Breakdance Project Uganda reaches youth in the slums of Kisenyi, Uganda (photo credit: Nabil Elderkin)

Award-winning film Bouncing Cats, the inspiring documentary of one man’s attempt to create a better life for the children of Uganda through hip hop, is on the festival circuit making its way around North America along with limited sneak peek screenings and benefit events.  Narrated by Common and featuring interviews with Will.I.Am, and K’Naan, the story follows the legendary Crazy Legs of the Rock Steady Crew and b-boy Abramz, the founder of Breakdance Project Uganda (BPU), on a journey to unify, empower and inspire youth in the war torn region that has been called one of the worst places on earth to be a child.*  The film, by director Nabil Elderkin, recently won “Best Documentary Feature Film” at the Urbanworld Film Festival in New York, “Outstanding Achievement in Documentary Filmmaking” at the Newport Beach Film Festival, and “Audience Favorite Award” at Southern Utah International Documentary Film Festival.

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Congo in Harlem 2 is the second annual series of Congo-related films and events at the Maysles Cinema in Harlem. This year’s program runs from Friday, October 8 – Saturday, October 23, 2010 and showcases a wide range of films by Congolese and international directors, representing the most important issues facing the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) today. Most screenings will be followed by panel discussions, special events, musical performances, and receptions. Congo in Harlem 2 will provide audiences with more than the traditional movie-going experience – it will offer opportunities to celebrate Congolese culture, learn about the ongoing humanitarian crisis, engage in dialogue, and get involved. Read the rest of this entry »

The Los Angeles-based nonprofit, NextAid, along with The White Ribbon Alliance, an international coalition to promote safe motherhood, and Turntables on the Hudson are holding a unique benefit called 5 Alive on Wednesday, September 22, 2010 in New York City, during the week of the United Nations Summit on the Millennium Development Goals (MDG), the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI), and WIE (Women: Inspiration & Enterprise) Symposium. Read the rest of this entry »

"War Machine" photo credit: Michael Tullberg

After seven years in development, non-profit organization Overtone Industries is set to launch their site-specific theatricale, Songs and Dances of Imaginary Lands, with three weekends of performances opening Thursday, July 8, 2010.  Billed as a contemporary opera, the large-scale, genre-bending production integrates an astounding array of innovative art installation, dance, voice, live and recorded music, projected video, costuming, community participation, and theater. Songs and Dances of Imaginary Lands was developed and cultivated by Director O-Lan Jones in an extensive guided collaboration that involves twenty one librettists, eleven composers, Costume and Scenic Designer Snezana Petrovic, Musical Director David O, Instrument Inventor Bart Hopkin, Choreographer Nina Winthrop, twenty performers, a nine-piece live orchestra, dozens of crew members, scores of community volunteers, and many others.

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Overtone Industries is engaged in a massive community arts project, currently underway, to create props and costumes from recycled materials for their July site-specific contemporary opera, Songs and Dances of Imaginary Lands directed by O-Lan Jones. In May and June, creative volunteers are invited to Overtone’s “Songs & Dances Craftacular Weekend Workshops,” a series of free public art workshops where donated recyclables are being transformed into sets and costumes for the innovative music theater production. Overtone Industries is looking for crafters, artists, knitters, and the general public of all ages to collaborate on the project by participating in the art-making process via the community workshops. Workshops are being held Saturdays and Sundays, 12:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., through June 20, 2010 at the Songs & Dances Warehouse, 8840 Washington Street, Culver City, CA 90232.

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image from "North Horizon" by Thomas Freundlich and Valterri Raekallio

Dance Camera West (DCW), recognized internationally for its month-long presentation and celebration of dance on screen, announces the programming for its ninth annual Dance Media Film Festival screening at venues throughout Southern California in June 2010.  Dance on screen, or “screendance,” is a unique cinematic experience that focuses on the intersection of cinematography and choreography.  The festival includes this as well as all forms of dance media.  “The hybrid screendance medium is diverse, encompassing a broad range of cinematic styles, exhibition formats, and subject matters traversing global perspectives,” says Dance Camera West founder and director, Lynette Kessler… Read the rest of this entry »

Illustration by Snezana Petrovic

After seven years in development, non-profit organization Overtone Industries is set to launch their site-specific theatricale Songs and Dances of Imaginary Lands, with two weeks of performances opening Thursday, July 8, 2010.  Billed as a contemporary opera, the genre-bending production integrates art installation, dance, voice, live and recorded music, projected video, costuming, community participation, and theater.   Songs and Dances of Imaginary Lands was conceptualized by Director O-Lan Jones in an extensive collaboration that involves twenty one librettists, eleven composers, Costume and Scenic Designer Snezana Petrovic, Musical Director David O, and many others. Read the rest of this entry »

NextAid, a Los Angeles-based nonprofit harnessing the power of dance music to affect change in the lives of orphaned vulnerable children in Africa, returns to the 25th annual Winter Music Conference (WMC) in Miami with a mega-benefit, “Beats Build Hope,” at the Shore Club on Friday, March 26, 2010. Partnering with LIFEbeat, The Loud Minority, CityDeep, Turntables on the Hudson, Dubspot, and Mixology, this official WMC event will employ NextAid’s mantra of using the beats of our generation to provide hope for the next. Over 20 top international DJs have agreed to graciously donate their time and talent such as The Crystal Method, DJ Rap, and Mark Farina. Funds raised will benefit NextAid, SOIL (Haiti), LIFEbeat and Green Wave. Read the rest of this entry »

Photo Credit: Helena Ruffin

Legendary interdisciplinary artist Rachel Rosenthal is set to introduce the world to her new improvisational theater group, TOHUBOHU! Extreme Theater Ensemble, with monthly performances starting the weekend of February 19, 2010. The name, loosely translated, means “collision or chaos” which Rosenthal describes as not what the Company does, but the process they go through to do what they do. Each monthly performance will span three nights during one weekend. All performance begin at 8:30pm. Tickets cost $20. Reservations are necessary to insure seats… Read the rest of this entry »