Urban Jazz Dance Company

What Urban Jazz Dance Company does

Urban Jazz Dance Company (UJDC) is a San Francisco-based, founder-led non-profit performing arts organization established in 2007 by Antoine Hunter. It operates as a professional dance company that integrates Deaf and Hearing dancers, producing original choreography centered on Deaf culture, accessibility, and intersectional social-justice themes. UJDC is fiscally sponsored by Intersection for the Arts and self-describes as California's only Black Disabled Deaf-led professional dance company.

The organization's product surface spans an annual home season of original productions (GentriDEAFcation in 2023, Listening is Healing in Respect in 2024, a dual-bill 2025 season including a co-production with Guerilla Opera), the Bay Area International Deaf Dance Festival (annual since 2013, 14th edition in 2026), in-person and virtual dance classes, curatorial residency work (the Bay Area Deaf Arts exhibition at SOMArts, the #DeafWoke program at 836M), and a new annual BIPOC Deaf Artists & Deaf Art Gallery launching in Oakland in 2026. Programming is delivered through partnerships with CounterPulse, Dance Mission Theater, Z Space, SOMArts, 836M, Presidio Tunnel Tops, and the California Academy of Sciences.

Revenue is generated through four streams: ticket sales (online $25, door $40, youth $12, sliding scale $15-$35 for home season), dance classes and workshops (suggested donation $5, no one turned away for lack of funds), tax-deductible donations via Every.org, and grants from a named group of Bay Area and national foundations including Zellerbach, Kenneth Rainin, Ford, Fleishhacker, SF Grants for the Arts, Walter & Elise Haas Fund, and Borealis Philanthropy. The organization operates with 1-10 staff, is founder-controlled, and has no institutional investment, M&A activity, or public listing.

Name

Urban Jazz Dance Company

Legal name

Urban Jazz Dance Company

Website

https://realurbanjazzdance.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Urban Jazz Dance Company is a San Francisco-based non-profit founded in 2007 that produces Deaf-led dance performances, the annual Bay Area International Deaf Dance Festival, workshops, and arts programs serving the Deaf, Disabled, and BIPOC communities.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Performing Arts (Deaf-led dance company)

NAICS

Dance Companies (71112), Fine Arts Schools (61161), Performing Arts Companies (7111)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Urban/Street Dance Performances (Hip-Hop, Breaking) (MPAGADAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Performing Arts Organizations (Theater, Dance, Opera, Music) (BPAGAHAB), Dance Festivals & Dance Series (MPAGADAJ)

Keywords

• Deaf-led dance performances
• Performing arts festivals
• Inclusive dance workshops
• Community arts education
• Accessible dance programming

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices8 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Performance Ticket Sales: Revenue from home season shows and festival performances sold through Eventbrite and at the door, with sliding scale pricing ($15-$35)
2. Dance Classes and Workshops: Adult and youth dance classes offered in-person at Shawl Anderson, ODC, East Bay Center, and online. Private lessons available by email inquiry.
3. Donations: Tax-deductible donations accepted via Every.org, with checks payable to fiscal sponsor Intersection for the Arts
4. Grants and Foundation Funding: Funding received from multiple foundations including Zellerbach Family Foundation, Kenneth Rainin Foundation, Ford Foundation, Fleishhacker Foundation, San Francisco Grants for the Arts, Walter & Elise Haas Fund, and others. Company is fiscally sponsored by Intersection for the Arts.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Urban Jazz Dance Company produces and presents professional Deaf-led dance performances, an annual Bay Area International Deaf Dance Festival, original choreographic works (such as GentriDEAFcation and Deaf's Imprisoned), and dance classes and workshops for adults and youth. Offerings are delivered through in-person theater productions, gallery residencies, community partnerships, and online programming to Deaf, disabled, BIPOC, and general audiences.

