International Association of Blacks in Dance Conference Jan 26-29 in Toronto

From a media release:

dance Immersion brings top dance talent from
around the world to Toronto for the
International Association of Blacks in Dance Conference & Festival
Connecting our Diasporas through Dance

• The conference at a glance

TORONTO, January, 2012 - dance Immersion brings top dancers and dance companies of the African diaspora from around the world to Toronto in four dance showcases running as part of the prestigious 24th Annual International Association of Blacks in Dance (IABD) Conference & Festival in Toronto, January 26 - 29, 2012.

The IABD Conference & Festival has become the convergence of ideas and interaction for the dance community, with a focus on those who serve the black diaspora and features over 30 dance companies and artists from countries such as Australia, Canada, Cuba, Germany, Ghana, Jamaica, UK and USA, among others. Included are special guest dance instructors Sean Cheesman of So You Think You Can Dance (Canada & USA) and Garth Fagan, choreographer of The Lion King.

This four-day event brings people from around the world together around issues that are relevant to dance within the global dance ecology. The IABD Conference & Festival provides opportunities for audiences and participants to network and share in an international arena with dance professionals through dance classes, panel discussions and auditions for international companies.

At the heart of the conference and festival are four Showcase Presentations that take place at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre, Exhibition Place featuring artists and companies ranging from renowned to up-and-coming:

- Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (New York City), a company that has performed for an estimated 23 million people in 48 states and 71 countries on six continents, as well as millions more through television broadcasts, and, in 2008, was designated a "vital American cultural ambassador to the world" by U.S. Congress.
- Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Ensemble (Denver, Colorado), an international, cross-cultural dance arts and educational institution rooted in African American traditions that has toured around the world, and provides training and education aspiring dancers as well as outreach to at-risk youth.
- Dallas Black Dance Theatre (Dallas, Texas), a diverse, multiethnic troupe of dancers and the oldest continuously operating dance company in Dallas. The company has performed modern, jazz, ethnic and spiritual works for 2.5 million arts patrons and 1.5 million children worldwide.
- Lula Washington Dance Theatre (Los Angeles), a world-class contemporary dance company that travels worldwide with contemporary modern dance works that reflect African American history and culture, with many of its dancers coming from Lula Washington's own inner city dance studio.
- Philadelphia Dance Company (Philadanco) (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) a celebrated company with a legacy of breaking barriers and building bridges across cultural divides, while consistently putting on electrifying performances with superbly trained dancers.
- Compagnie Danse Nyata Nyata (Montreal), an enterprise of contemporary artistic expression that explores and develops the aesthetic of African dance as it relates to music, poetry and related art forms.
- Ballet Creole (Toronto), a company of dancers and drummers active in the Canadian dance scene since 1990, fusing traditional and contemporary Caribbean and African dance to create, preserve and present dance works that testify to the rich heritage of those cultures.
- Nafro Dance Productions (Winnipeg), Winnipeg's only African contemporary dance company, which has been performing exciting and thought-provoking pieces across Canada since 2002.
- National Dance Theatre Company of Jamaica (NDTC), founded in 1962 at the time of Jamaica's independence. The company blends traditional Caribbean dance drama and ritual with contemporary modern dance and ballet, examining social issues, religious themes and folklore as well as abstract dance.
- Salia ni Seydou (France/Burkina Faso) was founded in1994 and has won several prizes in festivals and competitions such as the Concours de Danse Contemporaine Africaine d'Afrique en Créations (AFAA) (1994), and the Choreographic Encounters of Africa and Indian Ocean (1998).

International Association of Blacks in Dance Conference & Festival
Connecting our Diasporas through Dance
Thursday, January 26 - Sunday, January 29, 2012
Showcase Presentations: Queen Elizabeth Theatre, 190 Princes' Boulevard, Exhibition Place
Showcase Presentation tickets: $50 ($35 Student/Senior/CADA/IABD)
Call Arts Box Office 416-504-7529 or visit danceimmersion.ca

CD Release: Wassoulou Foli Feat. Virtuoso Drummer Taga Sidibe Feb 1 2012

From a media release:

CD Release: Masterful Drumming & ‘Funkified’ Beats Reach Rapturous Heights
Wassoulou Foli, Wassoulou Drumming At Its Best
Set to release February 1, 2012

Los Angeles, CA - Independent record label Kanaga System Krush (K.S.K.) releases Wassoulou Foli with drumming virtuoso Amadou ‘Taga’ Sidibe and friends featuring ‘Tu’ Sinayoko.

