Arts and Culture

Black Choreographers Festival Features Three Weekends of Innovation Across Bay Area

Published

4 years ago

February 20, 2020

The African & African American Performing Arts Coalition and K*Star*Productions are proud to announce the 16th annual Black Choreographers Festival: Here and Now (BCF), which will take place over three consecutive weekends, Feb. 22 – Mar. 8, in San Francisco and Oakland.

Following the opening at SAFEhouse Arts in San Francisco, the Festival will move to Dance Mission Theater, with the final program at Holland Theater on the campus of Mills College in Oakland, Mar. 7–8. Tickets are $10 to $30 and may be purchased online via direct links at bcfhereandnow.com.

The first weekend of the Festival, Feb. 22–23, features Natalya Shoaf in an evening-length solo in three parts, co-choreographed with Bianca Stephanie Mendoza, Charbel Rohayem and Jane Selna. This event is co-sponsored by SAFEhouse Arts’ Resident Artist Workshop (RAW).

The second weekend features “New Voices / New Works” at Dance Mission Theater. Among the participating artists, each showing short works between seven and 15 minutes in length, are Gabriel Christian and Chibueze Crouch, with excerpts from their evening-length ‘mouth//full’ a personal exploration of spirituality within and outside of religious institutions that they describe as “a new mass where we can feel truly whole and holy.”

Also in the line up are Krystal Bates (Saturday only), and the team of Aja Randall and Patricia West (Sunday only).

Intersectionality is another theme that receives meaningful exploration in the second weekend. Jhia Jackson, a doctoral student in sociology at the University of California, San Francisco, draws from her academic and life experiences in exploring social constructions of race and femininity. Andréa Spearman, whose self-named company turns five this year, presents an ensemble piece about Black women’s lives and police brutality.

Dazaun Soleyn and Dana e. Fitchett return to the festival on the second weekend while relative newcomers Alexander Diaz, Clarissa Dyas, Ashley Gayle, Shawn Hawkins and Jamie Wright will appear.

In the final weekend, the Festival goes out with a bang at the Holland Theater at Oakland’s Mills College with an eclectic program by established artists including Los Angeles-based tap dancer and Emmy-nominated choreographer Chloe Arnold, BCF Co-Artistic Director Kendra Kimbrough Barnes, Dawson and Raissa Simpson.

In addition to the evening performances, the Festival is pleased to offer a master class with Arnold from noon to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Mar. 7. The class will take place at the Flax Building at 1501 Martin Luther King Jr. Way. Participation is open to all for a $15 fee. To register, visit bcfhereandnow.com.

The Festival’s final weekend will now also include Robert Moses’ Kin.

“Programming this year bumps up against the question, what is black dance?” said Laura Elaine Ellis, who directs the Festival with Barnes. “For some artists, black dance exists within a matrix of cross-cultural collaboration; for others, inspiration comes from looking inward, it’s a fever dream. For some, their work is guided by the Holy Ghost, while for others it’s the funk and groove of house and club dancing. For each choreographer, what is expressed is unique and individual. I can tell you what black dance is not. It is not monolithic, and you may or may not see the nuanced influence of the African diaspora – yet it is present in all that is the Black Choreographers Festival: Here & Now.”

At 7:20 p.m. before the start of performances on the second and third weekends, BCF in partnership with the San Francisco Dance Film Festival will screen several short films. Following the day’s events each Saturday, the Festival will hold a “Q & A plus Cake” with the artists. For the complete calendar and more information, visit bcfhereandnow.com.

John Hill

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Arts and Culture

Richmond Preps for Full Weekend of Cinco de Mayo Festivities

Cinco de Mayo festivities in Richmond and San Pablo are some of the bests in Bay, and organizers say that tradition will be alive and well at this weekend’s annual parade and festival. The action kicks off Saturday, May 4, with the 16th Annual Cinco de Mayo Richmond/San Pablo Peace & Unity Parade. The parade of floats, performances, and community organizations starts at 10 a.m. at 24th Street and Barrett Avenue and Richmond and ends at 12:30 p.m. at St. Paul’s Church, 1845 Church Lane in San Pablo.

Published

3 days ago

May 4, 2024

Oakland Post

Scene from the 2023 Cinco de Mayo parade from Richmond to San Pablo. Photo courtesy The Richmond Standard.

By Mike Kinney

The Richmond Standard

Cinco de Mayo festivities in Richmond and San Pablo are some of the bests in Bay, and organizers say that tradition will be alive and well at this weekend’s annual parade and festival.

The action kicks off Saturday, May 4, with the 16th Annual Cinco de Mayo Richmond/San Pablo Peace & Unity Parade. The parade of floats, performances, and community organizations starts at 10 a.m. at 24th Street and Barrett Avenue and Richmond and ends at 12:30 p.m. at St. Paul’s Church, 1845 Church Lane in San Pablo.

