June is busting out all over! Though it’s been feeling like August many days lately, this is just the first day of summer and just a step over the solstice. So, everyone, have a blessed summer.
As I look back on this very busy month, even as I prepare for our last events this weekend, I [...]
Archive for the ‘Dance’ Category
June: A Month of Milestones – Part 1
Diverse Dance Audiences
A quote from the front page article on African Dance in Sunday’s Times from Jawole Willa Jo Zollar: ”It’s a gradual process. In New York, I find the dance audience is very segregated except when I go to the Ailey company or to Harlem Stage. But there’s a growing sense of diversity, of [...]
(MORE)Dancing Spirit of Haiti
Bengi Jolicoeur(pretty heart) was a magnificent dancer, a loving soul and a dear friend. We had the honor of having him open a concert we presented two years ago of Emeline Michel, the great Haitian singer. When he danced the invocation on our stage, he broke our hearts; his every gesture flowed from a place [...]
(MORE)There are 8 million stories…
So began an extraordinary journey last night at Harlem Stage when, to a SOLD OUT house, we launched the visible/invisible newly commissioned work of choreographers Jawole Willa Jo Zollar and Nora Chipaumire. With and ensemble of 10 dancers and guest artist Pyeng Threadgill, they took the first bold step into this new work and with [...]
(MORE)Journey with Vijay Iyer
I am listening to Vijay Iyer’s new album, “Historicity.” It is turning an unremarkable morning into an aural adventure. It’s always exciting to experience new work from an artist we are associated with, but it’s a thrill when the work is so powerful, elegant and richly textured. Vijay takes on some familiar songs, and some [...]
(MORE)Off to See Bill T. Jones’ World Premiere
Pat and I are off on a one day jaunt to the Ravinia Festival outside Chicago today for the world premiere of Bill T. Jones’ new work Fondly Do We Hope … Fervently Do We Pray. The work was commissioned by Ravinia to celebrate the Bicentennial of Lincoln’s birth. Could we have waited until it [...]
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