Our fall 2009 season is fantastic! With amazing new partnerships, an electrifying music series, provocative films, and recession proof prices, I can’t help but be proud of the line-up we have scheduled for the next few months.
The season kicks off September 9 with one of four films presented with Black Documentary Collective, our new partner. “La Onda Chicana/The Chicano Wave” traces the evolution of Chicano music through mainstream performers such as Freddy Fender, Los Lobos, Linda Ronstadt, and Selena. In two other partnerships, writer/actress Josefina Baez presents “Dominicanish,” an off-the-wall retelling of the “unofficial stories and undocumented histories” of the Dominican experience in America, featuring trumpeter Ross Huff and directed by Claudio Mir from November 6-8. Jazz wunderkind Maurice “Mobetta” Brown, who has backed the likes of Aretha Franklin and Talib Kweli, presents his distinctive blend of hard bop and new groove in a free, family-friendly show November 19 – co presented by The Carnegie Hall Neighborhood Concert Series, our free concerts partner for 25 years.
One of the big fall highlights is the October 29 presentation of “visible/invisible:Naked City,” the first section of a new dance theater work we commissioned through our interactive initiative Waterworks. Jawole Willa Jo Zollar of Urban Bush Women (with whom we’ve had a 20-year history) and Nora Chipaumire are creating a new dance that blends stories and movement into a mesmerizing exploration of the Great Migration. They will also be telling the stories of other immigrants whose immersion in America’s urban centers birthed new, cultural art forms.
This unforgettable experience begins with Jawole and Nora spending the day with Urban Bush Women dancers, examining the themes of the work and the questions that inform it. That evening, you’re invited to participate in the process, first by viewing the piece, then adding to it with your own stories. With artistic decisions being made behind the scenes for most performances, here’s a unique opportunity for you and the artists to share in the creative process as the dance evolves. I look forward to your unique input that will help define this work.
What perhaps is most exciting is our new music and nightlife series, Uptown Nights at Harlem Stage. With so many hip hop heads on staff here, it was only fitting to begin such a powerful series that offers an eclectic mix for the hip hop lover. This series mixes nightclub vibes with envelope-pushing live music, swerving from hip-hop to Latin music, from avant-garde jazz cabaret to a mash-up of electronic rock and live beats with cello and trombone. Unlike anything we’ve done before, Uptown Nights debuts September 26 with “2012, The Hip Hop Experiment” featuring Marc Cary’s Black Instruments Band, with special guests Phonte (of Little Brother), Jessica Care Moore, Peven Everett, Chance A Million, Crystal Monee Hall, DJ Jazzy Jay, and many more. The evening starts with a discussion with the artists at 6:00, followed by a one-hour open-bar mixer, and then the main event. Like all Uptown Nights, this event is just $15 (I wasn’t lying about those recession proof prices)!
Check out the full line-up of our Fall 2009 events. See you at the Gatehouse!