RISE AND WALK
Written by: James Tolbert III
Directed by: Donovan Hagins
Actors: Andre N. Jones, Richard Bradford, Eduardo Nelson and Sekia

Recovery is a day to day, minute by minute process. But in order to begin healing, we must confront our demons. Rise and Walk, an original One Act play,  is one man’s journey to self and re-discovery of the power within us all.

TRUE STORIES
Written by: Amelia Longo
Directed by: Alison Garrett
Actors: Gillian Grassie, Liz Filios and Tara Demmy

“True Stories” is a memoir performance that tells the story of a woman struggling with the ideas of truth and expectation in a relationship and in love.  It drills down into her experiences to explore the idea of multiple perspectives in one individual, how a story is carved out as it happens, and how there is no one true story.  Different versions of the same events are told and retold through different lenses — all are true, yet all are distinct.  Taking direction from the line “The true story is vicious and multiple and untrue after all,” in Margaret Atwood’s poem “True Stories,” it is an active search for truth in a world of multiple possible truths.

June 22 and 23, 8:00 PM
$15 students/$20 General admission
Support Courtyard Dancers: $50/$100

An evening of classical and contemporary Indian dance, music, and poetry, using live tabla, vocals, Kathak and gestural theater/abhinaya.

Concept and Choreography: Dr. Pallabi Chakravorty

Tabla: Aqeel Bhatti, Vocal: Joel Rehmat

Dancers: Courtyard Dancers ensemble.

Courtyard Dancers is a nonprofit dance company interested in developing a socially engaged community of artists and audiences who experience the arts as the building blocks of community. Their dance-theaters juxtapose the beauty of the classical Indian dances with pedestrian movements, everyday gestures, utterances, and text to create new collages of life. The company draws on the expressive power of dance and music to narrate stories of the under-represented and the unusual, the quotidian and the mundane, to evoke dramatic and powerful images of ordinary life. Through their dance works, workshops, and speaking engagements, the company strives for sustainable and pluralistic communities that can acknowledge and bridge differences.

Audience Reactions to Courtyard Dancers: The dancing is captivating and definitely provides food for thought

April 6 – June 3 | 2012
Gallery hours: 12pm – 6pm, Tues – Sat
First Friday Receptions: April 6, May 4, June 1 | 5-7pm

May 18th: 7:30pm
May 19th: 2pm & 7:30pm
Tickets start at $15

DANCE IQUAIL! returns to the Painted Bride this May for their 2012 Philadelphia home season performance engagement.

The event, titled The Order, will feature diverse choreographic works selected by Artistic Director, Iquail Shaheed.  These works will be added to the current repertory and be featured throughout the rest of the 2012 season:

• The Philadelphia premiere of The Order, a collaborative work by Iquail Shaheed and composer Dylan Ezzie, inspired to tell the story of liberation by oppressed females
• The Philadelphia premiere of No Where / Now Here, by New York City Ballet Alum turned choreographer, Alexandre Proia will feature an eclectic range of music by Vivaldi, Les Yeux Noirs and Alarm Will Sound
• Equality for Us 2, a powerful duet that distills its structural concepts from the choreographer Iquail Shaheed’s personal experiences as a gay male. Combining elements of expression, exorcism, and athleticism, this work showcases the beauty inherent in these often demonized unions
• A new production of Christopher Ralph’s hit solo, Night Falls, which as previously been described as by Walter Redelege as “The standout performance of evening” by the soloist, Iquail Shaheed.

