Back to newsletter list
 |
| VOLUME 5, NO. 3 | August 12, 2007 |
What's NewChipping In for the Alliance’s New Video CameraNormally we begin The New Moon with a story about a California traditional artist or organization whose work is supported through one of our programs. But this month, we’re asking you to support a small project for the Alliance for California Traditional Arts. We’re asking for help in raising $3,028 to buy a new video camera so our staff can take great video of the exceptional artists and organizations we work with. We'll share copies of the videos with the artists, as well as share the wealth of California's living cultural heritage in music, dance, and craft with the public at large—on our website and in our archives where the tapes will be carefully stored and prepared as part of our permanent archival collections. We’re thinking about this project as a potluck – today we’ve raised $1,390 through 28 generous contributions ranging from $5 to $250. If 183 New Moon readers gave $10 after reading this, we’d reach our goal right away and could begin using the camera. We’d like as many people as possible to contribute, as we’ll be putting these donations to use through use of this camera over the years. We’ve created a ChipIn.com webpage that makes it easy and convenient for you to make your contribution online. To donate visit ACTA’s ChipIn.com webpage. Some people may prefer to send checks in the mail directly to the Alliance at 1245 Van Ness Avenue, Fresno, CA, 93721. As the Alliance gains experience with new fundraising strategies, we’ll also be able to share what we learned with traditional artists and organizations in California. We hope that you'll give every consideration to this effort to support our work in documenting the great work of California's traditional artists. Sincerely, Amy Kitchener Take the California Cultural Census!
This summer, the James Irvine Foundation is taking stock of the cultural activities of residents in two regions of California – the San Joaquin Valley (from Bakersfield to Stockton) and the Inland Empire (Riverside and San Bernardino Counties). The foundation will use the results of this research to consider how best to support arts and culture in these regions in the future. The Alliance for California Traditional Arts is working as the local partner on the study organized by WolfBrown. The California Cultural Census is a public survey that explores the types of arts and cultural activities that people like to do. The survey takes about 10 minutes to complete. At the end of the survey, you may enter yourself into a drawing to win a $500 cash prize. The survey is available both online and in paper format, and in both Spanish and English. To take the survey online, visit their website. To request a paper version of the survey, email Shannon Hunter, Census Coordinator, or call (559) 237-9811. It is important that the results of the survey reflect the richness and diversity of your community. Please help us spread the word by forwarding this invitation to participate in the California Cultural Census to your network of friends and colleagues in the San Joaquin Valley and the Inland Empire. Maestros De Bomba en La Bahía Encuentro 2007
Lily Kharrazi, Living Cultures Grants Program Manager Editor’s Note: The Bay Area Boricuas, Inc.’s Living Cultures Grants Program project took place in the San Francisco Bay Area during July 2007 – with a series of workshops, performances, and informal jam sessions (bombazos) – to focus on the rich African legacy of the bomba, a Puerto Rican dance and music style steeply rooted in the culture of the African slaves who were brought to the island in the late 1600’s. The resurgence of this form has been credited to a few key persons, but one family is legendary: La Familia Cepeda. Their singular focus for five generations has been to keep the African-based arts alive. Although not the primary focus of these workshops per se, people will often refer to Puerto Rican music styles as bomba y plena, as if they are one form. Given the popularity of Latin dance music, it may be helpful to understand this simple distinction between the two: Plena is a musical style that is a narrative song. The style originated in the coastal areas of the island and can revolve around anything at all in subject matter. It has a call-and-response format. In the early 1900’s horns were added to the plena sound and its evolution today is heard mixed in with other popular genres from Brazil, Cuba and Jamaica. Plena can occur without the dance. Bomba is the percussion-driven music style that occurs with the dance component. A single dancer or a couple will interact with the drummer. Traditional bomba ensembles featured two or three differently pitched drums, typically made from rum barrels known as barriles, a