Hot on the heels of grassroots label K.S.K.’s last release Dambe Foli this past Fall, they follow-up with another powerful album Wassoulou Foli. Featured, Sogonikun Djembe traditional Wassoulou music at its best, boasting of the talent emanating from this musically rich region.

Drumming aficionado's will certainly find a wealth of listening pleasure in this album’s percussive mastery yet the epic level of musicality and pairing together with ‘Tu’ Sinayoko’s divine vocals makes it a must-have for music lovers the world over. The beats and verses sung, beckons to lovers of Jazz, The Blues, Funk and Hip Hop offering them an authentic audio journey back to the birthplace of these genres. Label founder Aja Salvatore acclaims “it is an album of soulful singing and drumming from one of my favorite musical regions in Mali. One can hear a lot of "funk" in these beats.”

Wassoulou, has produced some of Mali’s most acclaimed masters the likes of internationally renown vocalists Oumou Sangaré, Sali Sidibe and Nahawa Doumbia. This album is no exception; it is a clear reminder that this region remains a musical hotbed producing this next generation. Home to Master Sogonikou Djembe Fola , Amadou ‘Taga’ Sidibe who masterfully plays the Sogonikun Djembe with hands so nimble. His lightening fast attack on this smaller djembe, cousin to the Manding Djembe showcases a répertoire replete in authentic, traditional Wassoulou rhythms from Sogonikun to Didadi. Abdoul Doumbia, Master Djembe Fola and former Professor of African Studies at Brown University found this album so compelling he enthusiastically says "K.S.K. should record five albums of Taga. He is a master of the highest level of Wassoulou music."

Taga is a renown figure throughout Mali drawing crowds into the thousands. He is both a revered hunter and musician versed in Sogonikun. A kind of music typically performed during ceremonies meant to uplift and beat back negativity. He is often called on to hype up audiences and entertain the occasional bush spirit he says. Listeners around the globe now get the chance to take in this soulful experience. This his first headlining album, showcases his superlative skills with complex drum solos roaring between verse and chorus. Oz Fritz, a Sound Engineer and collaborator with Bill Laswell, Herbie Hancock, Bob Marley and many others calls “Taga a master, and Tu’s voice angelic.”  He hails “This is an amazing album!”

Taga represents one of the last bastions of traditional djembe drumming played in contrast to the all too common ballet style. Staid and true, his répertoire has been passed down through an ancient lineage. Learning at the hands of Mansa Bagayoko, Taga was hand picked to rigorously study drumming and continue an authentic tradition so integrated into daily life. Whatever challenges one might face, music remains a source of wisdom and healing for the soul.  Salvatore echoes music’s role in Mali and beyond he explains, “music is not separate from life, it is intertwined to deal and cope with daily living.”

Joining Taga with lead vocals is the novice and up-and-coming songstress ‘Tu’ Sinayoko. She sets her sights to be the next ‘Songbird of Wassoulou’ with her passionate vocals so emotive and uplifting. Her voice remains in perfect key, as she magically weaves through verse upon verse. On chorus is vocals by Sita Diarra with Shaka Diallo accompanying on the Djembe and Lansine Sidibe on the Konkoni. Last but not least on the Bari Dun Dun and Konkoni is Taga’s lifelong musical companion, Yakoub Sidibe. The incredible interplay between Taga and Yakoub has been honed since childhood when they first began playing together more than thirty years ago on the Kamalen N’Goni. The keenest of ears can sometimes hear up to forty variations of a single rhythm.

This charged album is infused with the potency of the drum that takes listeners on a journey of encouragement, well wishes and offers words of wisdom. Along with the enormous musicianship that any a serious percussion enthusiast and student of drumming could appreciate, it showcases music’s profound ability to transcend culture and language as could not be more evident. Tu’s vocals affective and seer-like as she sings that we all need hope in life, one can not help but feel the heart stir.

In addition to Wassoulou Foli, Taga and Tu join other renown Malian musicians to be featured in "Music in Mali: Life is Hard, Music is Good" a feature-length documentary on musicians and musical traditions from West Africa also produced by K.S.K. and due out Summer 2012.

About Kanaga System Krush
Kanaga System Krush (K.S.K.) is an independent record label, operating on a fair-trade principle, focused on the preservation and promotion of traditional music from West Africa. By bringing this music to the world market, K.S.K. is opening new channels to an old tradition, as well as providing direct support to the carriers of this ancient knowledge. K.S.K. and acclaimed producer/engineer Oz Fritz have produced and released nearly a dozen albums over the last five years, most notably Lobi Traore’s career-topping electric live set Bwati Kono.

