Harbourfront Centre's Kuumba Festival

Harbourfront Centre always has great festivals year-round. Here is just a taste of what they have going on during their Kuumba Black History Month Festival. All events are FREE ADMISSION.





SATURDAY FEBRUARY 6TH
DRUMMING
Drum Till You Drop!
Barrington Hibbert, a founding member of Baro Dununba: Ancestral Wisdom through Drums, leads a workshop where you’ll learn one rhythm from West Africa (sofa). Sofa (which translates to “warrior”) was originally played on a stringed instrument called a "bolon." Learn the accompanying parts played on the djembe, sangban, kensedeni and dununba.

Brigantine Room, 1:30 p.m, FREE ADMISSION

FILM
Soul Power
In 1974, the most celebrated American R&B acts of the time came together with the most renowned musical groups in Africa for a 12-hour, three-night concert held in Kinshasa, Zaire to accompany Ali’s Rumble In The Jungle. Included are performances by James Brown, Manu Dibango, BB King, Miriam Makeba, Bill Withers, Celia Cruz and many others.

Studio Theatre, 6:30 p.m, FREE ADMISSION

FAMILY ACTIVITY
Michezo
An interactive celebration of the art and genius of traditional African
childhood games with award-winning entertainer Kobèna Aquaa-Harrison.

Miss Lou's Room, 1-5 pm, FREE ADMISSION. (Feb. 6th and 7th)


SUNDAY,FEBRUARY 7TH
FILM
Rocksteady: The Roots of Reggae

The remaining great singers and musicians of Jamaica's golden age of music come together after 40 years to record an album of their greatest hits and tell their stories. Featuring a who’s who of reggae icons including Ken Booth, The Tamlins, Stranger Cole, U Roy, Dawn Penn, Derrick Morgan, Ernest Ranglin, Judy Mowatt, Leroy Sibbles, Rita Marley and more!

Studio Theatre, 4 p.m, FREE ADMISSION


SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 13TH and SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 14TH
FILM
Good Hair
Director Jeff Stilson follows Chris Rock on this raucous adventure prompted by Rock's daughter approaching him and asking, "Daddy, how come I don't have good hair?" Haircare professionals, beauty shop and barber shop patrons, as well as celebrities including Ice-T, Nia Long, Paul Mooney, Raven Symoné, Dr. Maya Angelou, Salt n Pepa, Eve and Reverend Al Sharpton all candidly offer their stories and observations to Rock while he struggles with the task of figuring out how to respond to his daughter's question. www.goodhairmovie.net
Please note: A panel discussion follows the Feb. 13 screening with Ruth Smith (Strictly Roots), Buster Berkley (Amorphous Group) and Asha McLeod (Jazma).

Saturday, February 13, 2010
6:30PM - 8:30PM
Studio Theatre, FREE ADMISSION

Sunday, February 14, 2010
1:00PM - 2:30PM
Studio Theatre, FREE ADMISSION

KRUMPING WORKSHOP
Northbuck Krumping Performance and Workshop
Krumping is a dance form that originated in South Central Los Angeles and has quickly evolved into a global phenomenon. It's characterized by expressive movements and high energy.

Come learn in a dynamic, enlightening and inclusive place that bridges the gap between learning and contemporary culture.

Everyone: FREE
Saturday, February 13, 2010
1:00PM - 2:00PM
Lakeside Terrace

Sunday, February 14, 2010
2:30PM - 3:30PM
Lakeside Terrace

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 14TH
WORDS AND MUSIC
Urban X-Posure: SoWhatChuSayin'?
This events honours consciousness in rap music and spoken word, featuring an artist showcase and cash prize contest for the most talented conscious wordsmith and raptivist rhymer!

Everyone: FREE
Saturday, February 13, 2010
2:00PM - 5:00PM
Brigantine Room

FILM
Rastafari Then & Now: A Message from Jamaica
Nation Cheong, a Rastafarian community youth worker and African drummer, is concerned about youth violence and wonders if the principles and values of Rastafari has something to benefit today's youth.

In Search of Rastafari: A Soul's Journey (sneak peak clip)
Twenty-seven years later, his granddaughter, Donisha Prendergast, is embarking on an epic journey of faith and self discovery while uncovering her own sense of purpose as both a Rastafarian and a daughter of the Marley dynasty.

Everyone: FREE
Sunday, February 14, 2010
6:00PM - 8:00PM
Studio Theatre

Source: http://www.harbourfrontcentre.com/kuumba/?ref=fp
Harbourfront Centre
235 Queens Quay West
416 973 4000

Different Voices: Irish and Latino

Literature was the focus of the show on Saturday, October 25th, with interviews with Irish writer, Dermot Bolger, Halli Villegas, publisher of Tightrope Books and poet, Monica Rosas. Bolger is a participant in Harbourfront Centre’s International Festival of Authors (IFOA), which for the first time, is spotlighting authors from a particular country: Ireland. Bolger’s thick accent and rapid-fire delivery was a pleasure to listen to as we talked about the wealth of writers in Ireland due, in part, to the introduction of free secondary schools and tax breaks for writers, and also to the Irish imagination. Where other countries had a tradition of opera and performing arts, Bolger says it’s writing that has always been a popular method of artistic expression in Ireland. Bolger’s first novel, Night Shift, was written while working in a factory. He used his co-workers as characters since he didn’t think it would really get published. Lucky for him, everyone was okay with the obvious characterizations. Bolger has since written many award-winning poems, plays and novels, including The Journey Home, from which he reads at the Fleck Dance Theatre the evening of October 25th along side other Irish authors Emma Donoghue, Hugo Hamilton, and David Park.

