 |
 |
The
Legacy Arts Project and
The August Wilson Center for African American Culture presents "I'LL FLY AWAY TO FREEDOM" AND "THE KEEPERS OF THE FLAME AWARDS CELEBRATION" October 13 & 14, 2007 @ The Kelly-Strayhorn Theater |
|
|
An original performance, “I’ll Fly Away to Freedom” is based on a Gullah/Geechee Folktale about the Africans who could fly. Starring: Queen Quet (Chieftess and Head of State) of the Gullah/Geechee Nation
Also
featured: Saturday,
October 13, 2007 at 7:00pm and Sunday, October 14, 2007 at 3:00pm
Tickets
by credit cards are available at ProArts
tickets.org (412 394-3353) and Jamil’s Global Village,
6023 Penn Ave, East Liberty (412 363-9500)
”The Keepers of the Flame Awards” to Elder Artists, who have shown they have flown far above their circumstances are: J. Spencer Bey; Temujin Ekunfeo; Art Powell; Dr. Ralph Proctor; Nana Malaya Rucker; Turhan Shabazz, and Harold Young. They will be presented following the October 13th performance only.
For more information: Call 412-682-2565, Linda Imani Barrett, Artistic Director or email: imanidance@comcast.net Supported by the Multicultural Arts Initiative and the Heinz Endowments. Role of Queen Quet - Head of State of the Gullah/Geechee Nation For The Legacy Arts Project Queen Quet will serve as the cultural heritage consultant for The Legacy Arts Project’s Gullah/Geechee based production of “I'll Fly Away to Freedom" an original musical based on a Gullah/Geechee Folktale about the Africans who could fly. As always, The Legacy Arts Project always presents a new twist. The Second Annual Keepers of the Flame Awards Celebration will be combined with “I’ll Fly Away to Freedom.” During her first visit to the Pittsburgh, Queen Quet, Head of State and Chieftess of the Gullah/Geechee Nation will be featured. Her music is the sound track for the production that will be performed in Pittsburgh on October 13 and 14, 2007 at the Kelly-Strayhorn Theater. Her focus will be on authenticating the language style, polyrhythms, songs and dances used in the performance. She also will play a role as the "Wise Woman" unfolding the story of how the Gullah/Geechee people came to being. Emphasis will be placed on the areas where the GullahGeechee people were first captured, the Rice Coast of Africa, and the story of Bunce Island and how the rice and indigo trades were first established in South Carolina. June 2007 – The Legacy Arts Project Performers traveled to Beaufort, S. Carolina to study under the instruction of Queen Quet. She provided an over-view and assessment of the dances and drumming choreographed for the play (i.e. songs and polyrhythms). The group visited slave plantations to see slave quarters, slave auction blocks, and the “pest houses” (slaves were stored here until they were considered free of diseases). A visit was made to the Penn School, which was the first school for former slaves after the Civil War. It was founded by a native Pittsburgher, Laura M. Townsend and Ella Murray from Philadelphia. The Master Artists, Linda Imani Barrett, Shelly Fisher, Sandra Dowe, Amir Rashidd and Lonnie Bey conducted rehearsals under the tutelage of Queen Quet while in Beaufort, S. Carolina. The songs, dance movements, and language taught by Queen Quet was brought back to Pittsburgh to be sharpened and be readied for the October, 2007 production. She will be an artist-in-residence from October 9, 2007 through October 15, 2007 to rehearse and perform with The Legacy Arts Project Performers.
In March 2007, The Legacy Arts Project presented “Dance Africana I: American Fruits with African Roots” at the Kelly-Strayhorn Theater. This amazing production brought together, on one stage for the first time in Pittsburgh ALL of the African American dance & drum groups. They played to a sold out theatre. A follow-up in May was Dance Africana II…Come and take classes and dance with the dancers from Dance Africana I.” It was another smashing success. The mission of The
Legacy Arts Project is to bring various forms of art and dance to
urban youth and adults who may not otherwise encounter their own
potential art skills and talents; and to save and pass on the Legacy
of Master Artists and Craftsmen to the artists of the next generation,
and into the future. In addition, we have expanded The Legacy Arts
Project to educate the public about the rich heritage of the African
Diaspora through song, dance, drumming, lectures, and storytelling.
We will accomplish this mission by tapping the rich resources of
folk-lore, field trips, and classes with master artists, and through
the research of historians. The Kingsley Center, a 501(c)3 organization
that has been in existence since the 1800’s, is the fiscal
agent for The The Artistic Director of The Legacy Arts Project, Linda “Imani” Barrett, is a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh and holds a B.A. in Theatre Arts and Communications. She has studied at the Alvin Ailey Dance Studio, Point Park College, Birmingham University (under Pearl Primus & Percival Borde) and the Jamaican Dance Company. Imani is the founder and artistic director of The Legacy Arts Project and creator of the “Keepers of the Flame Award Celebration…Taking the Grass Back to the Roots.” She is the co-founder and an original member of the Pittsburgh Black Theatre Dance Ensemble under the direction of Bob Johnson. Imani was the founder and choreographer of the Selma Burke Dancers. She has taught dance locally for the Community College of Allegheny County, Chatham College, Carlow College, University of Pittsburgh, City of Pittsburgh, Center for the Arts and the Civic Light Opera, to name a few. Some of her out of state training includes Master Classes under Chuck Davis Dance Company, Raleigh, N. Carolina; the Moyo Ensemble, Denver CO; and the Congolese Drum & Dance Camp, San Francisco, CA. Awards: Recipient
of a Multicultural Arts Initiative Grant (2006 & 2007); Small
Arts Initiative Grant from the Heinz
|