Dance On Camera Film Festival 2012: January 27-31 in New York City

From a media release:

The Film Society of Lincoln Center and Dance Films Association announce the 40th edition of
DANCE ON CAMERA
January 27-31, 2012
New York City - Various Venues

• List of films
• Event Schedule

Opening Night World Premiere of JOFFREY: MAVERICKS OF AMERICAN DANCE will also mark the first collaboration between DFA and Emerging Pictures

New York City – The Film Society of Lincoln Center and Dance Films Association are pleased to announce the lineup for the 40th edition of Dance on Camera. The dynamic series will take place from January 27-31 and dance lovers will discover an array of stimulating films, many of them premieres, and diverse disciplines ranging from classical to street – from the refinement of ballet coaching to the intense individuality of club dancing. The fourteen programs in the series include focuses on peerless international artists such as Natalia Makarova and Robert Wilson, historic dance presenters and companies such as Jacob’s Pillow, the Joffrey Ballet, and Pilobolus, innovative choreographer Wayne McGregor, and the inspired director Clara van Gool.



“Film is the natural bridge among all the arts, and there is perhaps no greater aesthetic affinity than that which exists between the cinema and dance, two mediums based on motion,” says Film Society of Lincoln Center’s Program Director Richard Pena, “Dance on Camera has become a vital part of our annual offerings, as each year it presents both cutting edge works alongside milestones of the dance/film genre.”

The opening night celebration will launch with the World Premiere of JOFFREY: MAVERICKS OF AMERICAN DANCE and include attendance by the filmmaker, Bob Hercules, and many cast members. The film, and Q&A, will have a simultaneous premiere for dance enthusiasts in participating theaters across the country and marks the launch of the film’s release by Hybrid Cinema, who is also responsible for spearheading the partnership between DFA and Emerging Pictures for this event. This collaboration also marks the first time that a film has simulcast its world premiere out of a major festival. Audiences across the country will also be able to participate in the Q&A through a live Twitter feed.

Highlights of this year’s DANCE ON CAMERA include FREE “Meet the Artists” forums, which will bring audiences and dance fans up close and personal with established and emerging directors and choreographers. A series of shorts will also screen free for the public and an exhibit of bold photos and posters by Herbert Migdoll, painter and official photographer for the Joffrey Ballet, will be displayed for the entire month of January, at the Frieda and Roy Furman Gallery at Walter Reade Theater.

“This year’s festival coincides with anniversaries for the Joffrey Ballet, Pilobolus, Jacob’s Pillow, and Eye on Dance.  We are thrilled that this festival is proving to be a valuable means of bringing together emerging, as well as established artists to celebrate the multiple ways dance film can inspire artists as well as audiences,” says Deirdre Towers, Festival Curator for Dance Films Association.



“While Dance on Camera Festival does not adhere to a particular aesthetic, we try to reach far and wide to find films that connect dance and camera in ways that will surprise and inspire viewers to deepen their interest in both mediums,” says Joanna Ney, co-curator of the festival. “This year’s selection offers a diversity of subject, style and genre aimed at the traditionalist as well as the iconoclast.”

Dance on Camera, the world’s longest-running and most celebrated event dedicated to the growth and development of dance on film as an art form, celebrates its 40th anniversary this year. DFA’s Festival is made possible with the support of the National Endowment for the Arts, New York State Council on the Arts, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, the Cultural Services of the French Embassy, Consulate General of Spain, Cultural Department of the Consulate General of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the Japan Society, and DFA members.

**Tickets are on sale at the Walter Reade Theater’s box office and online at FilmLinc.com. Discounts on tickets are available for students, seniors, Film Society and Dance Film Association members. Everyone can enjoy special package discounts. For more information visit FilmLinc.com. Public Screenings will be held at the Film Society of Lincoln Center’s Walter Reade Theater (located at 165 West 65th Street) and the Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center (located at 144 West 65th Street). The photo exhibit is at The Freida and Roy Furman Gallery (located at 165 West 65th Street).**

CD Release: Putomayo's Brazilian Beat January 31

From a media release:

Putumayo Goes Indie:
Brazilian Beat Uncovers the Roots-Powered Edge of the Worldwide Brazilian Music Scene
"Brazilian Beat" drops January 31

Glittering break beats are at home with bouncing berimbaus while rolling Afro-Brazilian rhythms, retro samba soul and velvety bossa nova vocals mesh and groove organically. This is the unstoppable Brazilian Beat (Putumayo).

