia installations and site-specific environments. The core offering consists of Navarrete x Kajiyama performances addressing political and environmental concerns, supported by the Live Arts in Resistance (LAIR) program — a partnership with EastSide Arts Alliance that encompasses performance showcases, artist residencies, and community town halls. The LAIR program includes annual showcases (7 held 2015-2018), ongoing artist residencies for socially-conscious artists, and virtual programming. Collectively, these offerings contribute to cultural consciousness around self-determination and indigenous knowledge as integral to resistance against systemic oppression.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- NAKA Dance Theater Performances
- Live Arts in Resistance (LAIR)
- LAIR Showcases
- LAIR Artist Residencies
- LAIR Virtual
- LAIR: back and FORTH
Quantifiable outcome
- Established in 2001, NAKA has produced multiple full-length works and collaborated with numerous Bay Area artists.
Companies that use NAKA Dance Theater
Customer profileNamed customers4 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
NAKA Dance Theater technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration4 records
NAKA Dance Theater partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Five partnerships are on record, tiered secondary, major and core.
- Okinawa Association of AmericasecondaryThe Okinawa Association of America is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization formed by first generation Okinawan immigrants that has grown into a multi-generational organization. They co-sponsor the Afro-Okinawan Dialogue Series with NAKA Dance Theater and EastSide Arts Alliance, providing a platform to discuss Black and Okinawan community intersectionality.
- World Arts WestmajorWorld Arts West is the presenter of the San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival. Executive Director Anne Huang collaborates with NAKA Dance Theater on the LAIR Virtual series, hosting conversations with featured artists as part of the Ancestral Knowledge, Art and Resistance programming.
- Ohlone College Diversity, Inclusion, Advisory Committee (ODIAC)majorODIAC collaborates with NAKA Dance Theater on the 5th Annual Social Justice, Inclusion, and Equity Symposium. This 6-7 part virtual series features monthly performances and discussions with prominent local artists exploring the intersection of contemporary art and social justice, ritual and community empowerment.
- Mujeres Unidas y Activas (MUA)majorMujeres Unidas y Activas is a grassroots organization of Latina immigrant women promoting personal transformation and building community power for social and economic justice. They partnered with NAKA Dance Theater for Violeta Luna's artistic residency 'For Those Who Are No Longer Here,' ensuring community inclusion and bringing immigrant and Latina women's voices to the performance.
- EastSide Arts AlliancecoreEastSide Arts Alliance is a collective of Third World artists and community organizers of color committed to working in East Oakland neighborhoods. Founded in 1999, they own and operate the EastSide Cultural Center. Their partnership with NAKA Dance Theater produces the Live Arts in Resistance (LAIR) series featuring performance showcases, artist residencies, and community town halls addressing racial inequity and white supremacy in popular culture.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights4 records
NAKA Dance Theater competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- AXIS Dance Company: Oakland-based dance company producing original choreography that blends physically integrated and contemporary dance with social engagement, closely comparable in Bay Area geography, mission-driven framing, and interdisciplinary performance approach.
- ODC Dance: San Francisco contemporary dance company creating original performance works with strong community and education programming — directly comparable as a Bay Area dance producer with a similar scale of operations and institutional footprint.
- Alonzo King LINES Ballet: San Francisco-based dance company developing original, socially engaged choreography with a resident company model; operates at a similar scale and shares Bay Area artistic ecosystem.
- Margaret Jenkins Dance Company: Long-running San Francisco dance theater company creating experimental, site-specific, and interdisciplinary works, closely comparable in form (dance + theater) and longevity (decades-long producing history).
- Joe Goode Performance Group: San Francisco dance-theater company blending dance, text, and multimedia to address social themes — directly comparable in narrative/experimental dance-theater form and Bay Area geographic base.
- Deborah Slater Dance Theater: San Francisco dance-theater company producing original, multidisciplinary performances integrating dance, theater, text, and media — a strong comparand for NAKA's experimental dance-theater model at similar scale.
Others
- EastSide Arts Alliance: Oakland-based collective of artists and community organizers of color that owns and operates EastSide Cultural Center — NAKA's core strategic partner, providing venue and production infrastructure for the LAIR series.
- World Arts West: Presenter of the San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival and a documented NAKA partner on LAIR Virtual; comparable as a Bay Area institution presenting culturally rooted and socially engaged dance programming.
Regional players
- CounterPulse: San Francisco performance arts organization supporting experimental, activist, and community-engaged performance work — a Bay Area peer in the experimental/social-justice performance space, though with a venue-centric rather than producing-company model.
Emerging players
- Campo Santo: Mission District theater collective producing original performance works by and for people of color — comparable in mission (racial-equity-centered performance), geographic base, and hybrid art-activism framing.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
NAKA Dance Theater social profiles
Digital presenceNAKA Dance Theater financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
NAKA Dance Theater leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles3 records
NAKA Dance Theater funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
NAKA Dance Theater M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about NAKA Dance Theater
What does NAKA Dance Theater do?
NAKA Dance Theater creates and produces interdisciplinary performance works combining dance, theater, storytelling, multimedia installations, and site-specific environments, led by co-directors José Navarrete and Debby Kajiyama. Its flagship programming is the Live Arts in Resistance (LAIR) series — a partnership with EastSide Arts Alliance that delivers performance showcases, artist residencies, community town halls, and virtual programming on themes of racial equity and social justice.
Is NAKA Dance Theater a public or private company?
NAKA Dance Theater is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was NAKA Dance Theater founded?
NAKA Dance Theater was founded in 2001. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is NAKA Dance Theater based?
NAKA Dance Theater is headquartered in San Francisco, United States, in the North America region.
How does NAKA Dance Theater make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Performance Revenue is the primary driver. The others are donations, foundation and Institutional Grants and artist Residencies and Collaborations.
Who are NAKA Dance Theater's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are AXIS Dance Company, ODC Dance, Alonzo King LINES Ballet, Margaret Jenkins Dance Company, Joe Goode Performance Group and Deborah Slater Dance Theater. Others are EastSide Arts Alliance and World Arts West. CounterPulse is listed as a regional player. Campo Santo is listed as an emerging player.
Does NAKA Dance Theater have an API?
No public API is recorded for NAKA Dance Theater.
What industry is NAKA Dance Theater in?
NAKA Dance Theater's product category is Performing Arts. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAGADAC, Dance Theatre (Narrative/Experimental), with a secondary code of MPAGADAB, Contemporary & Modern Dance. Its NAICS code is 711120 and its SIC code is 7900.