The Passage Project

Arabesque: Arts of the Arab World at The Kennedy Center

On Monday, The Arabesque Festival opened at The Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. The three-week program will present the latest in theater, dance, music, film, and more coming from the Arab World. Performers include outstanding Somali hop-hop artist K'NAAN and Heather Raffo performing The Sounds of Desire with Amir El Saffar, a jazz trumpeter and Iraqi santoor player. I saw Raffo's wonderful one person show 9 Parts of Desire about two years ago and definitely would love to see her perform along with a live musician.

And if you like to shop, visit the souk — marketplace — where you can purchase jewelry, handbags, and textiles.

Last night, NewsHour with Jim Lehrer profiled three artists living in Cairo who are participating in this years Arabesque Festival: modern dancer Karima Mansour, jewelry maker Azza Fayma, and Lebanese/Egyptian artist Lara Baladi.

To view a dance performance by Mansour, and to learn more about these three artists, visit NewsHour's website.

Today is Fat Tuesday and I thought I would mark the occasion by posting info on how it is celebrated around the world.

• Celebrations in New Orleans are underway as we speak with the crews, floats and musicians marching through the streets of New Orleans. The The Times-Picayune website Nola.com is providing full coverage of the parade and all of the city's festivities throughout the day.

• Samba schools, costumes and endless music. Welcome to Rio de Janeiro's Carnaval. What most consider ground zero for all Carnival celebrations, Rio's citizens do not hold back. It takes months to plan and it shows. Check out Jornal do Brasil's website and Rio-Carnival.net for details.

• Trinidad Carnival Diary is a wonderful place to find out information regarding Carnival in Trinidad. The blogger, Saucy aka "The Sauce", provides excellent behind-the-scenes details including the bands, putting together the perfect costume and more. What won me over what her recipe for how to prevent the rhinestone's in your costume from snagging your stockings. Please check her out!!!

• Though most of Cologne's carnival activities peaked yesterday on Rosenmontag (Rose Monday), there is plenty to do before Ash Wednesday. Kölntourismus will direct you as to where to go.

• Check out the website Toronto-lime.com for a partial listing of Carnival celebrations taking place throughout the world.

Bringing Break Dancing to Cambodia: K.K. and Tiny Toones Cambodia

Image of K.K. and his students courtesy of Stewart Isett of The New York Times.

There is little doubt that hip-hop has gone global. This Sunday's New York Times proves that with the article by Seth Mydans about Tuy Sobil, or K.K., of Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Formerly a break dance champion from Long Beach, California, K.K. is the founder of Tiny Toones Cambodia, a dance school dedicated to teaching at-risk kids in Phnom Penh's poorer neighborhoods the art of break dancing. In addition to dance, the school also provides free English and Khmer classes, HIV and drug education.

Below is an excerpt from The New York Times article about the styles of dance being taught at Tiny Toones Cambodia:

And there are not many places like this small courtyard, thumping with the beat of a boom box, where dozens of boys in big T-shirts are spinning on their heads and doing one-hand hops, elbow tracks, flairs, halos, air tracks and windmills. And, of course, krumping.

Founded in 2004 with only a few students, the school has expanded and has taught over 800 kids. The students have performed in locations ranging from local clubs to the U.S. embassy in Cambodia and, according to the article, some of the students have been invited to perform in the United States.

Image of Tiny Toones Cambodia students courtesy of Stewart Isett of The New York Times.

The Times article includes a short video called Break-Dancing, Phnom Penh-Style. In it, K.K.'s students show off their skills as well as what they've life lessons learned from the program.

To learn more about Tiny Toones Cambodia or to make a donation, please visit their website. There are also several dance performances and profiles on Tiny Toones Cambodia and K.K. on You Tube, including a clip from the documentary Straight Refugees directed by Ian White. And to find out about K.K.'s complicated journey to Cambodia, please read The New York Times article by Seth Mydans.

Afro-Colombia Heritage Week and La Chirimia

I have been a bit busy with work so I'm a little late with this post.

May 21st was the Day of the Afro-Colombian in Colombia and the country marked the freedom of its slaves on May 21, 1851 with a week-long celebration. From May 19 through May 24, 2008 the country hosted numerous lectures and performances.

To see footage of the celebration from the blog Colombia Reports, go here. The video features a May 21 live performance in Medellin of Chirimia, a style of music that is unique to Colombia. The Colombian group, Ranco Aparte performs Chirimia and won the XI Festival de Música del Pacífico Petronio Álvarez 2007 in that category last August. To see footage of this exhilarating performance, go here. I started dancing in my seat while watching the four minute video. Ranco Aparte has a brilliant horn section that drives their music and it's next to impossible not to respond to it while listening.

After learning a great deal about Afro-Colombian culture while researching the celebration, I was disappointed to learn that this day has only been officially recognized and celebrated since 2005. Many people wonder if days that recognize a specific ethnic or cultural group are even necessary.  While Afro-Colombian Heritage Week celebrates the cultural history of the population, the celebration also amplifies the voices of the Afro-Colombian population who are often marginalized. That was the case with appearance of Black History Month in the United States and in the U.K. My personal opinion is that, yes, these special markers are necessary because the contributions and everyday existence of minority groups are too often ignored, leaving them marginalized and often living in greater poverty than the majority of the population. It takes events likes these to create a much needed dialogue, giving a voice to these populations and also greater political power.

