Harlem Arts Alliance Presents: On the ‘A’ w/Souleo
Dance is more than an artistic display of the physical prowess of the human form. For many of those who attended the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater opening night gala benefit at New York City Center, dance is a catalyst to explore new possibilities. On the red carpet, veteran actress and Harlemite, S. Epatha Merkerson, revealed that she was once a dance student and that the experience helped her find her potential in the arts.
That opportunities from her discipline in dance eventually lead Merkerson to produce and direct her first documentary film, The Contradictions of Fair Hope, which she is now shopping to festivals and distributors. Narrated by Whoopi Goldberg, the film traces the development, struggles, contributions and gradual loss of tradition of one of the last remaining African American benevolent societies, known as “The Fair Hope Benevolent Society” in Uniontown, Alabama. “The documentary tells you how it got from that place of nobility to what it is and what happens when you forget your history,” she says.
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater’s artist director Robert Battle opened the new season with a performance of Ohad Naharin’s Minus 16. Grammy Award-winning opera star, Jessye Norman and Tony Award-winners Brian Stokes Mitchell and Anika Noni Rose led a finale of Alvin Ailey’s masterpiece, Revelations with live music.
Opening one’s eyes to new visions is the goal behind the latest exhibition, 10 Squared, which is currently on view at the LeRoy Neiman Art Center in Harlem. As the organization’s program director/curator, Omo Misha explains, the work features artists from all communities and mediums presenting affordable works on 10”x10” blank surfaces. “I wanted this to be an opportunity for artists to express their views on whatever they feel passionate about for the collective universal voice of art.”
Also seeking to bridge gaps between global communities is the Rush Arts Gallery exhibition, I Dreamed My People Were Calling. Curated by Danny Simmons, the exhibition, seeks to tie together the ancestral and contemporary forms of artisans of African descent through the dynamic works of Imo Imeh, Sol Sax, and Margaret Rose Vendryes.
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Correction: In last week’s column the name of Drumma Boy’s company was incorrectly listed. The actual name is Drum Squad DJ’s.