single maraca, and a pair of sticks (palitos) called cuá or fuá that tap out a fixed organizing rhythmic timeline on the side of the drum. A solo singer is answered by a chorus call-and-response style, singing over the great variety of rhythmic patterns that comprise the bomba. The lyrics are generally of topical nature, revolving around the life of the community and island history, and include improvised parts referring to the dance and music performed. “Keeping the tradition makes the family strong.” This sentiment was the departing thought of Gladys Camara, dancer and choreographer whose month-long residency, sponsored by Bay Area Boricuas, Inc., ended in a spirited performance on stage at the La Pena Cultural Center in Berkeley. She and her sister, Brenda Cepeda, another performer, are the daughters of Dr. Modesto Cepeda. The family completed their second visit to the Bay Area, taking a break from the academy founded by Dr. Cepeda in 1977, which is dedicated to the teaching and perpetuating of the African based-arts in Puerto Rico. Gladys made this statement several times before this final performance to the Bay Area workshop participants, and to see her share the stage with her father and her 2 ½ year old son, Exan, might have been ample demonstration of what she meant. But to more fully understand the impact of her words, the resurgence of this music and dance form signaled a distinct break from the stronghold of Puerto Rico’s elite which dominated the cultural milieu of the island. Read more about Bay Area Boricuas, Inc.’s Maestros de Bomba on ACTA’s website. California Traditional Artists to be Featured in Historic Dance Festival in New York
The Alliance for California Traditional Arts would like to congratulate Ramaa and Swetha Bharadvaj on their upcoming presentation of their original choreography Jwala-Flame at the historic Downtown Dance Festival at Battery Park in New York. They will perform on Sunday, August 26, 2007. Ramaa is a former master artist in ACTA’s Apprenticeship Program To learn more about Ramaa Bharadvaj, visit the Angahara Ensemble’s website. Read a press release about Jawla-Flame on ACTA’s website. In MemoriamMedha Yodh, 1927-2007Lily Kharrazi, Living Cultures Grants Program Manager Medha Yodh, a distinguished classical Indian dancer and arts advocate who taught for many years at UCLA, died on July 11, 2007, in her daughter’s home in San Diego, at the age of 79. I had the great honor and opportunity to know Medha Yodh at a formative time of my professional life where the disciplines of dance and anthropology were coming together at UCLA under the visionary guidance of Allegra Fuller Snyder. Western dance and choreography was still fighting for academic recognition as a legitimate discipline in its own right, as opposed to an offshoot of recreation or physical education. Dance as a cultural artifact was still suspect as “soft.” In this context of the late 1970’s, Medha Yodh was invited to join the UCLA dance faculty. She sat in our dance ethnology seminars and was a full participant in these years of creating and thinking about the discipline. Medha was not only a beautiful dance artist whose clarity of form reflected the teaching of the great Balasaraswati, whom she met for the first time as a young student in California while attending Stanford, but she also was on an explorer. I can remember so many discussions where she was feisty, tender, a sturdy realist, and a dreamer. In my last conversation with Medha just a year ago, she called me out of the blue to announce that indeed she was still alive! We chatted and caught up with one another, and although her failing health was evident, she was a woman whose life force and energy permeated even the most difficult of personal circumstances. Read Medha Yodh’s obituary in the Los Angeles Times on their website. FundingAlliance for California Traditional Arts' Traditional Arts Development ProgramDeadline: Ongoing ACTA’s Traditional Arts Development Program makes contracts up to $1,500 to support consultancies, mentorships, and travel opportunities that foster a new level of growth for individual folk & traditional artists and organizations engaged in this field in California. Requested services may be focused on organizational, program, and/or artistic development goals. Individual artists and cultural practitioners, as well as organizations, whether incorporated or not, may apply. A sampling of past contracts include: Artistic Mentorships Gen Taiko (San Francisco), an organization dedicated to promoting, preserving and presenting Japanese traditional arts including taiko (traditional Japanese drumming), traditional folk dance, and folk song forms. Its artistic director, Melody Takata, was trained by National Heritage Fellow Madame Fujima Kansuma to learn the Nihon Buyo (Japanese