lustigdancetheatre (LDT) was established in 2010 by internationally recognized choreographer and director, Graham Lustig. LDT is a vibrant, dynamic contemporary ballet company based in New Brunswick, NJ. The ten dancers of LDT are known for their strength, grace, and powerful storytelling in works that range from jubilant and sometimes comical, to the serene and beautiful. LDT’s Spring Repertory performance at the Painted Bride will feature two of its newest additions to the repertory, Invisible Fields and Wingéd, and a re-staging of Appasionato. Lustig originally created Appasionato in 1992 for the Singapore Dance Theatre. The work, danced to Franz Liszt’s Mephisto Waltz, is being revived for the 2012 Princeton Festival in June to fit the Festival’s Faustian theme, but will enjoy this single showing beforehand. Invisible Fields, a fusion of traditional Irish dances like jigs and reels with ballet, will be accompanied live by members of the New Jersey based Celtic folk band, Trinity. Wingéd explores man’s fascination with flight and connection to all things winged, encapsulating images from angels to airline pilots.  The work was a choreographic collaboration between Lustig, Artistic Associate Bat Abbit, company dancers Laney Engelhard and Norbert de la Cruz, and guest artist Bradley Shelver.

CLICK HERE to purchase tickets (you will be redirected from the Painted Bride website to Brownpapertickets.com)

“If you haven’t dance to a live Latin band, you haven’t danced salsa, embrace the heat!”
- Jesse Bermudez, Regional Latino cultural ambassador and Salsa Caliente co-producer

Philadelphia’s only BYOB cabaret concert and dance party series featuring two live Latin big bands returns for a second season at the Bride. Drawing from the buzz looming from last season’s wide appeal and diverse attendance, Salsa Caliente 2.0 continues its non-stop flight service from the fringes of Old City to the heart of Old San Juan alongside the hottest large music ensembles from the region such as Orquesta Herencia de Soneros and Papo Buda y Saboricua who performed last season. Plenty of room for dancers of all experience levels, each evening starts with FREE dance lessons from Flaco’s Dance Factory. Put some salsa on your sexy and come join the party!

Who is Jesse Bermudez? He is the Grammy-nominated producer/radio personality/arts education champion/music curator and co-producer of Salsa Caliente!, the new Latin dance concert series now in its second year at La Nova Pintada. And who knows more about live salsa bands than Bermudez? He is known for his instrumental role in Papo Vasquez’s 2008 Album, “Marooned/Aislado“, which garnered a Grammy nomination for Best Latin Jazz Album. His Saturday brunch-time show, ‘Sonido Diferente’ on Mega 1310 AM, showcases regional Latino talent, as well as highlights the multi-layered soul of the Latin music genre, with urban, soul, & jazz-inflected selections, that aren’t heard in mainstream Latin radio. A long-time collaborator with the Bride, Jesse Bermudez partners with the Bride once again – this time to share the tropical heat that only live musicians can deliver to salsa dance floors.

Last season’s artistic line-up notes:

An African influenced Latin rhythm section driven by congas, timbales, bass and piano seamlessly interwoven with the soaring sweet harmonies of a jazz improvisation produced by tenor sax, trumpet, and trombone – this is the structure and styling of Latin Jazz – one Café Con Pan Latin Jazz Band has truly mastered since its 2005 inception. Bandleader Rick Rodriquez is far from being a stranger to the region’s “cuchifrito” circuit and has shared the stage with both Latin and R&B greats including Isidro Infante and Puchi Colon as well as Lou Rawls and Phillis Hyman. Equipped with a hand-picked all-star roster of musicians, Rodriquez’s big band has been satisfying both the listening and dancing pleasures of salsa fans throughout the tri-state area.

20% off for patrons in our Ticket Discount Program. Program members/Crush Card Holders CLICK HERE to SIGN IN and get the appropriate price. You will be directed back to this page for purchase.

Student and Senior tickets are only available in person or over the phone with valid ID. Please call 215-925-9914

Skins & Songs : Spoken Hand Percussion Orchestra meets Phillip Hamilton’s Voices to deliver an evening of original works.
May 10-13, Thurs – Sat. | 8pm; Sun. | 3pm
$25 in advance, $30 day off show
{BUY TICKETS}

Don’t miss this opportunity to celebrate the universal heart and soul that connects us all.

Revered regionally, respected nationally for their extraordinary live performances, SPOKEN HAND has championed the organic unification of music culture traditions from around the world for 16 years. They compose completely original arrangements and present a unique sound to audiences, “the kind of rhythmic extravaganza you can listen to all day, every day, forever,” hails Philadelphia City Paper.  PHILIP HAMILTON’S VOICES is an a cappella ensemble which presents a natural, masterful merger of international vocal tones and techniques.  These two distinct groups join creative forces to offer audiences a ground-breaking presentation of compositional works inspired by an array of cultural and musical influences.

