Showing posts with label Africa. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Africa. Show all posts

Jul 23, 2012

DanceMotion USA 2012 by the Numbers

4 companies
41 artists

14 countries
18 U.S. embassies & consulates
33 cities
85 days
36 performances
118 exchange & education activities
460 books & DVDs distributed to 20 libraries
12,000+ web site visitors
23,156 audience members & participants
1,000,000+ media impressions


From March through June of 2012, four American dance companies embarked on journeys across the globe. As part of the second installment of DanceMotion USAsm, dancers from Los Angeles’ Jazz Tap Ensemble, Philadelphia’s Rennie Harris Puremovement, New York City’s Seán Curran Company and Boise, Idaho’s Trey McIntyre Project set out as artist diplomats – to share and exchange their work as American dancers with artists, students, and audiences from cultures and backgrounds entirely different from their own.

The power of these dancers’ travels has been seen in the stories told in this blog - through photos, videos, and anecdotes of their time abroad. As the program continues, the reports speak volumes about dance’s incredible ability to connect people across cultures, borders, and boundaries. These numbers only touch the surface in describing the connections made with audience members, workshop participants, fellow artists, and students – and the stories born from those experiences.

(c US Embassy Ashgabat)
Seán Curran Company after a workshop in Turkmenistan

 
Jazz Tap Ensemble with new friends in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe

 
 Rennie Harris Puremovement after a workshop at the
Rabbea Murkus Dance Studio in Kfar Yassif, Israel

 
 Trey McIntyre Project studying Tai Chi in Guangzhou, China


DanceMotion USA would like to thank everyone involved in its second year of tours for their fearless dedication to connecting Americans to the rest of the world through dance. Because of your work, the world is shrinking geographically and expanding creatively, growing in its capacities for global collaboration, innovation, and peace-building.

Stay tuned for more details and information on the DanceMotion USA program over the next week!


Jun 9, 2012

No Barriers! Jazz Tap Ensemble

Here is a favorite photo of mine. Taken after JTE concert in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe.
 April 27, 2012

Pictured are the JTE musicians along with a local group of Jazz Singers (and on the left, an embassy staffer) who had enjoyed our performance (enough so that they almost pulled Doug, our pianist, off the stage when offering their congratulations)!  This pic shows the nature of our tour in nutshell, the universal nature of this music and how barriers do not exist between people who are listening.

Jerry Kalaf , Music Director/Drummer - Jazz Tap Ensemble

Jammin' in Mozambique

April 17, 2012 in a suburb of Maputo, Mozambique.

The JTE band was invited to sit in at this jam session. Afterwards, Stewart Sukuma, one of the most famous Mozambican performers (standing in center) came and sang and then invited all of us to attend his band's rehearsal later in the week as they prepared for their own tour, which was a highlight of the trip.
Doug Walter, Pianist/Saxophonist - Jazz Tap Ensemble

Jazz Tap Ensemble - Bass Players


These are the three Congolese bassists that played with the "Kinshasa All Stars" at the Halle De La Gombe. I love these guys!  These three bassists epitomized the profound musicality, voracious appetite for learning, and generosity of spirit we experienced from all the musicians we met on our tour of Africa. Their  music teacher, Gabriel WADIGESILA is hoping to create a “Bass Day” in Kinshasa.
David Dunaway - Bass Player/Jazz Tap Ensemble