Copyright © 2001 NLThomas
All Rights Reserved

1. UPCOMING TOURS AND PERFORMANCES

YELLOW BIRD DANCERS AT THE DUN LAOGHAIRE RATHDOWN FESTIVAL OF WORLD CULTURES, IRELAND

        The Yellow Bird Dancers (Plains and Apache) will perform at the first Festival of World Cultures, presented by the Dun Laoghaire, Rathdown County Council, August 24-26. The Festival of World Cultures will celebrate the diversity of multi-faceted traditions locally, nationally and internationally. The festivalšs aim is to inspire an exploration of international cultures through: music, dance, storytelling, workshops, street and park events. Activities will cater for all ages and stages with opportunities for participators and spectators.

        Various venues throughout the county including: The Pavilion Theatre, The County Hallšs Concourse and Assembly Rooms, St. Michaelšs Church, Monkstown Parish Church, The East Pier, The Civic Plaza, The Purty Kitchen/Coast and The Peoplešs Park are hosting spectacular music events; hailing from Africa to South America via Siberia and Japan! Traditional dance classes in the Dance Theatre of Ireland, music workshops and master-classes will provide a complete programme of activities for all the family.

        The Yellow Bird Indian Dancers present a repertoire of authentic Apache, Southwest and Northern Plains dances. From the exciting Hoop Dance to the beautiful Apache Rainbow Dance, the presentations are enhanced by native sign language and enchanting flute music. The unique Apache Mountain Spirit Dancers with full body paint and elaborate masked head pieces are available only upon special request.

        The Yellow Bird Dancers are all members of the Duncan family, headed by Ken Duncan, Sr., from the San Carlos Apache reservation in Arizona, and Doreen Duncan, his wife, is from the Arikara, Hidatsa and Mandan Nations of the Fort Berthold Reservation in North Dakota. Another member of the family is a four- time World Champion Teen Hoop dancer.

        Ken is a graduate of the Institute of American Indian Arts and is an accomplished storyteller/lecturer. He has been featured in numerous children television programs and has lectured at Mayo Clinic, museums and universities. He is also a flute player and traditional shieldmaker.

        Doreen Duncan, Business Manager, is a graduate of Arizona State University and has extensive experience in Native American cultural interpretation including educational programs for the Heard Museum, Phoenix, and serving as Museum Director for the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Tribal Museum near Phoenix.

        The Yellow Bird Dancers have also performed at:
… Indian Village Schoenau, Austria
… Spirit of a Planet Festival, Bergamo, Italy
… the Phoenix Symphony, Family Dance Series
… Santa Fe Indian Market
… ABC and PBS television performing arts specials

        The group also provides Native craft demonstrations and a broad range of hands-on and interactive activities for children and adults.

2. THE MYSTICAL MUSIC OF THE MIDDLE EAST, A CONCERT FOR PEACE -

        The Mystical Music of the Middle East is a celebration of Judeo-Arabic cultures with Israeli composer Yuval Ron and Palestinian singer Najwa Tannus. The concert is a rare collaboration that focuses on the similarities of Arabic and Jewish musical expressions. The first part of the event is a concert of sacred Sufi music from the Middle East. Sufi means seeker of truth and is a spiritual path originated in the pre Islamic Iran. One of the ceremonies of Sufism is Whirling (the "The Whirling Dervishes"). Our concert features songs from Sufi ceremonies from Lebanon and Syria as well as Moroccan-Jewish songs that uses identical scales as the Sufi prayers.

        In the second half we will present Bedouin music from the Sinai desert, Egypt and the Negev desert, Israel. The Bedouins are the nomads of the Middle Eastern deserts. These songs are folk tribal songs, secular in nature and consist of upbeat rhythms. Also, we will feature a Yemenite-Jewish song, which has a cultural and musical relation to the Bedouins.

        We will conclude our tour in the Middle East music scene with dance party music of Kurdistan and trance music of Morocco.

        Please note that in the second half the audience will be invited to dance to the music (within the limitation of each venue).

        Yuval Ron is one of the leading experts in Bedouin and Sufi music. This summer he is producing and hosting a series of world music lectures/concerts for the UCLA Hammer Museum ("The International Underground: World Music in LA" starting June 7th). He has done numerous field recordings in the Sinai desert with the Bedouins and produced the record One Truth, "A window into the divine passion and poetry of Sufism" with Turkish virtuoso Omar Faruk Tekbilek on World Class Records.