Check out the preview in the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Tabla Dayan      Bayan      Qaida     Peshkar      Rela      Tukra      Tihai     Tintal     Jhaptal     Rupak     Deepchandi    Dhamar       Ektal      Dadra     Keharawal    Mattatal     Drut      Madhya     Vilambut    Delhi      Benares Punjabi     Lucknow gharana      Ajrara gharana      Farukhabad gharana      North India      Pakistan    Djembe dundunba   coucou   lenke   Cowbell      Shekere Kengele Sofa     Sege Sege     Polyrhythms     Flam     Ngoma       Konkoni    Djankadi       Kokou     Shiko     Akiwowo       Doudoumba    Liberté      Sofani    Timiny    Basikolo    Forêt    Macrou     Sokou     Tiriba     Cassa     Fouta     Mandiani     Soli     Yole      Congo      Kakilambe    Rabodaille     Soronolé     Yanvalou    Diansa     Kpanlogo    Sorsornet     Zebolah  Senegal     Mali     Ivory Coast       Guinea    Sierra Leone     Gambia     Camaroon    Malinke people    Afro-Brazilian     Samba Capoeira Candomblé Maracatu       Berimbau        Quica      Surdo      Repinique  Gonguê Carnaval      Surdo       Ganza       Tamborim      Caixa       Malacacheta       Pandeiro      Cuica       Ago-go     Reco-Reco      Chocalho     Rocar      Ganza      Shekere      Timba     Apito Partido alto,  pagode,  afoxe,  samba-reggae Bahia      São Paulo Rio de Janeiro Afro-Cuban   batá Iya     Itótele Okonkolo      Cajon     Congo     Changó     Osain     Babalu Aye     Oyá    Rumba      Comparsa      Orisha       Bembe    Yoruba    Cabildo      Nigeria     Santiago de Cuba Matanzas    A cappella Jazz Scatting    Tuvan throat singing    Congolese mouth-clicking   Balinese monkey chant   Hip Hop beat boxing     Doo-wop     Bulgarian choirs    barbershop quartets     South African miners’   Gregorian chants

CLICK HERE to hear an interview with Philip Hamilton, Lenny Seidman, and Daryl Kwesi Burgee on WDIY 88.1FM

This project is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts.
Skins & Songs has also been supported by The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage through the Philadelphia Music Project.

Student and Senior tickets are only available in person or over the phone with valid ID. Please call 215-925-9914

20% off for patrons in our Ticket Discount Program. Program members/Crush Card Holders CLICK HERE to SIGN IN and get the appropriate price. You will be directed back to this page for purchase.

inkBoat, a butoh dance and experimental theater troupe explore the complexity of the human experience through the story of 15th century poet and monk, Ikkyu Sojun, known as “Crazy Cloud,” one of the most significant figures in Zen Buddhism.

Founded by Shinichi Iova-Koga in 1998, inkBoat is a performance collective working in fractured, filmic, delicate and decayed environments, inkBoat’s performances evoke both the traditional and the experimental, drawing heavily from movements (political, artistic, personal) of challenge. Each performance is a dialogue between the apparent and hidden worlds.

“The Crazy Cloud Collection” results from the intersection of Ko Murobushi, recognized in Japan as a leading inheritor of Hijikata’s original vision of Butoh, and Shinichi Iova-Koga, whose aesthetic balances between the known and unknown, improvising image within and without the body. Together, these artists invite the ghost of Ikkyu, most known for provocative, biting and unorthodox poetry, to share the stage with them.

The presentation and tour of ”The Crazy Cloud Collection” was made possible by the New England Foundation for the Arts’ National Dance Project (NDP).  Additional tour funding comes from Performing Arts Japan, a program of Japan Foundation.