Selected from tens of thousands of songs collected by the pioneering label created to introduce new global music to broad audiences, Brazilian Beat chronicles the vibrant indie scene in Brazil and around the world. Musicians are taking samba, bossa nova, and MPB (Brazilian popular music) and deftly incorporating electronica, soul, funk, and just about every other music imaginable.

• The release will be available in-stores at Whole Foods, 10,000 villages, and Barnes and Noble.
• It will be available digitally on Bandcamp.
• Stream all tracks here



Sultry or upbeat, the tracks on this compilation of hip, rootsy artists aim to raise listeners’ moods and introduce even die-hard fans to a new crop of Brazilian music innovators. Featured alongside unsung icons such as samba soul master Marcos Valle (pictured below) are rising new stars like Tita Lima, daughter of the bassist from psychedelic hipster darlings Os Mutantes.

Brazilian music has bubbled into an indie scene-to-beat-all-indie scenes in underground clubs and on small labels from São Paulo to Rome. “You can go to Italy and find a hot bossa nova scene, and they have their own sound,” like Roman bossa band BungaLove’s “Minha Loucura,” explains Jacob Edgar, longtime head of A&R for Putumayo and passionate follower of the Brazilian music scene. “These retro sounds end up back in Brazil and shake things up.”

A diverse array of young musicians, such as Fino Colectivo, draw on Jorge Ben’s lush ’70s samba-soul sound—and transform it. It’s a realm of discovery, even for ardent followers of global music. “One of the exciting things we at Putumayo do is introduce artists to people who don’t know them,” says Dan Storper, head of Putumayo and avid musical traveler and collector. “It has to be upbeat and melodic, and it has to move us.”

“We’re probably the most voracious music listeners on the planet,” Edgar exclaims, “and we have an elaborate process of cataloguing the tens of thousands of tracks we hear. As we’re listening and traveling, we just keep hearing great music that seems to work together.”

This exhaustive, music-driven approach uncovered artists such as Michigan-born, Brazilian singer-songwriter Mônica da Silva or the Brazilian child-star turned pop diva Bruna Caram (pictured above), whose carefree vocals dance over cool horns and sparkling keys on “Feriando Pessoul.” It unearthed the wonderfully gritty sounds of a long-unreleased super group session led by New York-based Brazilian saxophonist Leo Gandelman (Brazilian Groove Band’s “Bananiera”) and highlighted the earthy pleasures of Rio-based Rogê’s clavinet-flecked samba (“A Nega e O Malandra”).

“You can really hear the intersection between past and present in the music of Brazilian artists,” Storper reflects. “We didn’t make an effort to seek it out; this is what musicians are doing. They respect their traditional music but are adding new flavors with real passion.”

**Brazilian Beat is available at selected music, book, gift, and specialty stores around the world, and for digital download on www.putumayo.com, iTunes, Amazon and selected online stores. World Music; release: January 31, 2012**

CD Release: Chilean Rapper Ana Tijoux's La Bala (Nacional Records)

From a media release:

CD Release: Ana Tijoux's La Bala
From Nacional Records
Out January 24, 2012

I wanted share with you the new album from Latin America’s premier female rapper Ana Tijoux, released Jan 24th exclusively on iTunes

• The lead single “Shock” is now available for free download in the US + Mexico as the iTunes “Single of the Week”.  

La Bala is Ana Tijoux’s highly anticipated follow-up to her 2010 GRAMMY nominated breakthrough debut 1977, which you may have heard Ana Tijoux’s “1977” recently on the hit TV show Breaking Bad, or seen her as the featured guest on NPR’s influential “Tiny Desk Concert” series. 
Tijoux made her U.S. debut performing at SXSW in 2010 and has since toured the U.S. and Europe, with stops at New York’s Central Park Summerstage, San Francisco’s Outside Lands and Chicago’s Lollapalooza, plus a very special live performance during GRAMMY weekend with The Roots as her backing band.

Shock, the first single, is a call to arms that grows in intensity with the gradual but sure build of a Bolero. Her politically charged message - in support of the Chilean young people fighting for the right to a free and universal education, relies on the eloquence of her words and her earnest delivery rather than on any "shock" value of its own. Its thoughtful and melodic.

