Alicia Pierce, SF State dance lecturer for 26 years, died of breast cancer on Dec. 24, 2008. She was 57.

Pierce graduated from SF State in 1974 and became a dance lecturer shortly after. Her curriculum and dance styles were focused on the Katherine Dunham dance technique, a style of modern dance inspired by traditional Caribbean dance.

She also specialized in Afro-Haitian, jazz and modern jazz dance and taught at the City College of San Francisco

She danced regionally, nationally and internationally with the Wajumbe Dance ensemble from 1970-1983. She performed in a number of stage productions with the ensemble, including the show "Evolution of Blues."

Pierce was born on April 11, 1951 in New Orleans, Louisiana, to parents Joseph and Victoria Pierce. She is survived by her daughter, Zayed Pierce-Atkins.

"She never gave up," said Albirda Rose, another SF State dance lecturer and long-time friend of Pierce. "She taught her classes until the end. She couldn't walk but she still taught her classes."

They became friends while Pierce was getting her undergraduate degree and Rose was working for her masters. They performed together in the 1970's and 80's through the Wajumbe Dance ensemble, and even raised their children together.

"She wasn't just my colleague, she was my best friend," Rose said.

Cathleen McCarthy, director of the University Dance Theater and colleague of Pierce, said, "She was such an important faculty member and really irreplaceable. Nobody can do what she did."

Throughout her time at SF State, Pierce was able to make a strong and deep impact on her students' lives.

"She told her classes, 'you need to dance from the inside out', and that's what I continue to do," said Robert Parra, 26, dance major, expressing how much Pierce still influences him as a dancer. Hilari Helmer, a 22-year-old dance major, said that her experience with Pierce's classes played a large role in shaping her dance career.

"It definitely was a positive and amazing experience for me," she said. "I'm proud to have been able to be a part of what she did and I'm proud to have been able to dance with her."

Not only did Pierce teach about the physical aspect of dance; she also taught about the origins of the movement and the music.

"It wasn't learning the basic one-two-three-four-five-six-seven-eight, I was learning about the movement and where it came from," said Parra.

In her classes, Parra learned that jazz dancing stems from the history and influences of the African Diaspora. "She taught culture, she taught dance, she taught technique," he said.

The upcoming University Dance Theater production "Indelible Memories" is dedicated to her and the years of work she put into the school and the dance department. The opening of the show will include a ceremony with a drummer, dancers and a portion of time to have people come up and talk about her as and her life.

"That'll hopefully offer some closure," said McCarthy. "But it's still painful."