“The Crazy Cloud Collection” is a National Performance Network (NPN) Creation Fund/Forth Fund Project, produced by inkBoat, the U.S./Japan Cultural Trade Network, Inc. and the San Francisco International Arts Festival.

20% off for patrons in our Ticket Discount Program. Program members/Crush Card Holders CLICK HERE to SIGN IN and get the appropriate price. You will be directed back to this page for purchase.

“Yamazaki’s ability to represent and distinguish a new world is cutting-edge performance”
—Dance Magazine

Yamazaki’s new work, (glowing), is inspired by the famous essay In-ei Raisan (or In Praise of Shadows) written by Junichiro Tanizaki  (one of the major writers of modern Japanese literature) as well as , African dance, and Yamazaki’s somatic practice, “Fluid Technique” which was developed with influences in Butoh and Noguchi Gymnastics.  The six performers, including dancers from Senegal and Ethiopia, will join Yamazaki to investigate shadows/darkness that blur forms of body and boundaries between illusion and reality.

Jazz at the Bride. Creating… Presenting… Educating… Innovating… All for the LOVE since back in the day on South Street. 774 jazz pioneers, 39 years and counting…

Join us for Black Cat Brew – our annual fundraiser affair benefiting the future of award-winning, adventurous jazz presentations at the Bride.

Choose your level of support:

$100 per person {BUY}
(includes: dinner, open bar, early evening entertainment, silent auction entry, MTO Plays SLY concert, your donation)

$75 per person {BUY}
(includes: dinner, open bar, early evening entertainment, silent auction entry, your donation)

$25 per person {BUY}
(MTO Plays SLY concert only – WATCH/MTO personnel below)

Don’t let superstition keep you away from this night of music, mystery and mischievousness. Join us on Philly Jazz Day as we celebrate the living legacy of jazz at the Bride.

What’s on tap?

Starting @ 6pm
Dinner | Drinks (open bar) | Dessert (MENU)

Silent Auction (auction items) & Jazz on Vine iPod Touch Raffle –closes 8pm
Gabe Tiberino paints
Jason Fraticelli Quartet performs
Jazz Karaoke with Sing Your Life Productions (artist options HERE)
Mix & mingle with jazz luminaries from Philadelphia
(including Elio Villafranca and Bobby Zankel among others)

Main event of the evening:
Steven Bernstein’s MTO Plays SLY

Tearing into witty and funky new arrangements of little-known jazz nuggets from the 1920s and ‘30s, as well as radically transforming songs by artists such as Prince and the Beatles, Steven Bernstein (Grammy-nominated composer/Sex Mob trumpeter) leads an improvisational eleven-piece outfit playing irreverent 21st-century  take on music/message legacy of Sly & the Family Stone.

MTO personnel/instrumentation:
Steven Bernstein-trumpet, slide trumpet; Curtis Fowlkes- trombone; Charlie Burnham-violin; Marty Ehrlich- clarinet, tenor sax; Michael Blake- tenor/soprano sax; Erik Lawrence baritone/soprano sax; Will Bernard-guitar; Ben Allison- bass; Kenny Wollesen-drums; Jamie Saft-organ; Dean Bowman-vocal

Potential set list for the show:
Stand | Family Affair | Que Sera, Sera, M’ Lady, You Can Make it If You Try
Everyday People, Time, Thank You For Talking to Me Africa

Check out MTO’s live performance of
M’ Lady featuring John Medeski

All funds raised from this special event will be used to benefit Painted Bride Art Center and its programmatic and educational activities. Help ensure the Jazz on Vine journey continues!

Black Cat Brew Artist Committee

Richard Dray, John Santos, John Ellis, Monnette Honesty, Fred Frith, Jane Ira Bloom, Chico Freeman, Ann Dyer, Orrin Evans, Elio Villafranca, Adam Rudolph, John Hollenbeck, Hannibal, Greg Osby, Ben Schachter, Bobby Zankel, Jamie Baum, Vijay Iyer, Sunny Jain, Papo Vazquez, Jaleel Shaw, and Odean Pope.

SPONSORS: