From its very first teaching programs in San Francisco in 1963, the Center for World Music was inspired to high standards in music and dance by its first two artist/teachers, Ustad Ali Akbar Khan and the legendary Indian dancer, Balasaraswati. For sixteen years the Center sponsored hundreds of concerts, introduced many prominent Asian artists and companies through national tours, and was instrumental in creating the rich mix of world performing arts activities in the Bay Area by training hundreds of American students. Many of them are now leaders in their fields. At its height in the mid-1970s, the Center had no fewer than forty-five artists in residence, many from India and Indonesia, two areas of specialty that have remained through the years.
http://www.centerforworldmusic.org/history.html