CONCORD -- Last Saturday on a scorching hot pre-summer day, Tonya Amos was indoors doing cool hopscotch moves on the floor of D'Ann's Dance Academy in downtown Concord to the soulful tune of Luther Vandross' "Dance with my Father."

Her childlike moves aren't just reminiscent of childhood -- she's incorporated them into a dance that's both a tribute to African American artists and a celebration of how far she's come in the dance world.

Amos, a local professional dancer, will be offering "Fallen Heroes, Rising Stars: A Juneteenth Celebration through Dance," 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. June 30 at the Willows Theatre in Concord.

"The dance concert honors African American musical artists that have died since the year 2000 but will inspire us for generations to come," said Amos, a Concord resident.

The multimedia dance and music event will pay tribute to such musical talents as Ray Charles, Lena Horne, James Brown, Michael Jackson, Nina Simone and Luther Vandross. A tradition that dates back to June 19, 1865, Juneteenth celebrates African American liberation from slavery when enslaved people in Texas were informed by Union soldiers that slavery had "ended." This jubilant news, at last being supported by the Union Army's reinforcement of the law, came 2 1/2 years after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, Amos said.

"The holiday is about celebrating African American freedom, while encouraging self-development and

The fourth annual dance concert celebrates Amos' own personal milestone. Since she was a young girl growing up in San Francisco in the 1970s, it was Amos' dream to dance on stage. So she took ballet and attended dance academies and "danced her heart out," but still didn't get to perform in front of an audience. At that time, a young Amos said she couldn't understand why she was never chosen to dance in productions such as "The Nutcracker."

"There were no parts for me," she said. "Blacks couldn't do 'The Nutcracker,' " she said. "I was the only black dancer I'd ever seen growing up in San Francisco. I didn't realize then that the rest of the world was crazy. I'm doing exactly what I'm supposed to do."

Frustrated with the lack of dance opportunities, Amos quit dancing at age 13, at a time she said when girls were mastering the art of dance during their formative years.

Then, while she was a student at UC Berkeley, she attended a dance performance by Alvin Ailey dancers and was awestruck by the storytelling through movements of the dance.

"I freaked out," she said. "There were all these dancers with beautiful, technical artistry, who looked like me. "I realized that with art you can create social change. Art has a way to affect us, to change us as human beings."

Watching that performance changed her life.

"I thought, 'I have to get to New York.' So with only $200 in my pocket I went in the middle of winter after graduation."

After graduating from Cal, Amos spent four years on full scholarship at Alvin Ailey American Dance Center and danced 15 years professionally in New York City. When she moved home to California seven years ago, she said she realized that there was a huge void in the community concerning Juneteenth celebrations.

So Amos established Grown Women Dance Collective to provide a safe space for mature, female dancers to create beautiful work that is accessible and relevant to diverse audiences.

"Contra Costa is challenged with a lack of the arts and cross-culturalism," Amos said. "We have been urged each year to move the concert to SF/ Berkeley/ Oakland where it would flourish easily, but we are hardheaded and believe that Contra Costa also deserves the arts and cross-cultural family events."

Now in its fourth year, the Grown Women Dance Collective seeks to increase cultural awareness through its annual concerts and through raising funds for scholarships.

This year's show will also feature guest artist 84-year-old world-class concert timpanist Elayne Jones of Walnut Creek. Jones attended Juilliard School of Music in 1945 as one of three (the only African American and the only woman) chosen to receive the prestigious Duke Ellington scholarship. In 1949, Jones gained national attention as the first African American to be hired by the New York Opera and the first to hold a principal position in a major symphony orchestra in the United States, Amos said.

In 1998, Jones retired from the San Francisco Opera orchestra. She conducts lecture demonstrations for children and adults in schools and community centers. "Grown Women Dance Collective is honored to have such a cultural treasure share her talent and wisdom with us," Amos said. "We fly in several dancers from NY--all in their 40s, who I've worked with in dance companies. This year we have two dancers coming in from San Diego and one of the most respected ballerina's in Mexico who' 50-years-old."