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Supporting Traditional Dance:
The Regional Dance Development Initiative Summit begins on September 25 in San Francisco
Lily Kharrazi, ACTA Program Coordinator
The Bay Area has long been a breeding ground for ethnic dance—be it a classical genre that demands the discipline of years, or community folk dance gatherings at seasonal festivals. Whether these dance activities take place within a specific cultural community, as we have seen with the proliferation of Mexican folklorico groups in California, or are reflected by the myriad of world-dance classes offered by studios, the vitality of ethnic dance is unquestionable.
But who exactly is dancing? How many of us are there? And why do we continue to dance? These core questions are under examination by a consortium of organizations, funders, and cultural observers in order to better understand how this vitality can be best supported into the future. On September 25th, the Regional Dance Development Initiative will hold a free Dance Summit to provide a forum to talk about some of the core questions and concerns that challenge performers, teachers, company members and producers. It will be an opportunity for networking among dance peers.
This kickoff event will be followed by more events slated to strengthen the ethnic dance communities in the 11 Bay Area counties over the next two years. Plans for a February dance laboratory for performance-bound traditional artists are underway, as well as events such as roundtable discussions with funders, media critics and presenters to help artists gain more effective exposure. These meetings will not only be beneficial to artists, but will also open up a dialogue between the artists and those professionals who each hold a piece of the complicated puzzle towards more mainstream exposure.
An ancillary Cultural Mapping Initiative, under the leadership of Alliance for California Traditional Arts and a consortia of partners including World Arts West, The Fund for Folk Culture, National Dance Project/New England Foundation for the Arts, Leveraging Investments in Creativity, and The San Francisco Foundation is slated for 2006, providing an in-depth analysis of the demographics and needs of traditional and ethnic dance in the 11 Bay Area counties so that funders and service organizations can better meet the needs of this field.
For more information on the Regional Dance Development Initiative’s Dance Summit on September 25th, please e-mail Farah at RDDIsfbayarea@yahoo.com or leave a message at 415-794-9892. ODC Theater is located at 3153 17th Street at Shotwell, San Francisco. Paid lot parking is available on Shotwell. Upon confirming your attendance, you will receive an agenda and list of participants.
The Summit is presented by: National Dance Project/New England Foundation for the Arts and ODC Theater with the assistance of Alliance for California Traditional Arts, The Fund for Folk Culture, Leveraging Investments in Creativity, the Regional Dance Development Initiative San Francisco Bay Area Community Advisory Committee and World Arts West.
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Dr. Zakarya Diouf to Receive Honors from the San Francisco Foundation
This month Dr. Zakarya Diouf, a West African drummer and ethnomusicologist, will receive the Helen Crocker Russell Community Leadership Award from the San Francisco Foundation for his vision in unifying the African cultural arts community, for serving as a mentor and educator of young artists, and for his artistic contributions to the African-based performing arts.
Dr. Diouf is the founder and director of Diamano Coura West African Dance Company. Born in the African nation of Senegal, Dr. Diouf received his Ph.D. in Ethnomusicology from U.C. Berkeley. Dr. Diouf has combined a brilliant career as a choreographer and performer with teaching. He has done extensive research into African music and dance along with choreographing some of the best dance and dramatic pieces for renowned companies such as: African-American Dance Ensemble, Dimension Dance Theater of Oakland, CA, Harambe Dance Company, a variety of dance companies in New York and Diamano Coura.
From 1958-62, Dr. Diouf was director of the Mali Ensemble, a multinational performing company representing the unity of the West African countries of Mali, Senegal and Guinea. He became director of "Les Ballets Africanes," in 1963 and later the Senegalese National Dance Company from 1964-68. In 1969, he joined the faculty of Southern Illinois University while working with Ms. Katherine Dunham. Since 1973, Dr. Diouf has taught at San Jose State University, Sonoma State University, University of San Diego, University of California at Los Angeles and San Francisco, and California State University at Hayward. Dr. Diouf currently teaches West African music, dance, and history at Laney Community College in Oakland, is an Artist-In-Residence teaching free women's Sabar Drum techniques along with weekly classes in music and dance at the Malonga Casquelourd Center in Oakland, and does consulting and workshops in drum-making, choreography, African history, and performing arts.