Product overview

Urban Jazz Dance Company is a performing arts organization founded in 2007 by Antoine Hunter, consisting of professional Deaf and Hearing dancers. The company's portfolio centers on its core dance company and the annual Bay Area International Deaf Dance Festival, supplemented by home season productions (such as GentriDEAFcation, Deaf's Imprisoned), the #DeafWoke residency program, Bay Area Deaf Arts exhibitions, BIPOC Deaf Artists & Deaf Art Gallery, and dance classes and workshops. The organization operates as a platform of original productions, educational programming, and community engagement rather than a technology product.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Urban Jazz Dance Company (Core Performing Arts Company)

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 4,200 schoolchildren engaged through performances and education in 2019 alone
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• 836McoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 13 March 2025Nonprofit arts organization with gallery space in San Francisco. UJDC's residency program #DeafWoke: Communication in Conversation (March-May 2025) featuring interviews, workshops, and open mic events.
• Guerilla OperacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Partnership for 2025 Home Season to present Ululations and Gurgles of the Invisible - a chamber opera blending experimental music, contemporary dance, and ASL featuring Zahna Simon.
• SOMArtscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCuratorial residency program where Antoine Hunter curated Bay Area Deaf Arts exhibition (Jan-Feb 2021). Virtual gallery and programs open to Deaf and Hearing community worldwide.
• California Academy of SciencesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSpecial event partner for NightLife Remix during BAIDDF festival weeks. Features live performances, Deaf DJs, and Deaf social group dance.
• Gravity Access ServicescoreTechnology or IntegrationProvides live audio description and haptic access tours for blind and low vision audience members at performances.
• CounterPulsecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrimary venue for home season performances. Wheelchair accessible theater at 80 Turk Street, San Francisco.
• Dance Mission TheatercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFestival venue for Bay Area International Deaf Dance Festival at 3316 24th St, San Francisco.
• Shawl Anderson Dance CentercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerVenue for adult and youth dance classes including Beginning Jazz and All Level Jazz with Antoine Hunter.
• Asian Art MuseumminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCommunity partner and sponsor listed on website
• Deaf SpotlightminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCommunity partner for 2025 Home Season
• Sins InvalidminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDisability justice organization partner for 2025 Home Season
• Disability Cultural CenterminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartner for BAIDDF 2025 artist panel viewing via Zoom

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Others

• Dance/USA: National service organization for the professional dance field that operates a Deaf and Disability Affinity Group involving UJDC's assistant director; relevant as an industry-level peer and convening body for dance companies of UJDC's profile.
• CounterPulse: San Francisco performing arts venue and UJDC's primary home-season partner; comparable as an ecosystem enabler for emerging and identity-driven dance in the Bay Area.
• Guerilla Opera: Experimental chamber opera company partnering with UJDC on the 2025 Home Season production; comparable as a peer in small-scale, identity-driven experimental performance collaboration.

Broad incumbents

• Dance Theatre of Harlem: Premier BIPOC-led classical and contemporary ballet company; comparable in mission-driven BIPOC dance leadership and touring scale, though operating at far larger institutional scale than UJDC.

Regional players

• PUSH Dance Company: Bay Area contemporary dance company where founder Antoine Hunter has performed; shares overlapping Bay Area dance community, venue ecosystem, and dancer pool with UJDC.
• Alonzo King LINES Ballet: San Francisco-based contemporary dance company whose BFA program trained multiple UJDC company dancers; a Bay Area dance peer and indirect pipeline for UJDC artistic talent.

Direct peers

• AXIS Dance Company: Oakland-based physically integrated dance company creating work with disabled and non-disabled dancers; the closest direct peer to UJDC in mission and Bay Area geography, sharing integrated-cast productions and educational programming.
• Deaf Spotlight: Seattle-based Deaf arts organization producing performing arts programming for the Deaf community; serves a parallel role in regional Deaf arts production and is a confirmed UJDC community partner.
• Sins Invalid: Bay Area disability justice performance project featuring performers with disabilities; a confirmed UJDC partner and a like-minded peer operating at the intersection of disability, queerness, and performance.
• Full Radius Dance: Atlanta-based integrated dance company with disabled and non-disabled dancers; directly comparable in integrated-cast dance philosophy and touring/educational programming model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/urbanjazzdance
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCRutEYX4uFxxJMTEuupOLzQ
• Facebookfacebook.com/UrbanJazzDance
• Instagraminstagram.com/urbanjazzdancecompany
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/urban-jazz-dance-company

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Urban Jazz Dance Company