I am looking forward to the day when all people are treated equally and are not living on the fringes, but until that day comes, The Day of the Afro-Colombian and markers like it are vital.

I hope to attend next year's celebration. 

Literature and Dance in NYC

Image courtesy of aalbc.com.

As usual, NYC is full of activity in the upcoming weeks and I am planning on attending both of the following events.

The 9th National Black Writers Conference will be taking place March 28- 30 at Medgar Evers College. The conference will features panel discussions and workshops led by top writers and leaders in the publishing industry such as Cornel West, Kevin Powell, Quincy Troupe, Tayari Jones, Martha Southgate and Amiri Baraka.

Panel discussion include Cornel West: Transforming Our Lives, Transforming the World, and Historical Representations of Resistance and Transformation in Black Literature.

There there will also be youth workshops for elementary, middle and high school students. Other events include a Poet's Cafe featuring poets Roger Bonair and Lynne Procope organized by Urban Word and the Elder's Writing Presentation sponsored by Poets and Writers.

Courtesy of the Harlem Stage

Now, on to my neigborhood of Harlem. Harlem Stage's dance program E-Moves takes place April 4-13. The program I plan on attending, E-mering and E-volving, showcases new works that infuse various styles of dance "incuding modern, flamenco, tap, breakdance and vogue". The 12 participating choreographers include Hattie Mae Williams,  Nellda Tirado and Corey Barker. This program promises a fresh look at dance and I am looking forward to seeing how the diverse choreographers incorporate these completely different dance styles into the 6 performances.

Judith Jamison and Her Upcoming Retirement

Yesterday, the Artistic Director for the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Judith Jamison, announced that she will be leaving her current position in 2011 and will take on the title of Artistic Director Emerita. Jamison began her relationship with the dance company in 1965 as a dancer and became artistic director in 1989 following Ailey's death.

One of the company's most popular pieces, Cry, is a solo piece created by Ailey for Jamison.

You too can be a part of the Alvin Ailey experience. The company's school is located in Manhattan at The Joan Weill Center for Dance at 405 West 55th Street at 9th Ave and there are variety of ways to study. Students can attend Fordam University's BFA program, enroll in The Ailey School's professional division or sign up for one of their many classes for the general public in the Ailey Extension Program. Classes include ballet, Afro-Cuban, Hip-Hop, Middle Eastern Dance and Capoeira. Levels range from intro to masterclasses and there are also classes for small children and teenagers.

The company's North American tour is currently underway and continues through May 18. Below are some upcoming dates according to their website:

Atlanta, GA    February 28 - March 2, 2008
The Fox Theatre, 404-817-8700

Berkeley, CA   March 5 - 9, 2008
Zellerbach Hall, 510-642-9988

Costa Mesa, CA   March 11 - 16, 2008
Orange County PAC, 714-556-2787

Ronald K. Brown and Evidence at the Joyce

Today, Ronald K. Brown's dance company, Evidence, ended their run at the Joyce Theater and I made it to the matinee performance. During the run, two programs were being performed and I saw program B which featured some of the work from the company's past. Program A was Brown's new show called One Shot, and though I disappointed that I missed this performance (I had just read the great review in The New York Times) I was grateful for what I did see and was on my feet at the end of the performance. His show had me wanting to sign up for modern and African dance classes right then and there. My friend and I were grooving in our seats to the music of Fela Kuti as the dancers, including the choreographer Ronald K. Brown himself, moved through different styles of dance on stage. There was even one multimedia piece that incorporated film footage of different civil rights movements throughout the world in addition to footage of activist/musicians such as Fela Kuti and Bob Marley.

I am annoyed at myself because I lost my program so don't recall all of the performance titles, but the last piece, Upside Down, was a perfect way to close the show and featured live music by Wumni and two drummers who joined the dancers on stage.  After the dancers took their bows, they began to dance a final time, this time to Wumni's take on Message in a Bottle by the Police. They continued to dance as audience members got on their feet and the curtain fell.

I will try to catch One Shot when the company returns to NYC in April, but I am definitely satisfied with what I saw and am in the process of looking for a dance class to sign up for as we speak.   

If you missed the NYC performance, below is a list of cities company will be traveling to (info from the Evidence website):

February  28 - March 1   Lincoln, NE           Lied Center/Univ. of Nebraska
March 3-9, 2008            Alburqueque, NM   VSA New Mexico & Clovis
March 11, 2008             Tucson, AZ            UA Presents
March 14, 2008             Scottsdale, AZ       Scottsdale Center for the Arts
March 24-26, 2008        Asheville, NC         Diana Wortham Thr
March 26-28, 2008        Durham, NC           Duke Performances
April 6, 2008                Portsmouth, NH     The Music Hall
April 8-9, 2008             Portland, ME          PCA Great Performances
April 11-12, 2008         Amherst, MA          Umass Amherst
April 17-19, 2008         New York, NY         Columbia University
May 8-10, 2008            Houston, TX          Diverseworks
May 14-17, 2008          San Antonio, TX     Carver Cultural Center