        Najwa Tannus (Voice) was born into a musical family in Haifa, Israel. She began her musical studies on piano at the Royal Conservatory of Music (Haifa), after immigrating to Canada with her family she began her career as an Arabic singer a year later at the age of 13. Najwa spent her teenage years between the Royal Conservatory (Toronto) and home studies, which she received from her father Marun Tannus, who taught her Arabic vocal techniques and solfege (Maqamatt Arabia). She also mastered the method of Mawaweel (ataba, abo al zilof), known in Arabic as vocal improvisation. Aside from being the solo artist and lead vocalist with Arabesque Dance Company (Canadašs best Belly Dance group), Najwa performed in many music festivals such as "A Concert for the Peace, Health, and Prosperity" (New York City), "Festival Of lights" (Toronto), "Holiday Of Holidays" (Israel), and "Bridging the Silence" (Toronto) to promote peace in the middle east.

        The next Concert of Peace " The Mystical Music of the Middle East" will take place at the Ford Amphitheatre on Oct. 6th 2001 as part of LA County Commission for the Arts "Open House" Festival. Admission is free to the public. The concert is sponsored by The Center for Jewish Culture and Creativity.

        The performers of this concert are:
Najwa Tannus - voice
Yuval Ron - ud, sintir bass, keyboards
Norik Manoukian - duduk, zurna, clarinet and flute
Jamie Papish - percussion
David Martinelli - percussion

3. THE HORSETOOTH FESTIVAL: AMERICAN INDIAN THEATRE AND MODERN DANCE

        Bronitsky and Associates is proud to announce that we are now working with OpenStage Theatre and Cindra Kline, owner of A to Zia, a freelance advertising and marketing business in Fort Collins, Colorado, to produce the Horsetooth Festival, an annual showcase for the best American Indian and Alaska native theatre, modern dance, and other performing arts, in Native languages and National languages, inclusive of, but not limited to theatre, contemporary dance, dance-drama, story dance, masked theatre, theatrical storytelling, puppet-based theatre, etc.

        This festival will
1. provide opportunities for participants to develop their theatre skills and insight and to achieve professionalism;
2. educate the national and international publics to the diversity and excellence of American Indian and Alaska native theatre, modern dance, and other performing arts;
3. enable audiences to learn from indigenous playwrights, authors, actors, directors and others--on the artistsš own terms and in their own voices;
4. bring indigenous performing artist, writers, directors, etc, together so that they can learn from each other and overcome some of the isolation in which many of these artists work; and
5. showcase contemporary works from a broad range of indigenous world nations.

        At present, no event of this magnitude has been produced anywhere. The present lack of such a festival has had important and negative ramifications:
1. Non-indigenous peoples have had very limited opportunities to experience authentic indigenous performances and visual arts experiences.
2. Public and scholarly audiences interested in experiencing, exploring and comparing contemporary indigenous theatre, dance and music have been restricted by funding and geography.
3. Indigenous theatre, music and dance have all too often been limited to comparatively small, local audiences.
4. Misinformation about indigenous peoples has often prevailed in the majority culture in many lands, due to distortions of commercial media, isolation of indigenous communities, stereotypes, and the inability of urban residents to access indigenous communities.

        The crucial first step in realizing the mission statement and vision of the Festival will be a convocation of select American Indian and Alaska Native playwrights, choreographers and others performing artists to create both a guiding vision and a working plan for the Festival.

4. RADIO--NATIVE BEAT INTERVIEW

        Gordon Bronitsky, founder/president of Bronitsky and Associates, will be featured in a live interview on The Native Beat, August 12, 10:20 am CST, on Talk Radio WKY 930 AM in Oklahoma City. The Native Beat is a program for those interested in past or present American Indian lifestyles, politics, history, religion, arts, and music. This is a public arena in which to discuss current social or political issues that affect Oklahoma. It will also shortly receive national syndication through the AIROS (American Indian Radio Satellite) Network.

        The Native Beat has been on the air over 1 1/2 years. The program is progressing very nicely according to the Arbitron ratings. It is the number two rated radio talk show in the state. Those ratings just doubled in the last quarter according to the latest figures.

        The program is produced and hosted by Cinda Hughes. Cinda is an enrolled member of the Kiowa tribe. Audiences are encouraged to call in to the station during the program with questions or comments. WKY has a phone line available, call 405-858-1446.

"Bringing Together Indigenous Peoples And the World Since 1992"

From All Directions: Indigenous and Regional Cultures And World Markets: News from Bronitsky and Associates. A monthly newsletter from Bronitsky and Associates about events and people from indigenous and regional cultures in the international scene--concert tours, signings, and all the latest news. Correspondence, subscription/unsubscription, opportunities, talent news, etc., should be directed to the U.S. office.