classical) dance called Kojo No Tsuki (Moonlit Castle Ruins). Ms. Takata taught the dance to four of her students and performed it at Gen Taiko’s 10th Anniversary Concert in November 2005. Organizational Consultancies: Kwashi Amevuvor (Los Angeles), a master drummer from Ghana, West Africa, worked with consultant Janet P***t, who assisted him with marketing and web design to develop professional promotional materials to publicize the work of the artist and the traditional cultural arts of Ghana. In addition, Ms. P***t’s consultancy supported Mr. Amevuvor’s efforts in organizing a cultural study tour of Ghana. Travel Opportunities The Eszterlánc Hungarian Folk Ensemble (Foster City) traveled to Southern California to perform for an audience of over two thousand at the annual Magyar Sajtónap (Hungarian Press Day) hosted by the newspaper California Hungarians. At this event Eszterlanc dancers had the opportunity to perform with members of the Karpatok Folk Ensemble of Southern California, which is led by Istvan Szabo. Requests for organizational consultancies, artistic mentoring, and travel support may be submitted to ACTA at any time. Download the application and application instructions from ACTA’s website or call (559) 237-9812 to request a copy be mailed to you. ACTA’s Traditional Arts Development Program is supported by grants from the California Arts Council, the Walter and Elise Haas Fund, and the National Endowment for the Arts. L.A. Treasures Award Deadline: Ongoing The California Traditional Music Society (CTMS) and the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs (DCA) have announced the "Elaine Weissman L.A. Treasures Awards". This program supports folk and traditional performing and visual artists with $1,000 in funds for two public performances, workshops or exhibits - one planned by the award recipient, another chosen by DCA and CTMS. The Awards are named after Elaine Weissman, founder of CTMS and great promoter and supporter of folk and traditional arts, who passed away last year. An average of three L.A.Treasures Awards are given each month. For more information visit the California Traditional Music Society's website. The Guitar Center Music FoundationDeadline: Ongoing The Guitar Center Music Foundation’s mission is to aid nonprofit music programs across America that offer music instruction so that more people can experience the joys of making music. The Guitar Center Music Foundation accepts grant applications throughout the year from 501(c)(3) organizations that offer music instruction programs to participants of any age. The applicant program must successfully enhance the state of music education in the United States. The Grant Committee reviews all applications three times yearly, and grant awards range from $500 to $5,000. For more information visit the Guitar Center Music Foundation’s website. National Endowment for the Arts
|
FEATURES ABOUT ACTA The Alliance for California Traditional Arts strives to "ensure California's future holds California's past" by providing programs and services to support the state's diverse living cultural heritage. The Alliance cultivates the growth of traditional arts and culture through Stewardship, Services to Artists, and Connection-Making. CONTACT ACTA Website: Staff: Sherwood Chen, Associate Director Lily Kharrazi, Living Cultures Grants Program Manager Suzanne Hildebrand, Administrative Coordinator BOARD OF DIRECTORS Robert Arroyo, V.P. of Finance & Administration Melanie Beene Jo Farb Hernandez, Secretary Vicki Filgas Joel Jacinto, Sojin Kim, Ph.D. Amy Kitchener (ex officio) Frank LaPena Malcolm Margolin Libby Maynard Hugo Morales Chike Nwoffiah, V.P. of External Development Peter Pennekamp, Executive Director Charlie Seemann, Board President Daniel Sheehy, Ph.D. Deborah Wong, Ph.D. Honorary Bess Lomax Hawes FUNDERS
Native American Women's Creations Harvest of Images / Cosecha de Imagenes Weavings of War: Fabrics of Memory Woven Witness: Afghan War Rugs and Afghan Freedom Quilt Landscaping America: Beyond the Japanese Garden Evolution of the ‘Ukulele: The Story of Hawaii’s Jumping Flea Kumeyaay: Indigenous People of Southern California Ali Akbar College of Music: 40 Year of Service to the San Francisco Bay Area Carnatic Music on the Saxophone 13th Annual Arab Cultural Festival Xirê! Celebrations: Viver Brasil 10th Anniversary Concert 16th Annual Festival of Philippine Arts & Culture Berkeley Old Time Music Convention Tamejavi Cultural Festival: Hands the Forge History 2007 San José International Mariachi Festival & Workshops Carolina Lugo’s Brisas de España Flamenco Dance Company 10th Anniversary Concert
Get your personalized plate. To subscribe to the weekly CAC Update, please visit their website. |
| SUBSCRIBE at our Website | COMMENTS AND SUGGESTIONS | www.actaonline.org |
|
||||||
