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Friday, July 26, 2013

DanceMotion USA 2013 in Review:
Spectrum Dance Theatre in South Asia


by Sophie Shackleton

Since 2010, BAM has produced DanceMotion USA, a program funded by the US Department of State to promote diplomacy and cultural exchange through dance. This year, we sent four contemporary American dance companies to represent the United States on artistic missions in four regions around the world. Using dance as a language, they forged lifelong connections—both artistically and personally—with the artists and audiences they met during their travels.

The dancers were our eyes and ears on tour, sharing videos, photos, and blog posts as they traveled. Over the next few weeks, we’ll feature highlights from each of the four companies’ journeys on the BAM blog, starting with Seattle-based Spectrum Dance Theater, who brought their diverse styles and visionary theatricality to South Asia.


Their tour started in Nepal, where Spectrum discovered b-boy and b-girl culture was thriving (check out these moves!) alongside traditional dance customs. Company member Ty Alexander Cheng  reflected on the power of dance and cultural diplomacy after being impacted by the students in his workshops, and the dancers saw the Himalayas for the first time. The local audience in Kathmandu went wild when Spectrum performed Nepali traditional dance during their final performance in the country.

Thursday, July 25, 2013

Meet a Friend of BAM: Candace

Welcome to Meet a Friend—a new series of brief Q&As with Friends of BAM members, the utterly unique individuals who help bring art to our stages. From different zip codes, boroughs, and backgrounds, our members gather around a commitment to adventurous performance—and we couldn’t be prouder to know them.

This month’s featured Friend: Candace, a new addition to the Clinton Hill neighborhood
Member since: Feb 2012



Monday, July 22, 2013

BAM R&B Festival at MetroTech Preview:
Bombino

By Robert Wood




The BAM R&B Festival at MetroTech—BAM's free summertime showcase of heavy hitters from R&B, reggae, funk, and other genres—runs this year through August 8, with concerts happening (almost) every Thursday at noon. That means lunchtime for most, so for the full MetroTech experience, we suggest bringing takeout from a nearby restaurant and making an afternoon (or a long lunch break) out of it. Check back every week for these previews, which will also suggest appropriate eats to enjoy along with the music, and pigeons, in Downtown Brooklyn.



Bombino
Thu, Jul 25 at 12pm
MetroTech Commons | map
Free

In a nutshell:
Superstar Niger-born guitarist in the vein of the great Ali Farke Touré

Genres:
West African blues rock

What to Know:
Bombino’s latest album was produced by Black Keys front man Dan Auerbach, which in many ways makes perfect sense. Bombino’s “desert blues” guitar is gritty, up front, and immensely expressive, not unlike Auerbach’s own sound. But their backgrounds are surely different: Bombino is one of 17 brothers and sisters and a member of North Africa’s perpetually exiled Taureg ethnic group, for whom the guitar has long been associated with songs supporting their various rebellions. You can hear that determination in Bombino’s music, which glimmers like a blade in the desert sun.

You might like them if you like:
Tinawariwen, Ali Farke Touré, Vieux Farka Touré

Appropriateness for getting down / getting it on:
70% / 30%

What to do about lunch: 
Eat your usual baloney and cheese sandwich and defer your culinary homage to Bombino until the next time you're on the beach. Taguella is a thick crèpe that Taureg people have traditionally baked in makeshift ovens made from hot Sahara sand. Could there be a more fascinating example of a food's intimate relationship to the land? Here's a recipe, courtesy of PBS.org:


2.2 lbs. of millet flour, coarsely sifted
Roughly 9 oz. of water
Large pinch of salt
Large enamel bowl

Mix together the millet flour and water in the enamel bowl. Add the pinch of salt. Knead the dough, flattening it into a disc.

Dig a low, shallow hole in the desert. Build a low fire from wood and charcoal in the hole.

Place the dough directly in the fire’s ashes. Scrape the surface with a plant stalk hot from the fire to keep the surface clean from sand.

Cover the dough with hot sand and small charcoal from the fire.

To check the dough’s temperature, poke it with a stick. If it’s soft, it still needs to cook.

Let the dough bake for about 20 minutes.

Turn the dough over, cover it again with hot sand and charcoal and let it bake for another 20 minutes.

Take the bread out of the oven. To get rid of the sand, shake the bread or sprinkle it with water.

Then, break into small pieces and serve.


Thursday, July 18, 2013

BAM R&B Festival at MetroTech Preview:
Fatoumata Diawara

By Robert Wood

Photo: Fatoumata Diawara


The BAM R&B Festival at MetroTech—BAM's free summertime showcase of heavy hitters from R&B, reggae, funk, and other genres—runs this year through August 8, with concerts happening (almost) every Thursday at noon. That means lunchtime for most, so for the full MetroTech experience, we suggest bringing takeout from a nearby restaurant and making an afternoon (or a long lunch break) out of it. Check back every week for these previews, which will also suggest appropriate eats to enjoy along with the music, and pigeons, in Downtown Brooklyn.