Being involved with the Irish writing scene (he started Raven Arts Press which has since turned into New Island), Bolger is encouraged by the variety of expression in contemporary Irish literature. As a member of the Aosdána, an organization which provides small stipends to writers so they can concentrate on their craft, Bolger hopes that the tax breaks and government funding to the arts will not be cut during this current economic climate.

IFOA runs until November 1, 2008 at Harbourfront Centre. 416-973-4000.

OTHER VOICES
How familiar are you with Canadian voices of Latin American descent? I sometimes see event notices for readings by Latin American writers, but these writers have usually been invited from outside Canada. Tightrope Books publisher, Halli Villegas who is half Mexican-half Welsh and looks Caucasian, became involved in the upcoming event, Other Voices: Latino Writing and Music because she has an interest in promoting the works of people who look like her and who share a Latin American heritage. Villegas founded Tightrope books in 2005 because she wanted to take Canadian publishing in a different direction, connecting more with the writer, and publishing books that resound with unheard voices.

Poet, Monica Rosas (of Colombian-Peruvian heritage) is one of the performers at Other Voices. Rosas has an interest in bringing to the forefront experiences of gender and cultural status, demonstrated in her very eloquent reading of a selection from her chapbook,Inside Out.

Monica’s book is published by Lyrical Myrical Press and will be available for sale, along with the works of other writers reading on Thursday, October 30th at the Trane Studio (964 Bathurst Street). Doors open at 6:30 pm and includes music by Cubanos. The event is FREE, so please bring some money to support these authors.

Photo: Dermot Bolger
Photo Credit: http://aosdana.artscouncil.ie

Photo: Monica Rosas
Photo Credit: Stephanie Sonnemann

A Few Things to Do this Week

Go see, AMAL, Richie Mehta's film about a New Delhi auto-rickshaw driver, who goes about his simple, daily life not knowing how his generosity of spirit to a senile passenger could change his life forever. This charming, beautifully told fable, also includes a delicate, restrained love story in keeping with the leanness of the script. Playing at the Varsity Cinema, 55 Bloor West.





Diversify your after work calendar by including some theatre. Catch Jane Maggs (Until June) and other actors performers and artists at Summerworks Theatre Festival (August 7-17).







Bite into some flavourful eats, do a dance workshop, and feel the heat of various dance beats at Harbourfront Centre's Hot & Spicy Food Festival. Be sure to check out the films, too.

I could feel Cleo Parker Robinson's personality beaming through the phone lines during my interview with her on Saturday, May 24th. If you were listening to the show, I hope you that you, too, could feel her openness. This accomplished dance, choreographer, and award-winner shared her experiences growing up in Denver, Colorado where the artistic exchanges among people of various backgrounds flourished despite the presence of the Ku Klux Klan. From forming her dance ensemble and school, to assisting legendary, Katherine Dunham during the last years of her life (when it seemed she had been forgotten by the dance world), to her experiences with dancers Donald Mackayle and Alvin Ailey, Cleo Parker Robinson is a woman who had dedicated her life to dance. Through her master classes, countless others will benefit from those she has learned from as well as her original ideas about dance.

The Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Ensemble will be performing at Harbourfront Centre's Enwave Theatre ( 231 Queens Quay West) May 29th -31st, and Robinson herself will be teaching classes for children and adults through Dance Immersion at the National Ballet School(400 Jarvis Street), June 2nd - 8th.

Tickets to Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Ensemble: $25 (student/senior) $30 Adults:416-973-4000
CleoDance Classes: $17 adults, $10 children: 416-203-0666



Reel Asian Spring Showcase
I'm being very self-indulgent by posting this picture of actor, Andy Lau. Reel Asian Head Programmer, Heather Keung, and I did not discuss the Spring Showcase's opening night film, A Battle of Wits (the screening had passed), but I can never resist anything that features Lau's face. Heather and I did talk about other films in the festival such as "Chinese Restaurant: Latin Passions" and the predominently silent, visually engaging film by Hou Hsiao-Hsien, "Three Times". Cheuk Kwan has been documenting the Chinese diaspora by means of researching Chinese restaurants around the world. What comes through in his films are portraits of families who have experienced varied and extraordinary things. In Latin Passions we meet, for example, a couple who left China by swimming shark-infested waters to get to Macau. They then made their way to Hong Kong and ended up in Sao Paolo, Brazil. For more information about Reel Asian visit www.reelasian.com