The San Francisco Foundation’s Community Leadership Awards recognize individual or organizational excellence in leadership, as demonstrated by outstanding initiative, inspiration to others, and significant contributions to improving the quality of life of the Bay Area. This work may confront social or health problems, address environmental concerns, or promote arts and humanities. The Award in honor of Helen Crocker Russell, which will be awarded to Dr. Diouf this month, distinguishes an under-recognized, mature artist who has made a significant and ongoing contribution in the Bay Area. Artists from the performing, literary, media, and visual arts including craft, folk, and traditional forms were considered.
Each year their peers nominate outstanding individuals and groups, and a panel of Bay Area community leaders selects the award winners. Four Community Leadership Awards are made each year. Individuals receive $10,000 awards and organizations are awarded $20,000. Individuals and nonprofit organizations in Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, and San Mateo Counties are eligible.
The awards ceremony is free and open to the public. It will be held on Tuesday, September 20, 2005 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. at the Herbst Theater in the War Memorial Veterans Building in San Francisco. To RSVP call (415) 733 – 8577 or e-mail cla@staff.org. For more information visit The San Francisco Foundation’s website.
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California Artists Featured on Smithsonian Folkways Recordings New Release - Rolas de Aztlán: Songs of the Chicano Movement
Mari Pongkhamsing, ACTA
On September 13, Smithsonian Folkways Recordings will release Rolas de Aztlán: Songs of the Chicano Movement, a compilation of 19 tracks recorded between 1966 and 1999 from a wide variety of labels and sources. The September release of Rolas de Aztlán: Songs of the Chicano Movement coincides with the 40th anniversary of United Farm Workers' strike against table grape growers which started near Delano, California, in 1965. The strike, led by César Chávez, gained momentum and received national attention throughout the late 1960s. In 1967 fourteen million Americans showed their support for the farm workers by boycotting grapes.
The Mexican-American anti-oppression movement bound itself to an emerging Chicano artistic and cultural renaissance. Many of the California artists and groups represented on this album are grassroots musician-activists and community icons. For example, El Teatro Campesino (The Farm Worker Theater), was a politically active theater collective founded by Augustin Lira and Luis Valdez. During the Delano Grape Strike, members of El Teatro Campesino wrote plays and songs associated with the farm workers’ struggle and the Chicano movement. This album includes an exciting track recorded live at the United Farm Workers meeting hall in 1966. Also featured on the CD are many other musical groups important in California’s Chicano movement, including renowned poet José Montoya performing with Trio Casindio, composer, singer, and actor Daniel Valdez, Chicano activist Ramon “Chunky” Sanchez with Los Alacranes Mojades, La Rondalla Amerindia de Aztlan, Felipe Cantú and Los Perros del Pueblo Nuevo, Enrique Ramirez, Nestor Mili and Los Peludos , and Al Reyes. The album includes two rare tracks from Los Lobos, known in the 1970s as Los Lobos del Este de Los Angeles, including the previously unreleased song "El tilingo lingo." Los Lobos del Este de Los Angeles started out performing traditional boleros and rancheras at weddings and backyard parties and went on to win three Grammy awards for their mix of traditional Mexican and American rock music. The album also includes a recording of the traditional song “De Colores” sung by children from the School of Santa Isabel in East Los Angeles.
Translated, the title of the album means "Songs of Our Land" or "Songs of the Homeland." Aztlan refers to the mythic homeland of the Aztecs, literally meaning 'our land,' redefined here to refer to the American Southwest. The music ranges from huelga (strike) songs of the farm workers to Mexican revolutionary corridos; from translations of previous civil rights and labor movement anthems to rewritten popular rancheras. Rolas de Aztlán: Songs of the Chicano Movement includes translated versions of "We Shall Overcome" ("Nosotros venceremos") and "We Shall Not Be Moved" ("No nos moverán"). Also included is a tribute to César Chávez by Los Perros del Pueblo Nuevo.
The album was compiled, annotated, and produced by noted Latino music scholars and Californians, Estevan César Azcona and Russell Rodrìguez, who include complete English and Spanish lyrical translations with extensive liner notes and stunning photography. This album is part of the "Tradiciones/Traditions" recording series, a component of the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage Nuestra Música project that explores Latino culture through music in recordings, and the Smithsonian Folklife Festival programs.
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