MUSIC CENTER'S WORLD CITY ANNOUNCES 2010-2011 PERFORMANCES

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 14, 2010

 

CONTACT:

Leticia Rhi Buckley

213-972-3335

lbuckley@musiccenter.org

 

 

 

 

 

CELEBRATING ITS EIGHTH SEASON, THE MUSIC CENTER’S

WORLD CITY ANNOUNCES 2010-2011 PERFORMANCES

 

The Program Offers Free, Family-Friendly Entertainment at the Outdoor

W.M Keck Amphitheatre at Walt Disney Concert Hall

 

The Music Center of Los Angeles County celebrates the eighth season of the highly acclaimed World City performance series featuring internationally renowned artists sharing their culture through dance, music, song and storytelling.  Performances are free to the public and usually take place on select Saturdays at 11:00 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. except April 17, 2011, when it will take place on Sunday at 12:30 p.m. and 2:00 p.m.  Free art-making workshops for children are offered in the adjacent Blue Ribbon garden following the performances.

 

World City opens its eighth season on October 16, 2010 with Oyu Oro Afro-Cuban Dance Ensemble.  The series continues on November 20, 2010 with Red Thunder showcasing the unique heritage of the Plains Indians. Additional performers include Chen Kuai Le Puppet Theater, Hot 8 Brass Band, A Gaelic Gathering, The Tinkers, Sakai Flamenco and Les Yeux Noirs. Dates and specific information follows.

 

Offering an impressive roster of international and national touring artists, as well as acclaimed local artists, each month a particular culture is featured through the performances of one or more companies.  “World City champions a local to global perspective, featuring arts traditions which represent the cultural landscape of Los Angeles and the wider world,” says Barbara Leonard, Artistic Director for Education at the Music Center.

 

The post-performance art workshops offer attendees a chance to participate in the creative process with simple, hands-on art activities focused on the cultural theme of that day. Workshops will include the creation of masks, puppets, headdresses, and musical instruments. “We have built a loyal and diverse audience with a passion for the arts. Through World City, they discover a common humanity in the broad range of performances and visual arts workshops,” notes Leonard.

 

World City is presented at the W.M. Keck Foundation Children's Amphitheatre at Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 S. Grand Avenue, Downtown Los Angeles.  Tickets are free and are distributed on Grand Avenue at 2^nd Street.  Tickets for 11:00 a.m. performance distributed beginning at 10:00 a.m.  Tickets for 12:30 p.m. performance distributed beginning at 11:00 a.m.

 

World City is supported, in part, by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors through the Los Angeles County Arts Commission. Additional support is provided by the Julia Stearns Dockweiler Foundation, the Kenneth T. and Eileen L. Norris Foundation, and the Peter and Merle Mullin Endowment Fund.

 

For more information about World City, call 213-972-4396 or visit musiccenter.org.

 

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2010-2011 WORLD CITY PERFORMERS

 

Saturday, October 16, 2010

Oyu Oro Afro-Cuban Dance Ensemble (Music & Dance, Cuba)

Committed to the preservation of Afro-Cuban culture through dance, song and music, Oyu Oro  explores traditional dance forms from a variety of influences.  They include the diverse cultures of West Africa, the rich Haitian influences that remain in Cuba, along with popular dance of Cuban heritage, including rumba, conga, chancletas and son. 

 

Saturday, November 20, 2010

Red Thunder (Dance, Native American)

With authentic regalia, consisting of vibrant feathers, intricate beadwork, and handmade jewelry and headdresses, Red Thunder celebrates the unique heritage of the Plains Indians.  Showcasing music, song, and traditional dance while re-telling the stories that have been passed through generations, Red Thunder entertains and educates audiences of all ages.

 

Saturday, January 22, 2011

Chen Kuai Le Puppet Theater (Puppetry, Taiwan)

Directed by Taiwan’s leading female puppeteer, Shi-Mei Chiang, Chen Kuai Le Puppet Theater has devoted itself to the preservation of traditional arts and to the training of new generations of performers.  The company, which includes Chiang’s son and grandson, is accompanied by live traditional Taiwanese music and uses masterful puppet-manipulation skills and vivid narratives to present this enchanting art form.

 

Saturday, February 12, 2011

Hot 8 Brass Band (Music, New Orleans)

New Orleans’ own Hot 8 Brass Band has epitomized New Orleans street music for over a decade.  Known for playing the traditional Second Line parades, the band infuses their performances with the funk and energy that makes New Orleans music loved around the world.

 

Saturday, March 19, 2011

A Gaelic Gathering (Music & Dance, Ireland)

Celebrating the exuberance of Irish culture, A Gaelic Gathering presents the rhythmic hard shoe Jigs and Hornpipes, along with lyrical soft shoe Reels and Slipjips. Accompanied by traditional Irish instruments like the fiddle, flutes, whistles, uilleann pipes (elbow bagpipes), and bodhran (drum). A Gaelic Gathering takes the audience on a cultural journey through Ireland’s rich heritage.

 

The Tinkers (Music, Scotland)

Pioneers of the growing Tribal Celtic movement, The Tinkers play jigs and reels from the Scottish Highlands. This roving pipe-and-drum band blend the ancient art of the Highland bagpipes with the driving rhythms of drums, and the haunting sound of a Bronze-Age Celtic Horn. Dressed in traditional tartan kilts, The Tinkers inspire audiences to clap along to the pulsating rhythms of this spirited music.

 

Sunday, April 17, 2011

Sakai Flamenco (Gypsy Dance & Music, Spain)

“Sakai” is the gypsy word for “eyes” and the eyes hold the emotions or feelings of the gypsy people.  Sakai Flamenco is a dynamic ensemble dedicated to performing the music and dance of the gypsies of Southern Spain.  Comprised of dancers, a singer and guitarist, Sakai Flamenco uses traditional clapping and strong, rhythmic footwork to showcase the beauty, power and intricacy of flamenco. 

 

Les Yeux Noirs (Gypsy Klezmer Music, France)

Performing Yiddish and Gypsy music, Les Yeux Noirs invites its audience to share in moments of intense emotion and indescribable happiness, as they weave their magic with extraordinary energy. Both joyous and nostalgic, this nomadic music is beautifully interpreted through the group’s own compositions, enriched with violins, drums, cymbalum, electric bass and guitar.