The parade’s Grand Marshall this year will be community organizer Diego Garcia, owner of Leftside Printing.

The festivities continue Sunday with the Cinco de Mayo Festival along 23rd Street, which last year drew over 100,000 people, according to the 23rd Street Merchants Association. This year’s festival will again run from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. between the intersections of Rheem Avenue and Clinton Avenue. It will feature two entertainment stages, one sponsored by La Raza 93.3 FM at 23rd and Rheem, and another sponsored by Radio Lazer FM at 23rd and Clinton.

Both events are important for the city and the region’s Latino community.

San Pablo Mayor Genoveva Calloway, who co-chairs the parade alongside John Marquez, president of the Contra Costa Community College District Board of Trustees, says Saturday’s festivities are about bringing the Richmond and San Pablo communities together in unity.

“This truly connects the spectators and people in the parade as one,” Calloway said. “The parade showcases the real communities of Richmond and San Pablo – our nonprofits, schools, horse riders, classic cars and trucks, our local businesses. All of these people represent the heartbeat of our community.”

Rigo Mendoza, vice president of the 23rd Street Merchants Association, said that at its heart, Richmond’s Cinco de Mayo Festival celebrates the date the Mexican army’s victory over France at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862.

But John Marquez started up the popular festival to bring the community together and also to exhibit the community’s businesses and culture to visitors, Mendoza said. The gathering was also a way to promote peace in the community.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Art

Mario Van Peebles’ ‘Outlaw Posse’ Screened at Oakland’s Grand Lake Theatre

Published

3 days ago

May 4, 2024

Oakland Post

Film director Mario Van Peebles, who also stars in “Outlaw Posse,” appeared at a press conference held at RBA Creative on MacArthur Boulevard hosted by the Oakland International Film Festival. Photo By Carla Thomas.

By Carla Thomas

The Oakland International Film Festival hosted a screening of “Outlaw Posse” at the Grand Lake Theatre on Monday. Special guests included director/actor Mario Van Peebles and his co-star, Oakland native Scytorya Rhodes. The film is Peebles’ second western, the first being ‘Posse,’ 13 years ago. Filmmaker Van Peebles shared his passion for independent artistry and producing projects with his son, Mandela, who also starred in the film, along with Whoopi Goldberg and Cedric the Entertainer. Next week, The Post will publish an in-depth interview featuring Peebles’ reflections on his work, future projects, and continuing his father’s legacy and Rhodes on her grandfather, a real-life cowboy.

Oakland Post

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Arts and Culture

Kedrick Armstrong: New Music Director for the Oakland Symphony

The Oakland Symphony Announced Kedrick Armstrong as its Next Music Director. In addition to conducting the orchestra’s public concerts, Armstrong will also actively participate in the Oakland Symphony’s many education and community engagement programs, designed to inspire a love of music in people of all ages.

Published

2 weeks ago

April 20, 2024

Oakland Post

Kedrick Armstrong is the new music director for the Oakland Symphony. Photo credit Scott Chernis.

By Post Staff

The Oakland Symphony Announced Kedrick Armstrong as its Next Music Director.
In addition to conducting the orchestra’s public concerts, Armstrong will also actively participate in the Oakland Symphony’s many education and community engagement programs, designed to inspire a love of music in people of all ages.

Armstrong is the successor to previous music director and Conductor Michael Morgan, who passed away in 2021 after a 30-year tenure at the Symphony.

Armstrong will open the Oakland Symphony 2024-2025 season on October 18.

Armstrong, who is 29 and hails from Georgetown, South Carolina, is currently the creative partner and principal conductor of the Knox-Galesburg Symphony.

The Chicago Tribune has praised Armstrong for his ability to “simply let the score speak for itself.” He enjoys a wide range of repertoire, spanning early music to premiering new works, using his joy and curiosity for all music to cultivate understanding and collaboration within diverse communities.
“I am deeply honored and grateful for the opportunity to serve as the new music director of the Oakland Symphony,” Armstrong said. “As a Black conductor, I find it humbling to stand on the shoulders of both Michael Morgan and Calvin Simmons,” the most recent and the first African American music directors of the Symphony, respectively.

Armstrong led three programs at the Symphony between 2022 and early 2024, which showcased his broad knowledge of the classical repertoire and enthusiasm for spotlighting diverse voices.
On his Oakland Symphony subscription debut on Feb. 16, Armstrong led the world premiere of “Here I Stand: Paul Robeson,” an oratorio by Carlos Simon on a libretto by Dan Harder, commissioned by the Oakland Symphony.

Armstrong was selected unanimously by the Oakland Symphony’s board of directors and musicians after an extensive two-year search. “The search committee was overwhelmed by Kedrick’s scholarship and curiosity about all kinds of music, from classical and jazz to gospel and hip-hop,” said. Dr. Mieko Hatano, executive director of the Oakland Symphony. “We are thrilled to have him join us at the Oakland Symphony.”