Short Film: The Man That Got Away Premieres at the Berlin Film Fest 2012

This comes from my friend/multi-talented choir meister & musician Bryce Kulak's newsletter:

The Man That Got Away
Premieres at the Berlin Film Festival 2012

From Bryce Kulak

I have some exciting news to share with you!

A World Premiere in Germany: "The Man That Got Away" at the Berlin International Film Festival

In spring of 2009 I began collaborating on a movie-musical short film with Trevor Anderson, director and producer at Dirt City Films. (Click to read more about the film!) We wrapped up production in fall of 2011. I composed music for six new songs, and also wound up starring in the film as Trevor's great uncle Jimmy.

The soundtrack was recorded at Doug Organ's Edmontone Studio, and we shot entirely on location in a spiral parking garage in downtown Edmonton. Now, after a lot of hard work and much anticipation, we are gearing up for our big trip to Berlin for the film's world premiere at the 62nd Berlinale film fest! It's the only Canadian short accepted into the festival. Needless to say, I'm super excited to watch the film on the big screen with a live audience. There will be several opportunities to catch the film during the festival, and we've also been invited to a special screening and artists' talk at the Canadian Embassy. It's exciting!

Of course, Berlin isn't the only place you can catch a screening of "The Man That Got Away." There will be a private screening, for crew and supporters, in Edmonton on February 25th. To receive an invite, donate to our CD soundtrack fundraising campaign on IndieGoGo. There are various rewards available for each donation level (including copies of my album "Tin Can Telephone"), so check out the perks!

A Fundraising Event
Because the budget for the film is gone, I'm paying my own way to be at the premiere in Germany. To that end, I'm playing a fundraising show at Le Balluchon Raymond (click for details!) in Toronto, on Thursday January 26th, doors at 7:30pm, show at 8pm. Tickets are $20 at the door (fundraiser!); come, and I'll sing for you. You'll even get to hear a sneak preview of the soundtrack!


THE MAN THAT GOT AWAY movie trailer from Trevor Anderson on Vimeo.

The Met Opera's The Enchanted Island - In Person or Live In HD January 21

From a media release:

The Sixth Season of The Metropolitan Opera: Live in HD 
Continues at Select Cineplex Entertainment Theatres with

The World Premiere of 
THE ENCHANTED ISLAND
Saturday, January 21 - 12:55 p.m. EST

Broadcast live via satellite, in high-definition and 5.1 digital surround sound

Starring Penticton, British Columbia native
LAYLA CLAIRE as Helena
and Toronto native ELLIOT MADORE as Lysander

THE MET: LIVE IN HD
THE ENCHANTED ISLAND
Running time: Approx. 3 hrs 30 min, including one intermission
Host: Deborah Voig

• To purchase advance tickets, see the complete Met: Live in HD schedule and the list of the more than 100 participating theatres, please visit www.cineplex.com/events.

• If you happen to be in New York City, you can buy tickets for performances January 21, 25, 28 & 30, 2012

The Enchanted Island is a world premiere opera that combines great music of the Baroque era with an all-new, English-language story. The score combines selections from more than 30 operas, cantatas, and oratorios by Handel, Vivaldi, Rameau, and other masters of the Baroque period. The story, by the English theater artist Jeremy Sams, combines two of Shakespeare's best-known plays in a lighthearted "mash-up."

The four young lovers from A Midsummer Night's Dream find themselves shipwrecked on Prospero's island from The Tempest, leading to a tortuous web of comic and dramatic romantic entanglements. The extraordinary cast includes Joyce DiDonato as the sorceress Sycorax; David Daniels as her nemesis, Prospero; Danielle de Niese as the air spirit Ariel; Luca Pisaroni as the monstrous but soft-hearted Caliban; Lisette Oropesa as Prospero's daughter Miranda; Anthony Roth Costanzo as the noble Ferdinand; Layla Claire, Elizabeth DeShong, Paul Appleby, and Elliot Madore as the Midsummer lovers; and, in a star cameo, Plácido Domingo as Neptune, god of the seas. William Christie, an early music specialist of worldwide acclaim, conducts-in his first Live in HD appearance. The visually spectacular production is by Phelim McDermott (Satyagraha). Deborah Voigt hosts the transmission.

 PRESS QUOTES:

"Irresistibly entertaining...a light-hearted romp with enough fizz to send a dozen champagne corks popping." - Associated Press

"A terrific cast...a brilliant production team...fanciful, clever, and touching." - The New York Times