Fatoumata Diawara
Thu, Jul 18 at 12pm
MetroTech Commons | map
Free

In a nutshell:
Malian singer and guitarist described by The Telegraph as “the most beguiling talent to hit the world music scene in some time.”

Genres:
Jazz, pop, and funk filtered through the Malian sound

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Brooklyn Close-Up: Our Song & On the Come Up

The Jackie Robinson Steppers performing in Our Song

Crown Heights has never had a more loving and intimate cinematic portrait than Jim McKay's Our Song. Released 13 years ago, and screening next week in our ongoing Brooklyn Close-Up series, the film was hailed as "revolutionary" by The New York Times' A.O. Scott, who also praised McKay as an "indispensable filmmaker." Not only did the film introduce the American independent film world to a compelling new voice, but it also featured a trio of formidable young actresses (including Kerry Washington, who has gone on to work with everyone from Spike Lee to Quentin Tarantino) in their first screen performances.

With the upcoming release of the novel On the Come Up—a moving and beautifully wrought narrative, written by McKay's partner Hannah Weyer and based on the stories of actress Anna Simpson—both McKay and Weyer reflect on their friendship with their young star, the lessons they learned from observing the challenges she faced as a teenager, and the process of making the film with her.

Our Song screens Tuesday, July 23 at 7pm and will be followed by a Q&A and book signing with Jim McKay, Hannah Weyer, and Anna Simpson.

Only God Forgives' Star-Studded Premiere at the BAM Harvey

Ryan Gosling. Photo: Godlis
On July 16, BAMcinématek presented the New York premiere of Nicolas Winding Refn’s (Drive) newest film Only God Forgives on the brand new Steinberg Screen at the BAM Harvey Theater. The sold-out screening was followed by a star-studded Q&A with Refn, Ryan Gosling, Kristin Scott Thomas, Vithaya Pansringarm, and Yayaying Rhatha Phongam.


Wednesday, July 10, 2013

BAM R&B Festival at MetroTech Preview:
Sly & Robbie

By Robert Wood

Photo: Sly & Robbie


The BAM R&B Festival at MetroTech—BAM's free summertime showcase of heavy hitters from R&B, reggae, funk, and other genres—runs this year through August 8, with concerts happening (almost) every Thursday at noon. That means lunchtime for most, so for the full MetroTech experience, we suggest bringing takeout from a nearby restaurant and making an afternoon (or a long lunch break) out of it. Check back every week for these previews, which will also suggest appropriate eats to enjoy along with the music, and pigeons, in Downtown Brooklyn.



Sly & Robbie
Thu, Jul 11 at 12pm
MetroTech Commons | map
Free

In a nutshell:
A crack Jamaican rhythm section and production duo.

Genres:
Reggae, dancehall, dub

What to Know:
Sly & Robbie are estimated to have played on over 200,000 tracks, which essentially means that when you think of reggae, you think of them. Jimmy Cliff, the Mighty Diamonds, Toots and the Maytals, and Black Uhuru are on their infinite list of collaborators, but so are Bob Dylan, the Rolling Stones, and Herbie Hancock, which should give some indication of their remarkable versatility. At MetroTech, they’re joined by William “Bunny Rugs” Clarke from the popular Jamaican reggae band Third World.

You might like them if you like:
Mighty Diamonds, Toots and the Maytals, or any other music that has ever come from the island of Jamaica.

Appropriateness for getting down / getting it on:
50% / 50%

What to do about lunch: 
Stop by Fisherman’s Dawta at 407 Atlantic Avenue near Bond. The jerk chicken is only $10 and comes with rice and steamed cabbage galore. 

Tuesday, July 2, 2013

Monday, July 1, 2013

BAM R&B Festival at MetroTech:
Avery*Sunshine

By Robert Wood


The BAM R&B Festival at MetroTech—BAM's free summertime showcase of heavy hitters from R&B, reggae, funk, and other genres—runs this year through August 8, with concerts happening (almost) every Thursday at noon. That means lunchtime for most, so for the full MetroTech experience, we suggest bringing takeout from a nearby restaurant and making an afternoon (or a long lunch break) out of it. Check back every week for these previews, which will also suggest appropriate eats to enjoy along with the music, and pigeons, in Downtown Brooklyn.



Avery*Sunshine
Wed, Jul 3 at 12pm
MetroTech Commons | map
Free

In a nutshell:
A powerful soul singer and keyboardist with deep roots in the music of the church.  

Genres:
Soul with a soft spot for the 1960s.